Bologna: A Sustainable Culture

By Gianni Carbonaro and Chiara Pancotti

Bologna's unique political and cultural history helped it forge ahead of most Italian cities with strategic investments in services, health care and education. How well does its focus on sustainability in a range of areas set it up for continued success?
This essay provides an overview of the development of the Bologna metropolitan region in recent decades, emphasising the role of urban policy and investment within a wider territorial context — European, national and regional.

• Language: English
• Publisher: European Investment Bank
• Release date: Nov 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9789286139031

Book preview

I Introduction

Bologna’s development: the context

Historical and geographical background

II Bologna’s development since 1950

2.1 Post-war recovery, economic miracle and crisis (1950-1973)

Wider economic trends

Local economy and urban policy

EIB operations

2.2 Growth of the cluster economy (1973-1992)

Wider economic trends

Local economy and urban policy

EIB operations

2.3 Single market, the euro and globalisation (1992-2007)

Wider economic trends

Local economy and urban policy

EIB operations

2.4 The Great Recession and its aftermath (2008 onwards)

Wider economic trends

Local economy and urban policy

EIB operations

III Conclusions

References

Copyright

About the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank is the world’s biggest multilateral lender. The only bank owned by and representing the interests of the EU countries, the EIB finances Europe’s economic growth. Over six decades the Bank has backed start-ups like Skype and massive schemes like the Øresund Bridge linking Sweden and Denmark. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the EIB Group includes the European Investment Fund, a specialist financer of small and medium-sized enterprises.

BOLOGNA

A Sustainable Culture

---

Gianni Carbonaro

Chiara Pancotti

The findings, interpretations and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Investment Bank. 

Gianni Carbonaro is a member of the Scientific Committee and a senior advisor at the Centre for Industrial Studies, Milan, and a fellow at QASER Lab, University College, London. He worked at the European Investment Bank for almost 30 years on the economic and financial assessments of big infrastructure projects. His current specialities include smart city investing, design of financial instruments, PPP evaluation and impact investment strategies.

Chiara Pancotti specialises in the evaluation of development projects and in infrastructure investment analysis at the Centre for Industrial Studies and has worked on policy projects with institutions that include the European Commission and European Parliament.

Gianni Carbonaro

Chiara Pancotti

---

Bologna’s unique political and cultural history helped it forge ahead of most Italian cities with strategic investments in services, health care and education. How well does its focus on sustainability in a range of areas set it up for continued success?

---

I   Introduction

Bologna’s development: the context

This essay provides an overview of the development of the Bologna metropolitan region in recent decades, emphasising the role of urban policy and investment within a wider territorial context — European, national and regional. We will discuss the changing nature of metropolitan development against the backdrop of four post-war periods, highlighting the links between national and metropolitan development and illustrating, where relevant, how European Investment Bank lending has accompanied the process.

Our discussion of Bologna’s urban development keeps in mind the following four features specific