Abstract
Italy is characterized by a peculiar situation, in which the retail sector crisis has been driven by the joint action of market saturation, horizontal competition and format obsolescence. These factors affect both suburban malls and urban retail systems, and impose that public administrations set up a governance framework in order to support existing activities and provide opportunities for vacant spaces and big boxes. This chapter describes the process of recognition of retail weakening, and introduces a set of answers promoted by local authorities. By the example of some studies and actions developed for the Lombardy and Veneto Regions, as well as for single municipalities, this section summarizes the integrated methodology implemented within a number of recent research studies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
In 2010, the Aedes real estate was bought over by Risanamento through an economic transaction worth around €89 million. In 2011, the building was purchased by Italease, controlled by Gruppo Banco Popolare, for nearly €75 million, which held it in its own real estate portfolio until 2016.
- 2.
Hita 1 is a real estate fund reserved to professional investors, orientated towards the purchase of value added real estate properties in Italy (real estate properties to be transformed and valorised).
- 3.
The extension of the incentive envisaged for the localization of retail services in favour of the historic town centre (“nucleus of ancient formation”) and the limited traffic zone called “Cerchia dei Bastioni” (an area targeted by congestion charge), in consonance with the “general urban traffic Plan”, has occasioned the annulment of the private parking endowment requested from the new retail structure, being settled in a limited traffic zone without time limitations. The monetization of the surface for public parking areas accordingly falls under those pertaining to the failure of selling areas for services .
- 4.
Asset management company for the alternative closed-end real estate fund called “Pacific 1” reserved to institutional investors.
- 5.
The escalator represents one of the “architectural elements” (the topic of the XIV international exhibition of architecture run by a Rem Koolhaas in 2014 at the Venice Biennial Festival titled “Fundamentals”) that recur in the interventions and in the studies conducted by the author at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (Koolhaas et al. 2001).
- 6.
To give an example, the Lombardy Region in 2012 adopted, as reference for the definition of quality standards in managing the Districts , the Quality Mark (QM) certification path elaborated by the Tocema Europe association (Town Center Management). To obtain recognition, candidates filled out a questionnaire that identified a series of basic standards the district had to prove to possess (self-certifying conformity with a required parameter and producing adequate supporting documents) divided into 3 categories: (1) partnership and operators (2) vision and strategy (3) actions implemented, assessment and proactivity.
- 7.
Consorzio Brescia Centro was founded in 2006 as a non-profit organisation addressed and devoted to the problems concerning the coordination, mutual enhancement and collaboration between retail activities in the historic town centre of Brescia, within the perimeter of the Veneto walls.
- 8.
Format rivisited and accompanied in 2017 by the Municipality of Bolzano by the project headed “Store again” from the shop sharing capable of building synergies and complementarity between different subjects within a single shared retail space.
References
Antoci, R., & Carena, S. (2013). Demalling: un tema emergente nelle politiche di governo del territorio. Principi insediativi, integrazioni normative e proposte progettuali normative per l’asse Milano-Malpensa, tesi di laurea magistrale in Pianificazione Urbana e Politiche Territoriali, Scuola di Architettura e Società, Politecnico di Milano.
Bruzzese, A., & Tamini, L. (2014). Servizi commerciali e produzioni creative. Sei itinerari nella Milano che cambia. Milano: Bruno Mondadori.
Cavoto, G., & Limonta, G. (2014). The demalling process in Italy. Lusofona Journal of Architecture and Education, 65–84.
Confcommercio. (2017). Demografia di impresa nei centri storici italiani. Roma: Ufficio Studi Confcommercio.
Confesercenti. (2013). Indagine sulla desertificazione commerciale. Roma: Confesercenti.
Dal Co, F., Koolhass, R., & Molteni, E. (2016). Il Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venezia, OMA. Il restauro e il riuso di un monumento veneziano. Milano: Electa.
Éupolis Lombardia. (2015). Analisi delle criticità e delle opportunità di sviluppo del fenomeno della dismissione commerciale nell’ottica dell’attrattività urbana, Rapporto di ricerca, Milano.
Fontana, G. (2016). noVACANCY. Politiche attive per la rigenerazione urbana: indirizzi progettuali per il riuso delle dismissioni commerciali, tesi di laurea magistrale in Architettura, Scuola di Architettura Urbanistica Ingegneria delle costruzioni, Politecnico di Milano.
Guaiti, A. (2013). Dismissioni come occasione di centralità urbana: ex Garage Traversi e Distretto Quadrilatero della Moda a Milano (tesi di laurea magistrale in Architettura) Scuola di Architettura e Società, Politecnico di Milano.
Koolhaas, R., Leong, S. T., Inaba, J., & Chung, C. J. (2001). Harvard design school guide to shopping. Taschen: Köln.
Indis Unioncamere. (2013). Rivitalizzazione economica e rigenerazione urbana. Sviluppo di percorsi programmatici e progettuali per le reti cittadine e per le imprese del commercio e dei servizi, Roma: Copygraph.
Inti, I., Cantaluppi, G., & Persichino, M. (Ed.). (2014). Temporiuso. Manuale per il riuso temporaneo di spazi in abbandono, Milano, Altra Economia.
Negrini, S. (2017). Riuso e rigenerazione urbana: il dismesso diventa ospitale. Proposte progettuali per una nuova ricettività milanese (tesi di laurea in Scienze dell’Architettura). Scuola di Architettura Urbanistica Ingegneria delle costruzioni, Politecnico di Milano.
Pellegrini, L., & Zanderighi, L. (2013). Il sistema distributivo italiano. Dalla regolazione al mercato, Bologna, il Mulino.
Tamburlin, V. S. (2017), Il recupero di grandi contenitori dismessi come opportunità per nuove centralità urbane. Una proposta progettuale a Udine (tesi di laurea magistrale in Architettura). Scuola di Architettura Urbanistica Ingegneria delle costruzioni, Politecnico di Milano.
Tamini, L. (2013), Deadmalls e ghostboxes. La dismissione commerciale negli Stati Uniti e in Italia: stato dell’arte e scenari progettuali. AUDIS Associazione Aree Urbane Dismesse.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Milan: former garage Traversi, Via Bagutta
Specific project features | Implementing subject and role | Type of action | Policy innovation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Action | Direct incentives | Indirect incentives | ||
Functional reuse and building restructuring without demolition of a large divested container located in the historic town centre | Public/private | Public protection: Building declared to be of historic- artistic interest Attention-seeking behaviour by the public regulator and by the private operator in compensatory terms | – For the medium-size retail structure scenario: an endowment of private parking areas not required (for localisation within the scope of limited traffic zones) – For the large-size retail structure scenario: the total monetization of parking areas required by the regional legislation in force is envisaged (200% slp) | Use of the deduction of planning fees for works of redevelopment of another central urban context (direct realisation of a covered swimming pool with annexed servizices) as guarantee of percentage part of territorial endowment | Rendering of two transformative scenarios Use of the total monetization of the parking area endowment required for large-size retail structures , mainly devoted to the enhancement of the mobility system and the existing parking areas |
Venezia: Fondaco dei Tedeschi, San Marco district
Specific project features | Implementing subject and role | Type of action | Policy innovation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Action | Direct incentives | Indirect incentives | ||
Project of redevelopment and re-functionalisation of a large divested container located in the historic town centre | Public/private | Leading role played by the public subject with an investigative and evaluative role of the commission and the technical-scientific committee established at the ministry of cultural heritage and activities and tourism | Permit to build in derogation from the urban planning instrumentation in force on grounds of public interest, in compliance with the landscape and historical-artistic constraints | Issue of retail authorisation for large retail structure directly from the municipal Suap (one-stop business advisory centre) for localisation in the historic town centre (cf. Regional Law Veneto 50/2012, Articles 19.4, 21.5) | Public use of part of the retail structure Format integrated with cultural and creative productions (annual scheduling) |
Pioltello (Milan)
Specific project features | Implementing subject and role | Type of action | Policy innovation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Action | Direct incentives | Indirect incentives | ||
Closing as a result of relocation of the market context Town planning redevelopment Unitary and agreed management | Public | Publicly owned Responsibility of public body | Regulatory : introduction of a new urban use category Awarded surface rights to new public type services and activities | Contractual type between public bodies and private businesses | Introduction of a new service function for the community Incentive mechanism for energy efficiency in the redevelopment of the abandoned building |
Castellanza (Varese)
Specific project features | Implementing subject and role | Type of action | Policy innovation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Action | Direct incentives | Indirect incentives | ||
Closing as a result of relocation of the market context Retail valuation (new type of non food based sale and supply activities) | Mixed | Responsibility and decisions of public body | Regulatory : retail use confirmed Fixed ceiling rent | Economic : Public auction to identify subjects willing to rent the building | Activation of the public auction method to reassign economic value to an abandoned building Introduction of a new functional mix Fixed ceiling rent established for the re-use of abandoned building |
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tamini, L. (2018). What Future for Vacant Retail Spaces? Recent Experiences in Italy. In: Re-activation of Vacant Retail Spaces. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70872-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70872-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70871-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70872-0
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)