In 'Assoimmobiliare Annual Meeting, held in Rome at the conference room of Studio Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners, with the participation of the Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities and for Tourism, Dario Franceschini and the Undersecretaries Salvatore Margiotta e Roberto Morassut, urban regeneration, essential for attracting investments on national soil and leading to a rebirth of cities, was the central theme.
Tobias Zevi, Global Cities Desk Coordinator of ISPI (Institute for International Political Studies), opened the meeting by talking about the Global Cities and the need to treat this as a geopolitical issue. According to Zevi, global cities are the most influential urban realities on the planet, capable of attracting highly qualified people (inhabited by more than 50% of the population), neglecting their suburbs. Although cities are gaining more and more importance, at the same time, they produce a strong rift between these two worlds. When asked if it is possible to mend this break, Zevi replied that it is necessary to have a integrated and sustainable project, which puts citizens at the centre and not Smart Cities.
Luca Montuori and Simonetta Cenci, respectively Councilor for Urban Planning of Rome Capital and the Municipality of Genoa, Deputy Alessandro Cattaneo, former Mayor of Pavia and finally Federica Galloni, General Director of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of MiBACT also took part in the debate.
Silvia Rovere recalled the worrying data from the recent Nomisma Report, because it shows how theItaly is one of the few EU countries that has not recovered the level of house prices reached before the 2008 financial crisis. The Monti Government maneuver has led to a heavy increase in real estate taxation since 2012, and a further decrease in house prices and, consequently, a structural erosion of household savings, which constitute 60% of investments in real estate assets. The overall reduction in the value of savings has a negative impact on consumption and the country's economic growth.
The President underlined the need to stimulate domestic demand to achieve stable and sustainable growth in the country, but all this cannot happen without the contribution of the real estate and construction sectors. A policy is needed that stimulates investments in the redevelopment not only of private buildings, but also of public buildings such as schools, hospitals, offices, etc.
As demonstrated by many European cities that have recognized the contribution that the real estate sector can make, the answer is a large-scale redevelopment of the suburbs, characterized by serious situations of poverty and urban decay. Interventions that were carried out thanks to the investment of institutional capital, but above all thanks to the clarity and constancy of the rules. European cities have understood the need, in a situation of low interest rates, to get savers to invest in real estate development, even though this is perceived as a risky business. It is necessary to attract the influx of international capital to our cities, in this context only Milan seems to benefit from this opportunity, probably thanks to administrative continuity. The recent regional law of Lombardy introduces simplification and incentive measures to which other Italian cities should aspire. Assoimmobiliare actively participated in the drafting of this legislation. However, the political instability that characterizes our country does not allow us to define effective long-term economic policies. During her speech, Silvia Rovere opened a parenthesis on the situation of Rome capital city, increasingly in decline in terms of mobility, efficiency and the offer of services. The goal is to provide for the relaunch of the capital, in the wake of Milan, but this would require close collaboration between institutions, businesses and investors.
Although the Regions have shown interest in the potential of urban regeneration, the absence of a vision from the Government and Parliamentinstead, it makes itself felt. In the presence of Minister Franceschini and the Undersecretaries Margiotta and Morassut, Silvia Rovere invites them to present the challenge that the industry is facing to the entire Government, so that collaboration on the part of both can transform these opportunities into reality. As evidenced by the 2018 UN report, in 2050 two thirds of the inhabitants will go to live in cities, but if the whole matter continues to be regulated by the Town Planning Law of 1942, one certainly cannot aspire to economic growth and an improvement in people's living conditions. The conditions for which the regeneration of the suburbs and the sustainable growth of cities, not only economic and environmental, but above all social, are set as an objective. According to the industry, action should be taken in two directions: attract a greater inflow of capital into the real estate market, international and domestic and, at the same time, remove natural tax obstacles which affect the investments intended for the development of the sector.
Finally, the President concluded her report with the regulatory proposal drawn up by Assoimmobiliare, which proposes to renew the Italian legislation on Listed real estate investment companies (SIIQ), in order to open the Italian market to the influx of foreign investors, having both an effect on tax revenues and an increase in investment in the construction sector and the redevelopment of existing buildings and, finally, a positive impact on the GDP and on employment.
The public assembly concluded with the intervention of Minister Dario Franceschini, who underlined the importance of a redevelopment of the peripheral districts, not only of the historic centers as has occurred in the last seventy years. However, this type of operation takes a long time and the Government cannot give guarantees in this regard.
