Bologna is divided on the initiative that the City Council has put in place against theheat emergency: last July 1, Palazzo d’Accursio in fact announced the purchase of more than one hundred trees (about 160 in all) to be installed in the squares of the historic center to increase the areas of shade. The saplings, potted nursery plants, have begun to appear for Bologna’s squares since yesterday: the first ones were placed yesterday in Piazza Nettuno (66 trees), and others will arrive in the coming hours in Piazza Re Enzo, Piazza Galvani, Piazza della Mercanzia, Piazza del Francia, and Piazza De Celestini. Some may also be put in Via Rizzoli. The hundred saplings (among the essences chosen are osmanthus, privet, Freeman’s maple, field maple, and hornbeam) have a trunk circumference of about 20-25 centimeters and a height of up to 4-5 meters. Cost of the operation: 128 thousand euros.
The Municipality’s initiative is part of a series of interventions and actions that, according to the Palazzo d’Accursio, include the removal of concrete and asphalt for more than 100 thousand square meters between former Ravone and former Casaralta, widespread greening interventions in the historic center (2 million euros) and outside the historic center (1.5 million euros), creation of a new public park and protection of valuable green areas in the Lazzaretto compartment area (2.45 million euros) and the creation of new wooded areas (1.4 million euros). These are all interventions that are part of “Bologna Verde,” the overall program of interventions and actions for the greening of the city.
“Potted trees,” said Mayor Matteo Lepore (Pd), “do not solve the climate crisis, but they help people live better in public spaces. It is not the only policy we adopt, but the choice to place 100 trees in the historic center for this summer has this goal. After the summer is over, the trees that we will take care of with the necessary water will be planted in school gardens. As well as other trees will be permanently planted in the city everywhere. From this point of view, it is clear that an Italian historic center represents a complexity at various levels of protection, but a necessary challenge for the benefit of residents and visitors.”
However, the initiative has been met with criticism, both from citizens and opposition figures. Photographs, posted yesterday on the municipality’s Instagram profile showing the first arrivals of the seedlings, have attracted hundreds of comments, many of them negative. There are those who call the municipality’s operation “greenwashing” (“bushes that give no refreshment to citizens and no kind of counterbalance to the heat emergency, and also require a lot of maintenance and use of water”, says one user), those who observe that these are “potted trees that don’t provide shade and don’t mitigate anything, passed off as a solution to the heat,” those who feel compassion for the trees (“it tugs at my heartstrings to see these poor skinny shrubs that calling them trees is a field promotion”), those who call on the municipality to “create green islands that last all year long” and upgrade city parks, those who instead point to theirony (“I already feel chilly, I’m going to put on my jacket”), and those who recall that a similar initiative last year did not bear much fruit (“I hope they don’t end up like the ones that were put in Scaravilli Square a few years ago: after a month they were almost all dead. These are certainly not ideal conditions for a plant.”).
Bologna MEP Stefano Cavedagna (FdI) comes down hard, calling this initiative “a clown show that serves no purpose.” “These saplings grown in greenhouses, put in makeshift pots and without a proper irrigation system, will suffer and die,” he says. “They are not able to mitigate the heat. You need trees of at least 20 feet to lower the temperature. This is yet another green paint job in a city that suffers degradation and where trees are being cut down to make room for the streetcar.” He is echoed by League group leader in the city council, Matteo Di Benedetto: “This is greenwashing. We have proposed as an alternative the creation of real permanent green areas in five squares, with permeable soil and rooted trees. If the 24-month trial is successful, we can extend the model to the entire downtown.”
The hope, however, is that the saplings will be able to survive the hot Bolognese summer to meet their destination: the City Council, in fact, has let it be known that they will be planted in the school gardens of the city’s kindergartens and preschools.
 |
| Bologna, tree nursery trees in squares against heat emergency. Criticism abounds |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
