Italy

The “San Benedetto del Tronto” Local Workshop dealt with the Sant’Antonio neighborhood in San Benedetto del Tronto, a city of 45,000 inhabitants on the Adriatic coast, in the Marche Region. 7000 inhabitants live this district characterized by a flat area facing the sea, with medium and high population density with mixed functions (office, residential, tourist, commercial). The neighborhood is also characterized by a low-density residential hilly area, to the west of the SS16 state road which runs along the entire Adriatic coast. It houses numerous facilities on an urban scale: the hospital, a private clinic, a nursing home (RSA); numerous Schools; the Town Hall and the Municipal Library. It is a lively district, with numerous commercial activities that have their privileged location in Viale De Gasperi and along some transversal axes. The traffic is chaotic, the district is in fact divided into sections by the urban and territorial crossing mobility (the railway, the seafront, Viale De Gasperi, the SS16); pedestrian and bicycle mobility is scarce, with the exception of the waterfront. Not all urban planning forecasts have been implemented over time: there are some empty areas of private property; there is an area near the railway that houses a power station serving the railway that will have to be decommissioned. There are some parks that are very popular with the local population. The local community is very active, there is a neighborhood committee that promotes opportunities to get together throughout the year. In summer, due to the important tourist flow (San Benedetto is one of the most popular seaside city of the Region for tourism), the lack of parking and traffic congestion become unsustainable. In the past, the district was affected by numerous flood damages, also due to the presence, on the northern edge, of the Torrente Albula. In recent years following some interventions on the sewage infrastructure, the problem has decreased, with the exception of the underpasses. The municipality has a climate mitigation plan and a joint SECAP plan is also in the process of being approved. Traffic congestion, lack of parking and poor care of public spaces (bumpy sidewalks, poor public lighting), poor connection between green areas and meeting spaces are among the main problems of the neighborhood.