Long Absence, Little Progress

Rome lost the bid to host Expo 2030. Surprise. Did anyone really think it was a good idea to host a world event in a city so poorly managed and maintained?

Instead the choice went to Riyadh Saudi Arabia. I see Mayor Roberto Gualtieri is attending an event tomorrow called “Cities for Life; against the death penalty” and he may not be able to resist a prod at Riyadh. It’s true, a world expo will be held in a country whose government beheads humans publicly, although far fewer than the 9 people killed daily on Italy’s roads.

I realized today that this blog had been abandoned, perhaps because my hopes at actually achieving a sustainable Rome have withered. Since last writing Rome has seen only declined on all counts. Illegality reigns supreme, public space has ceased to exist, automotive violence has reached a crescendo and urban vegetation is dying off rapidly. Rome definitely doesn’t work. If this sounds negative, I might soften it by pointing out that Rome is still the world’s most resilient city and Romans have a knack for shrugging off situations which would bring Americans or other Europeans to their breaking points. The hour spent waiting for a bus was at least passed in the company of amusing Romans and under a dramatic full moon peering up over the city scape.

But enough is enough. Recent trips to New York, Venice and Strasbourg reminded me that cities can work and there is no reason Rome cannot pull itself together; it lacks only the political will and courage.

New York is far denser than Rome and yet there are far fewer private cars on the street. Why? Because transit works, biking, walking and public transit are fast without cars in the way, and perhaps most importantly you can’t park for free in the city. If a Roman visitor to New York tried parking as they do at home — at a bus stop, on a crosswalk, or anywhere not designated as official paid parking with prices around $25/hour– they would go broke quickly between fines and cabs to reclaim their towed car. So the city has great public spaces open to everyone and expensive private parking structures. Rome is becoming the opposite; visitors are charged for entering the Pantheon which was always free but you can park for free in the pedestrian space outside and it is unlikely you’ll ever pay a fine.

In historic Venice they wouldn’t have that option, but they could count on the punctual arrival of vaporetti and walking small distances across town–distances impossible in cities which have been scaled to motor vehicles. I spent several days in Venice last month and each walk I took I rejoiced the freedom of just walking, not stopping to wait to cross a street, not detouring around big boxes set down on public space, not breathing in car exhaust. Returning to Rome was a shock: children being constantly admonished “watch out for the car”, dogs on leashes lest they run into the street (in Venice they know enough not to fall into canals), and people driving short distances that would be a pleasant stroll if not for all the cars and the damaged streets.

In Strasbourg everywhere I went was either car-free or zone 30. I rode the tram constantly with a cheap 3 day pass and never waited more than a few minutes. I never found it crowded or dirty. The digital info boards were accurate, announcing the exact arrival times which were always reasonable. The stops were sheltered from the elements, well-illuminated, and some even had seating, something I rarely see in Rome. Here it has become rare to find a bus stop in which cars haven’t parked, making it near impossible to board the bus.

So while waiting for the 870 bus which connects central Rome and the populous Monteverde neighborhood, a bus only scheduled every 25 minutes at rush hour which is absurd, I read about how disappointed city officials are that Rome was passed over for the next Expo. The former mayor, Virginia Raggi, who directed the expo committee, will probably take the blame, although had she been reelected and been able to finish what she started in 2017, I’m convinced Rome would be on much better footing and may have even earned the right to the expo.

Instead the administration of Rome today has achieved nothing and taken visible steps backwards. Parks like Villa Sciarra are locked today because of lack of maintenance (and large parts have been closed for years). Pedestrian spaces like Piazza Farnese have become illegal parking lots. Nearby, the planned park on Via Giulia is still an abandoned construction site, forcing pedestrians to cut through the private underground parking garage to reach the riverfront. Water fountains have stopped working throughout Rome, but minimarkets selling water in plastic bottles abound. Tourist destinations like the Colosseum are in the hands of commercial agencies that scalp the tickets, making it impossible to pay the legal price to enter. The dumpsters which were to have been replaced by a more sophisticated European waste management solution are still there but irrationally placed, often inaccessible, broken, overflowing and frequently a magnet for late night criminal junk deposits. Every morning my neighborhood awakes to find piles of mattresses, refrigerators and the like on the sidewalk.

Almost all these polemical observations above refer to illegal behavior. So you would think the police would be busy cracking down and collecting fines, bringing welcome funds to the city’s coffers. Not in Rome. Try pointing out violations to the municipal police and you will most likely be met with bored disinterest if not a more aggressive “mind your own business”. The police are busy but not enforcing the law. Their principal activities are officiating over accident reports or directing traffic at intersections in order to prevent traffic jams. They don’t even fine people who run red lights and get stuck in the middle of intersections; they merely try to help liberate the road to allow more cars through (yes, I see this every day). So they are busy helping the traffic flow faster, and then we are surprised that there are more accidents? Wouldn’t it make more sense for the local police to let the traffic get snarled and spend their time walking around the city fining illegally parked cars? Drivers would catch on to the fact they can no longer expect to find free parking; they would give up on driving into the city, which would soon mean fewer private cars on the road. In parallel, more people would seek out efficient transit, which would begin to run more smoothly as traffic is reduced. These new transit riders, from all walks of life like in other cities– not just poor non-voting immigrants and tourists– would become indignant when transit doesn’t work effectively and have the political will to improve it.

If only Rome’s mayor had thought like this three years ago when he decided to launch Rome’s candidacy for the expo 2030 the city might be in better straits and even have had a reasonable chance.