The investments of NextGenerationEU vs urban competitiveness of Italian metropolitan areas

Carmela Gargiulo; Sabrina Sgambati

doi:10.6093/1970-9870/10271

Carmela Gargiulo Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering University of Naples Federico II https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6481-0908
Sabrina Sgambati Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering University of Naples Federico II https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8900-278X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6093/1970-9870/10271

Keywords: Urban competitiveness, Urban planning, Recovery Plans

Abstract

The social, economic, and environmental challenges imposed by the complexity of the ongoing phenomena require the rapid transformation of cities into resilient, competitive urban systems. The recent European program NextGenerationEU is oriented in this direction. It allocates the resources to turn the Covid-19 pandemic into a trigger of development through the implementation of recovery plans aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the territories involved. Hence, it is urgent to find a way not only to manage the available resources but distribute them effectively, identifying priorities of interventions. This paper examines Italian metropolitan areas to support decision-makers in the prioritization/management of urban transformations in the framework of the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). 53 variables belonging to five macro-areas of competitiveness were identified and elaborated. Two composite indexes were developed to compare the cities’ actual competitive performance with the distribution of resources defined by the PNRR. The aim is to understand if the PNRR investments are consistent with the case studies assets and vocations that, if boosted, may determine their competitive development. Among the main findings, it emerged a substantial deviation between competitive performance and allocated resources, especially for southern cities which received a greater boost from the PNRR than their actual competitive potential in order to overcome the North-South existing disparities.

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Author Biographies

Carmela Gargiulo, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering University of Naples Federico II

Full professor of Urban Planning Techniques at the University of Naples Federico II. Since 1987 she has been involved in studies on the management of urban and territorial transformations. Since 2004, she has been Member of the Researcher Doctorate in Hydraulic, Transport and Territorial Systems Engineering of the University of Naples “Federico II”. Her research interests focus on the processes of urban requalification, on relationships between urban transformations and mobility, and on the estate exploitation produced by urban transformations. On these issues she has coordinated many research groups as scientific manager of operational units or as principal investigator of competitive projects. As scientific manager of the Dicea-University of Naples Federico II operative unit: “Impacts of mobility policies on urban transformability, environment and real estate market” from 2011 to 2013, as part of the PRIN project; Cariplo Foundation project “MOBILAGE. Mobility and aging: support networks for daily life and welfare at the neighborhood level "2018-2020; ERASMUS + Key Action2: Project "Development of a Master Program in the Management of Industrial Entrepreneurship for Transition Countries" (MIETC), with European and Asian partners 2020-2022. As Principal Investigator of the Smart Energy Master Project for territorial energy management funded by PON 04A2_00120 R&C Axis II, from 2012 to 2015. Author of over 160 publications.

Sabrina Sgambati, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering University of Naples Federico II

She is an engineer, Ph.D. student in Civil Systems Engineering at Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering of University of Naples Federico II. Currently, her Ph.D. research concerns the topic of urban competitiveness.

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