Brescia City Council Criticized for Reactive Urban Planning

Urban planner Alessandro Benevolo has sharply criticized Brescia's city administration, arguing that it has abdicated its responsibility to plan the city's future functions. He contends that the local government has allowed private developers to unilaterally decide on development projects, leading to a fragmented and reactive approach to urban planning.

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I find it incredible that the new sports company of Brescia football decides autonomously where to build its sports center (and in perspective the new stadium).

Benevolo points to numerous recent projects, including the construction of a sports center for the local football club, the Poliambulanza hospital, and various commercial and governmental buildings, as examples of this trend. He states that the city's Master Plan has become irrelevant, with developers proposing projects that the municipality then struggles to integrate into the overall urban design. This process, he likens to a tiler being given mismatched tiles and tasked with creating a coherent floor.

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Brescia has long since given up on planning the functions of the future city and where to put them.

The urban planner laments the loss of proactive planning, recalling a time when municipal offices anticipated future needs and guided private investors to suitable locations. He references a 40-year-old proposal by Leonardo Benevolo for the San Polo Park, which envisioned two major city services as entrances: a cemetery to the north and a large multi-sport complex to the south, strategically located near major transport links.

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The Municipality has become like a tiler who is delivered tiles of different shapes and colors, leaving him the task of laying them down, changing the floor every time.

Benevolo argues that such forward-thinking planning is still necessary, even if the current proposal for Buffalora is pursued. He stresses the importance of creating clear entrances and services for the San Polo Park, utilizing the Metro as a central axis. He concludes by urging the current urban planning department to look back at existing designs and re-adopt a visionary approach to city development, rather than merely reacting to external proposals.

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I understand that the Urban Planning department has lost the habit and even the notion of anticipating, imagining, and designing, but at least look at the drawings already made?