A New Approach To Quality

By Redazione The Plan, Nicola Leonardi - 13 December 2010

Milan’s new Urban Development Plan is grounded in a clear overall vision for the future city, developed - in contrast to past custom - with the participation of its citizens. The new urban plan for Milan, drafted by Studio Metrogramma, has two main areas of activity:
? The “collective” or public structure of the city. This is the pattern of “voids” separating the built volumes and is an unchanging feature, especially when these voids connect the city’s monumental buildings This weave of open areas is the blueprint for the future city, framing the concrete action plans to be implemented at the different scales;
? The built fabric or “solids” making up Milan’s many neighbourhoods that contribute to the city’s multiple identities. This built fabric will be the object of a rolling series of optimisation projects. Milan’s new Urban Development Plan is a blueprint to be realised by means of ambitious, large-scale projects that together shape a precise concept of a citizens’ city. Although clearly framed by rules and tools, the Plan allows for opportunities to be swiftly taken on board and acted upon. In other words, the Plan is a growth opportunity for the city, a way of tackling demands that must be met. It is also a tool that can be adjusted over time, enhanced and reprogrammed thanks to continuous assessment of its track record in meeting the goals set. The Plan comprises four essential rules and tools to achieve the new vision of Milan: redistribution measures, a points-based incentive system, the subsidiarity mechanism, and an unconstrained urban functional-mix concept. These tools form the framework within which City Authorities and private operators can work and plan in compliance with the principles of fairness and efficiency. The redistribution measures build into the New Urban Development Plan take a new approach to land acquisition required to realise the Plan. The City Authorities can now enter into agreements whereby land can be acquired...