Generally, in Milan, stakeholders did not give much thought to the potential of the two cities sharing a common post-carbon future. When asked how this may be developed further, stakeholders noted the potential for the two cities to work together in the sector of technology and innovation, rather than on integration between housing and labour markets. Similarly in Turin, participants did not consider a major integration of the two cities as an opportunity for the post-carbon vision, neither for promoting post-carbon policies, nor for improving the competitiveness of Turin. However, during the second workshop, stakeholders had to think over the appropriate territorial and institutional level to implement post-carbon policies and actions: they recognised that the city level is, in general, not sufficient (for example, for policies against pollution, waste etc.) and policies have to be thought at a wider level (for example, to develop the area between Turin and Milan).

 

But this wider level does not necessarily correspond to the two cities: according to stakeholders, most of the post-carbon policies that cannot be implemented at the city level have to be proposed at a metropolitan or even at a regional level (for example, for the whole Piedmont region, or the whole Northwestern Italy), rather than through a cooperation between Milan and Turin. According to the stakeholders, this cooperation can be really effective only in the case of policies for R&D and tertiary education: Milan and Turin have universities which are important at the national level, but have to cooperate to compete in the global context; moreover, the two cities have different economic specialisations, that can be complementary for promoting technological research and development.

 

To learn more, be sure to read the full report.