Presentation  Presentation  

Summary

Link: Networks e Synergies

Social Development Networks

Chapter 1

Housing quality

Chapter 2

The centre and the suburbs: different systems of mobility

Chapter 3

The family and solidarity

Chapter 4

Quality of education network

Chapter 5

Living the employment network

Economic Networks

Chapter 6

Links within the economic system

Chapter 7

The trade network

Chapter 8

Veneto agriculture network

Chapter 9

Mountain synergies

Chapter 10

Production networks

Chapter 11

The distribution network

Chapter 12

Tourism: synergy between sectors and networks between individuals

Institutional services and
networks

Chapter 13

The network for workplace health prevention

Chapter 14

The Veneto model for the integration of social and healthcare services

Chapter 15

Public Administration: services for citizens and businesses

Chapter 16

Telematic networks in Veneto

Chapter 17

The environmental and territorial checking networks

Chapter 18

Cross-border institutional networks

Chapter 19

Inter-institutional local models




1.1 - A model for the housing network

"Living", considered as part of the wider phenomenon of "quality of life", with its various facets- the individual, the family, the community and society-is a complex concept of which it is difficult to provide a summary.
The following outline contains an attempt to give a representation of the "housing network", in terms of the macro-phenomena it comprises. The central node in the network represents the main macro-phenomenon of housing: the home itself, with its various meanings. It is defined as:
  1. a building equipped to provide for the needs of every-day life;
  2. the focus of domestic life, a place for relationships and privacy;
  3. a place of residence situated within a local community.
The two nodes on the vertical axis of the central node in the network refer to the family (at the top) and the community (at the bottom). The family is the group of people (or the person) for whom the house has to be able to guarantee a satisfactory standard of living. The community is the physical and critical space within which the house is situated, which contributes greatly to determining the family's living conditions.
To the left of the central "home" node is the node regarding the family's "living needs". These needs provide a means of defining the concept of "standard of living", in terms of the capacity housing has to satisfy those needs connected to the "dwelling" part of quality of life. The questions we will touch upon are the same as are usually to be found in reports, especially international ones, on the topic of "standard of living":
  • type of housing (villas, flats in apartment buildings);
  • structural features and utilities;
  • presence of durable goods;
  • overcrowding;
  • occupancy status;
  • sustainability (perceived and financial) of ownership of housing;
  • experience with regards to quality of community environment;
  • degree of satisfaction with living conditions.
Lastly, the right-hand node is dedicated to the "instrumental" variables concerning living conditions, e.g. public (social policies and strategies) and financial-private (construction sector) interventions which aim to maintain and improve the population's living conditions over time. The nodes are linked to each other, directly or individually, through the central "home" node (Figure 1.1.1).
Following a brief outline on certain aspects influencing demand for housing, we intend to concentrate in detail on the "living needs" section, and the relationship between the features of this area and the variables linked to features of the Family and "Community" nodes. In this section we will focus mainly on knowledge related to the end variables of development, i.e. those variables which, when planning development regarding living needs, are subject to provisions set out in housing policies.

Top  Driving forces on demand for housing

The use of land in the region and the development of space for citizens need to be thought of in terms of relationships with other areas. Events in one place can only been understood in connection with events elsewhere and with social and economic transformations.
In the North-East of Italy the population and production systems put the area under a lot of pressure: between 1995 and 2006, 374.8 million cubic metres were authorised for the building or extension of new buildings for residential purposes; this is around 35.2 cubic metres per inhabitant, compared to the Italian figure of 22.3.
The mountain foothill areas of Lombardia and Veneto are particularly densely populated, almost uninterruptedly so. In Veneto, the region takes on the form of a polycentric network: residential and non-residential buildings with a mainly economic function are not concentrated into one urban agglomeration, as is usual in large cities, but are spread out into various centres of equal size and importance (Figure 1.1.2).
Demographic changes have an influence on the development of residential buildings: demand for housing is not so much the result of population growth as of the increase in family groups.
In Veneto today there are 4,885,548 inhabitants and 1,985,191 families. The population has increased by 7.9% since 2001, while the number of families has increased at a higher rate, by 15.8%, becoming ever more nuclear. The phenomenon of families becoming ever smaller has various causes, including the decreasing birth rate, people putting off getting married and having children, lack of stability within marriages and increasing life expectancy which leads to a higher number of elderly people living alone. For more detail on changing family groups, please see Chapter 3.
According to data on building permits, housing has increased at a similar rate to families: real estate has increased by 9.7% since 2001. New buildings are keeping up with new families not only in terms of number but also of size. Just like family groups, new houses are getting smaller and smaller: in 1995 a new home in Veneto was 93.4 mē on average, in 2006 this figure had dropped to 76 mē. New buildings consist mainly in small apartments, under 45 mē in size (these have increased by 136.6%) and between 46 mē and 75 mē in size (+128.1%). As for new buildings, the number of new detached houses has decreased (from 2,578 in 1995 to 1,935 in 2006) to be replaced by an increase in apartment buildings, in particular those containing at least four homes.
Immigration also has a weighty influence on housing. Immigration is on the increase, and has been for the last ten years or so; immigrants are now settling in Veneto, which means that those migrating for the long-term are not only looking for stability in terms of relationships, by getting married and having children, but also in terms of living spaces, by buying or renting houses. Having a decent place to live is a basic part of working towards social inclusion. The number of foreigners in Veneto has increased by 190.2% since 2001, and now counts over 450,000 people, who represent 9.3% of the total population. (Figure 1.1.3).
In the regions in North Italy, road networks have been, and still are, an important element with regards to reorganisation of urban and production areas. Because of its central geographical position, within Europe as well, North Italy is taking on an ever more important role as a link between the horizontal and vertical communication, traffic and commercial corridors; for obvious reasons, businesses tend to develop along communication corridors and population distribution mirrors that of businesses.
The urban centres with the highest population density correspond directly with the main traffic routes. Alongside the well-established metropolitan areas of Milano, Torino and Genova, new, smaller "metropolitan" areas have been formed along the V corridor, through from Milano to Venezia, and along the Via Emilia corridor through from Parma to Imola, as well as around the nodes where the corridors intersect. This is what has happened in the Milano-Bergamo area, in Bologna, in Parma-Reggio Emilia-Modena, in Veneto in the Padova-Treviso-Venezia area, where there are more than 1.5 million inhabitants, and in the Verona area which tends to extend towards Brescia-Mantova (Figure 1.1.4).

Figure 1.1.1
A model for the housing network
Figure 1.1.2
Geographical distribution of populated centres and nuclei - Year 2001
Figure 1.1.3
New authorised residential buildings, resident population and families (base index numbers 2001=100). Veneto - Years 2001-2007
Figure 1.1.4
'Metropolitan' areas in the regions of North Italy - Year 2008


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English translation by the University of Padova Language Centre.