The redevelopment of the suburbs, not only those on the outskirts of the city but also those within the centre, is a priority for the municipal administration of Napoli.
Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi discussed this topic during his speech at the Rimini Meeting, entitled "Living Longer, Living Better? Welfare at a Crossroads," focusing on the potential contribution of the Third Sector to the provision of public services.
"Redeveloping places is an essential function of public administrations because restoring urban decor, services, and the right to housing is fundamental," Manfredi stated.
He recalled how post-war Italy recovered thanks to two major plans: one for housing and one for schools, calling them "two crucial moments in building our democracy."
On the topic of housing, Manfredi emphasized: "Today we need a major plan for housing, a fundamental right, which requires public synergy but also a strong private presence.
The public sector alone can't do it, so it's important to mobilize private resources." He then added, "But a community social recovery project is also very important, where it's crucial to have a direction that unites the public and private collective project, and that the initiatives aren't just charitable.
Sometimes we think we need to give to charity, which is very important, but that's not what we need now.
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Manfredi explained that what is needed is "a social and community recovery project that brings together the private sector and numerous foundations.
For example, in Naples, we have many foundations investing in the city; we've gathered this huge commitment to build meeting places, public libraries, and healthcare facilities that bring together the private and public sectors."
He cited as an example the health center in the Ponticelli neighborhood, where a building provided by the municipality houses Emergency and general practitioners.
"There, we created a point of reference for a community that often doesn't even have the strength to seek healthcare. Because today, proximity is crucial: simply providing services isn't enough; we need to bring them directly to the people who need them.
"Often the large situations of marginalization that I see every day," added Manfredi, "are made up of people who don't even know what to ask for: they don't know that they can have access to public services, schools, assistance.
The outreach work done by the Church, lay communities, and associations is essential because they are the ones who bring these people rights they didn't even know existed. And this, I believe, is what we must build to create a better Italy."
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