Towards a resilient and integrated metropolitan economy

Abstract

Through a global comparative framework, Chapter 1 assesses the competitiveness of the Venice city-region, defined as the totality of the provinces of Venice, Padua, and Treviso along with the 550 square-kilometre Venice Lagoon. A historical section reviews how the Venice city-region has evolved towards a polynodal area composed of a series of connected small towns, rural areas and the cities of Padua, Treviso and Venice. Commuting flow data is presented along with data on the spatial dimensions of economic relationships, infrastructure, ecology and political geography in the city-region. Metropolitan economic trends are reviewed and benchmarked, including GDP per capita, labour productivity growth, participation rates, patenting, employment and unemployment rates. Demographic changes are also assessed: Chapter 1 reveals how rising life expectancy, low fertility and an early pension age have increased the dependency of seniors on the working-age population. Immigration data are presented, which attest to a steady rise. Such changes are occuring amidst a profound economic re-organisation in Veneto through a shift towards highly knowledge-intensive products and a growth in commuting within the Venice city-region. Infrastructure deficits are highlighted and underlie constraints in the mobility of the regional labour force and the consolidation of metropolitan-wide inter-firm linkages. Finally, the chapter assesses the environmental concerns stemming from Venice’s unique combination of hydrological vulnerability, urban sprawl and heavy industry. Metropolitan resiliency would benefit from an integrated approach involving economic, environmental and governance contributions.