Urban regeneration and tax reform are Confcommercio’s allies to combat the desertification of shops which between 2012 and 2023 caused over 111 thousand retail shops and 24 thousand street trading activities to disappear with a notable impact on the lives of citizens.
The day of work was opened by institutional greetings from the President of Confcommercio Bari – Bat Vito D’Ingeo. For urban regeneration, Prof. Gianfranco Viesti, Professor of Applied Economics at the Department of Political Sciences of the University of Bari, and Paolo Testa, responsible for the urban planning and urban regeneration sector of the national Confcommercio, will speak. On the tax reform, Vincenzo De Luca, National Manager of the Tax Sector of Confcommercio, Luigi Lovecchio, Chartered Accountant, expert of “il Sole 24 ore” will speak.
Moderated by Mimmo Mazza, Director of the “Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno”. Confcommercio Bari-Bat has been engaged for several years in the planning and management of development projects of local commercial fabrics promoted by the Urban Trade Districts promoted by the Puglia Region: “We have started to develop skills and projects in the field of sustainable urban development in order to enhance the social and economic role of proximity activities in cities”, explained the president of Confcommercio Bari-Bat, Dr. Vito D’Ingeo.
“We have implemented – continues the president – the Cities project aimed at defining a core of policies, tools and initiatives to relaunch urban economies which can be achieved through collaboration between the Confcommercio System and the local administrations and contribute in decisive measure to combat commercial desertification”.
Gianfranco Viesti is professor of Applied Economics at the Department of Political Sciences of the University of Bari. He deals in particular with international, industrial and regional economics and related policies. Author of books and articles in magazines
scientific, for Laterza he has published among other things: Abolire il Mezzogiorno (2003); High Noon (2009); “The South lives on the shoulders of the Italy that produces”. False! (2013); The denied degree (2018); Centers and suburbs. Europe, Italy, Southern Italy from the 20th to the 21st century (2021); Against the secession of the rich. Regional autonomies and national unity (2023).
Paolo Testa, Head of the Urban Planning sector of the national Confcommercio, has also had experience as Head of the Studies and Research Area of the Anci, coordinating working groups and national projects of urban and social innovation. For over twenty years he has been involved in national policies for the management of change, urban regeneration and territorial cohesion. The interventions by Prof. Gianfranco Viesti and Dr. Paolo Testa, in particular, could constitute a sure stimulus for the local administrators and the boards of directors of the Urban Commercial Districts who are preparing to participate in the imminent IV DUC call promoted by the Puglia Region.
