<
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-11-26/turin-italy-s-motor-city-is-making-room-for-bikes-and-transit>
"If Detroit means “Motor City” to Americans, Turin carries a comparable
connotation for Italians. As the home of Fiat, the Piedmontese city of 850,000
has been the national hub for vehicle manufacturing for more than a century.
And like Detroit, Turin has been rocked by the decline of its auto factories
over recent decades.
But cars no longer define Turin like they once did. Consider Fiat’s expansive
Lingotto factory, the biggest auto production facility in Europe a century ago.
Half a kilometer long and five stories tall, the massive modernist structure
dominates its neighborhood south of the city’s historic center.
During a recent trip to Turin, I rode the city’s metro line to the Lingotto
station — opened just 13 years ago — and found a building transformed. The
complex was converted into shopping and event space after car production ceased
in the early 1980s, and its interior is now lined with shops and restaurants; a
central area featured a play zone where toddlers steered toy cars as their
parents trotted alongside. I then strolled to Lingotto’s two conjoined museums,
one celebrating the history of Fiat and the other showcasing its founding
family’s art collection, with works by Matisse, Picasso and Renoir. After
perusing the exhibits I took an elevator to the roof, where an old test track
was turned into an urban garden.
Turin’s evolution extends far beyond Lingotto. Today, Italy’s car city is
crisscrossed by 80 bus routes, eight tram lines, 22 subway stations, and 258
kilometers of bike lanes for those choosing not to drive. Some 95% of Turin
residents now live within 300 meters (0.2 miles) of a transit stop. According
to a 2020 city report, fewer than half of local trips happen in a car.
Still, Turin’s automotive legacy is hard to miss. When I visited in September,
major streets were draped with advertisements promoting an upcoming car show
that would take over much of the historic center (and result in 12 injuries
when a sports car veered into a crowd). Prior to Covid, Turin had the highest
rate of car ownership in Italy. Although local officials publicly embrace
sustainable transportation, they have refrained from removing parking spots en
masse, a strategy adopted in cities like Milan and Paris. Without a car, travel
outside the city center can be a challenge.
Turin is no longer a city synonymous with four-wheeled machines. But the
automobile’s shadow is a long one."
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/280-murderbot/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
