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The objective is to identify the third sector subjects who will have to animate them with social, cultural and entrepreneurial projects. Rabaiotti: “I would like young people above all to take up this challenge of innovation”

Milan, January 3 2020 – Nine spaces owned by the municipality now unused to be redeveloped and transformed into service nodes for the neighborhood through the creation of a web platform accessible to all and the inclusion of new activities with a social, cultural and entrepreneurial vocation. This is the objective of the call open until 16 March to Third Sector operators available for the co-design and subsequent management of innovative services aimed at creating social opportunities in some peripheral urban areas, in implementation of the "Connected Neighborhoods" project. financed by the European PON Metro program with approximately 3 million euros, of which over 500 thousand dedicated to the part to which the tender refers.

“We are redeveloping nine spaces – says the councilor for social and housing policies Gabriele Rabaiotti – which will become the connecting bridge between the popular neighborhoods and the nearby context on the model of the Parisian concierge: thanks to the use of technologies we will bring citizens closer to each other and to the public administration. The objective is to create an innovative service that organizes and brings together the many realities that work in the Milanese neighborhoods, a complex but necessary work on the suburbs, to improve the quality of life and also the safety of their inhabitants. I hope that the best skills and energies present in many young people living in Milan will take up this opportunity for innovation. I am convinced that if this were to happen we will have taken a further step in the process of mending the neighborhoods and the entire city, as well as in enabling the parts of Milan that still feel distant".

After the start of the renovation and bringing the spaces up to standard, which for some is still ongoing, the second phase of the program begins which brings back into play spaces diversified in terms of characteristics and size (ranging from 40 to around 100 mXNUMX) at the foot of of public residential buildings, for which they originally served as guard rooms or in which they were inserted as shops, now vacant.

They are rich in potential in terms of versatility of use and intercepted catchment area, and are spread radially throughout the city: to the north Largo Boccioni, Piazzetta Capuana (where a WeMi municipal space is also already open, to inform about home services) and via Padre Luigi Monti, to the east via Sant'Erlembaldo and via Palmanova, to the south viale Omero and via Faenza, to the west via Fratelli Zoia and via Alex Visconti.

At the moment the works inside the premises in via Padre Luigi Monti 18/20 and via Palmanova 59 are substantially completed, those in Piazzetta Capuana 7 and Fratelli Zoia 105 are under construction, and those inside the Largo Boccioni concierge are starting , via Visconti 24, viale Faenza 25. Those in the reception offices in via Sant'Erlembaldo and viale Omero will follow closely.

The thematic areas identified in agreement with the Municipalities, on the basis of which the projects will be developed, are three: first of all the social concierge services, i.e. services with a priority social and proximity vocation, intended mainly for the tenants of public housing, with whom the spaces in Largo Boccioni, Via Fratelli Zoia and Viale Omero. We then move on to innovative and entertainment services (development of services with a socio-cultural vocation), to be associated with Via Alex Visconti, Sant'Erlembaldo and Faenza, to close with the development of micro-entrepreneurial projects with a high social impact which include the active involvement of ERP tenants and disadvantaged people in general, indicated for Padre Luigi Monti and Palmanova streets and for Piazzetta Capuana.

The projects will have to combine various aspects: the economic sustainability of the service, which after a two-year start-up period will have to sustain itself autonomously, social inclusion, with the direct and active involvement of residents and local entities, the to the neighborhood through a local network to support the project, and finally the hybridization between different fields, such as commerce, business, but also community welfare and forms of social and solidarity economy.

The municipal administration will support the projects through the provision of financing (up to 90% of the total cost) for the first two years and by assigning the redeveloped premises free of charge for the entire duration of the service (maximum 6 years, renewable) . The winners will therefore only be responsible for out-of-pocket costs, such as utilities and condominium expenses.

PON Metro is a program aimed at metropolitan cities, in line with the strategies of the European Urban Agenda and with the objectives of Europe 2020, with which the Municipality of Milan intends to finance, in addition to 'Connected Neighborhoods', also other projects on different axes of intervention, all however dedicated to sustainable urban development.