We receive and publish a note signed by the former mayor of Andria, Vincenzo Caldarone:
«Andria has a crowding of small commercial businesses, among the resident population, more than double the value of Puglia, and more than triple the national average. All due to the spread of small neighborhood businesses. This is stated in the Trade Plan approved by the City Council, but without any indication of what to do. Let’s see what it could mean:
- Given the same spending capacity of residents, small businesses have a much lower income than other areas
- Overall fixed investments (properties, equipment, inventories) are disproportionate and reduce profitability even further
- Employee incomes are therefore compressed and lower than other territories
- The spread of businesses constitutes one of the problematic causes for traffic, the environment and air pollution
Naturally, it is unthinkable to eliminate shops with the stroke of a pen or a resolution. Economic freedom cannot be touched. But we must ask ourselves what to do, first of all for the commercial operators, then for the physical and environmental structure of the city. You could, for example:
- Encourage aggregated commercial activity centers and multifunctional places
- The specialization of streets or areas by product categories
- Address a specialization of the city network that also acts as an attractor for consumers from other cities
- Guide urban planning rules for locations and other interventions that experts may suggest.
Except that this Plan indicates the numbers and, in the version corrected by the Department, introduces the first timid responses, which were missing in the original version. For the city, however, it is no longer time for timid responses. The same trade plan indicates an index of aging and depopulation of the city that causes fear.
As with tourism, the regeneration of the urban fabric, the economy, digitalisation, the challenge of the Special Economic Zone, social policies, finance and the governance capacity of the Municipality, we must take the bull by the horns and act immediately. It seems to me that too many times only the short, very short period and interest are discussed.
After the enormous efforts of financial and operational recovery, it is time for the city to look up and, thinking about profound actions, begin to change its present
We hope that the discussion in the city and in the Council for the Trade Plan will address the problems with the intensity that the city needs”.
