Public works and consequences on the lives of citizens. From the Fisherman’s Bridge to the pump track – BisceglieLive.it

We receive and publish an interesting reflection by the Arch. Bartolo Di Pierro on the effect that decisions on territorial redevelopment interventions have on the life of the areas involved. Even a job well done and with laudable aims can lead to different consequences that politicians have the duty to evaluate.

Here is the full text of his reflection:

«I didn’t write anything about the wooden bridge, titled “to the fishermen”, which reconnected via dei Pescatori with via Prussiano. The agreeable words of Senator Francesco Boccia are enough for me who, when he saw the work, commented as follows: “The functional choice of connecting the historic center and the eastern coast, culture and the sea is excellent. I have to think about the aesthetic quality.” Well, we all need to think about it. In the meantime we focus our thoughts on the “pump track circuits” inaugurated just yesterday, in the presence of the cycling champion Francesco Moser, by the city authorities, in the San Pietro district.

The first questions that come to me spontaneously about the work are: is it the most appropriate work imaginable for a neighborhood that presents critical issues and social problems? Is it the wisest work to donate to a young population that already often confuses driving on a public road with racing or doing stunts on a reserved track? Is the acrobatic cycling destination the green destination most desired by the inhabitants of the San Pietro district? Are we really sure that our fellow citizens have the maturity to enjoy those undulating slopes with prudence and civility, without harming themselves or others?

It seems clear to me that due to the type of movement, whether cycling or otherwise, which will take place in that area, which causes the risk of collisions and accidents, in the event of undisciplined and non-compliant use, the constant presence of a guard is absolutely necessary protect the safety of users. Will the municipality of Bisceglie, which is already understaffed in the municipal police force, be able to guarantee this control service? At what cost to the community? Have voluntary associations already been identified that are available, as an alternative to the municipality, to guarantee this burdensome service free of charge or will the area be entrusted to organizations or non-profit organizations that will effectively privatize it, making 500 thousand euros of public funding exclusive and subject to payment?

The doubts I express about the appropriateness of this very recent work, I admit, are the result of a prejudice generated in me by a long perception. The prejudice is the following: I have the feeling that the temporal and priority planning of the city’s public works is not the result of a defined urban planning vision against which to choose compliant financing. It seems to me that the path of “addo cojo cojo” is being followed casually, that is, the choices of specific functional destinations of public urban areas are defined only by the external and casual availability of extra-municipal financing, without applying it to the financing availability , no political-strategic selection, by virtue of the weak and misinterpreted urban planning principle of adaptivity. It should be done as long as it is done, even if it is not exactly useful or suitable. It should be done because citizens want to see that something is being done. If it’s not the best it doesn’t matter, the citizens will then adapt.

I hope to be proven wrong, but I have the “prejudice” that the choice of priorities for public works to be carried out is not based on objective methods based on an analytical comparison of costs-benefits and management and maintenance costs of the work over time. I believe that choices are made either by political intuition or by opportunity for consensus.

The resulting result could be a waste of public resources for works that are not well thought out, disorganized in the context, not manageable, not maintainable and which deteriorate in a short time. I have many examples.

Fifteen years ago, in a meeting on the PUG, I argued with architect Giacomo Losapio, director of the Municipal Technical Office, that it makes no sense to plan further public works if we don’t have the economic resources to maintain them. He replied: “And what do we do? Don’t we do public works anymore just for maintenance reasons?” I accepted his answer, thinking that he was ultimately right.

Today, fifteen years later, with public debt at 140% of GDP, I can no longer accept his response from back then. Today more than ever, public works, for the economic good of the nation, must have undergone, during the planning phase, accurate analyzes of the economic returns and costs in the territory, beyond the immediate economic effects of their mere construction. It is a question that opens up to the more important issue of what is the wisest way to spend the PNRR resources. It is a question that would require, or would have required, extremely in-depth political, strategic and analytical reflection on what to do. Shared reflection that I don’t think existed. Yet it is the biggest chip we have left to bet on the gaming table of our children’s future.”