Reggio Emilia. Since the morning of May 1st, the former polyclinics in via Monte San Michele 8 have been occupied by Lab Aq16 activists. The mobilization took the name of “Sold Out!” and includes some events open to the public: today, at 6.30 pm, an assembly will be held on the right to the city and to living. At 8pm there will be a dialogue with the Cheap collective and the presentation of the book: “Disobey with generosity”.
«A public space, abandoned and auctioned on the market, comes back to life and is returned to the city – explain the activists of Lab Aq16 -. Faced with the incessant sell-off of public assets for the benefit of real estate speculation, we have decided to make a break, taking the auction hammer into our own hands, to dictate the terms of how spaces can and must be adapted to live an inclusive and sustainable”.
This is a temporary occupation, without a precise deadline and could last until next week, when the auction will be held. «In Reggio Emilia – continue the activists – while the rhetoric of urban regeneration attracts private individuals and investors, housing insecurity and social exclusion has increased».
The leaders of Sic!, Sinistra in support the occupation Municipality for Massari mayor, Federica Zambelli and Cosimo Pederzoli: «A May 1st bathed in rain, but brought to life by some activists for the right to the city who symbolically returned to the community a place in the historic center to which many people from Reggio are historically linked, the former polyclinics Local health authority in via Monte San Michele 8. In a historical era in which so much public real estate is being sold, this gesture aims to demonstrate that the basic needs of the population: emergency homes, public health places, clinics, spaces for student aggregation needs and youth can become reality by enhancing the existing. A reflection opened by our young people, on the day of us workers, which we intend to incorporate and bring into the debate of the electoral campaign for the administrative elections in June – add the two candidates -. This building must be taken over by the municipal administration and transformed into a community place with spaces dedicated to living, a true emergency of our times.”
The management of the AUSL Irccs, owner of the property, also intervenes in the occupation: the AUSL has filed a complaint and recalls that the building «has been put up for sale, through public auction, and that the proceeds will contribute to the financing for the construction of the Mire pavilion, work on which is underway. The Municipality’s Pru (Urban Recovery Programme) envisages that the property is destined to become a multi-purpose, residential, including affiliated, services and tertiary area. The services that were housed in via Monte San Michele have all been relocated to community houses, serving the citizens. Their transfer became necessary because the building in via Monte San Michele needed significant maintenance interventions to guarantee adequate safety standards for the workers and citizens who frequented it. Please remember that the Community Houses are progressively increasing, in addition to the North Community House and the expansion of the West, the East Community House and the Community House will be built which will be located in the former Cpa building in Viale Risorgimento. For these reasons the company, which has filed a complaint about the occupation with the police, appeals for the premises to be released immediately, as they are not currently in safe conditions (among other things, without water and electricity and therefore completely unusable)” . L
