The participatory process allowed for the sharing and definition of intervention actions with the city for each area of the Green Cities Agreement.
The municipality of Arezzo is among the first cities in Italy to join the Green City Agreement (GCA) in 2021, a political pact to make European cities greener, cleaner, and healthier. It commits to addressing five major environmental challenges, linked to five main themes: air, water, nature and biodiversity, waste and the circular economy, and noise.
The closing meeting of the participatory process aimed to define the action plan for the green city of 2030 within the framework of the European Green City Accord (GCA) initiative and the European LIFE GreenMe5 project, of which the City of Arezzo is a beneficiary partner.
The participatory process allowed for the sharing and definition of intervention actions with the city for each area of the Green City Agreement: Air Quality, Clean and Protected Water, Biodiversity, Parks and Green Areas, Noise, and the Circular Economy. During the meeting, the activities carried out and the results of the process stages were presented. The inaugural meeting on April 3rd provided all participants with basic information, also contained in an introductory document, and provided an initial brainstorming session on current and/or perceived critical problems and the actions to be implemented accordingly.
From April to June, six thematic meetings were held, focusing on air quality and noise, nature and biodiversity, and water, and finally, waste and the circular economy. During these meetings, cognitive analyses and proposals were deepened, and a total of nearly 40 actions to improve environmental quality in Arezzo were discussed. This is a valuable core of proposals, explained and tested according to participants' preferences, and from which the City Council can begin to develop a Municipal Action Plan.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the main public bodies and research institutes dealing with various forms of environmental issues, representatives from the education sector, various associations (including WWF, Legambiente, and Fiab), businesses, self-employed individuals, and ordinary citizens.
"This participatory project demonstrates how important citizen involvement is for issues related to development and environmental sustainability, and has led to interesting proposals for implementing projects and actions that are binding on the region. I thank the offices that worked with commitment and professionalism to create this project and all those who contributed," said Councilor Marco Sacchetti.