Santa Giulia is a neighbourhood without shops, transport, cinemas and supermarkets. Only houses. Naturally, one would say that this is a result of the financial crisis.
Montecity-Santa Giulia is a quarter close to the area of Rogoredo in the periphery of South-East Milan. Various impressions are made on those that visit it. Definitely the first and the most personal one, is the feeling of being lost; all of the buildings look the same, they succeed one another leaving the strong sensation that living in any one of the many apartments wouldn't feel unique or different. Just the same.
Secondly, one experiences the sensation of arriving in a neighbourhood which is new but grotesquely incomplete: few people can be seen, bars are rarely open, tons of "for sale" and "for rent" estate agency signs flag the area and an absence of supermarkets and barriers that impede the use of practically all of the communal spaces (including the overly promoted nursery) still stand strong two years after the arrival of the first residents of the area.
At the end of the day, there is a strong feeling that local residents have been taken for a ride after many promises that were made haven't been addressed and, in most cases, have been completely disregarded. Residents have immediately established a committee in order to voice their requests and raise important issues for consideration.
A short report of the story that has contributed the a re-evaluation of this area, where until the year of 1984, a Redaelli steelworks factory stood, is necessary.
In 2005, at Urbanpromo, Risanamento Spa presented the Montecity-Santa Giulia "city in a city" project. The project anticipated the development of two zones: one in the South, primarily for social housing, which we show through our photo-reports, and one in the North, a more elegant proposal from the Foster studio that was erased from the plans during construction.
Along with this loss, major shops, cinemas, congress halls, the tram and almost all of the services that made this area autonomous with Milan have disappeared. The justification given was the housing crisis that hit Italy in 2008. We, on the other hand, also remember the arrests following the discovery of corruption in businesses including that of entrepeneur Giuseppe Grossi, Rosanna Gariboldi, wife of the regional councellor of Lombardy Gian Carlo Abelli and the illegal waste disposal grounds containing copious amounts of pollutant and toxic waste - right under the common areas - that have now been seized by local authorities.
It has been reported that a clearance of the terrain, that lies beneath the nursery, is planned for May. Will they finally get round to doing it?
By Giordana Gagliardini
