RAVE LIFE02 ENV/IT/000106 - The Green Ray of Novara
Overview
Background & policy context:
Novara is a medium-sized town of 100,000 inhabitants, located between Milan and Turin in northern Italy. The town was experiencing significant car use amongst its population, resulting in both air and noise pollution. The local government sought to develop ways of reducing the use of cars in the town. Citizens were to be directly targeted through an awareness raising campaign to promote a quality of life culture and discourage the use of cars. Specific measures would then look to increase the attractiveness of transport alternatives by creating a ‘slow mobility’ system. This would involve improved and increased provision of low-pollution transport, safe and protected routes for cyclists and pedestrians, computer timetables and the revision of urban planning tools. .
Objectives:
The project sought to develop cooperation between private and public organisations to create a complete and integrated local slow mobility system. This would be complemented by a strategy to discourage motor vehicle use all with the ultimate goal of reducing atmospheric and noise pollution in the area. It aimed to raise citizens’ awareness of the environmental damage of cars and instil an environmentally sensitive quality of life culture through territorial marketing. This would improve the use of public green spaces and public transport and reduce the town’s ecological footprint. It targeted the satisfaction of the real needs of local people in terms of public services, commerce and quality of life. A key objective of the project was to develop a strategic environmental assessment of urban investment tools and programmes. This would inform the future development of urban planning by allowing for much greater consideration of sustainable development concerns. It would be easily transferable for use in other places.
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