The New City. A ‘Smart’ event of Il Foglio

Using the adjective ‘smart’ in the Italian sense – that is, to describe everything, including the ice cream that used to be called ‘mottarello’ – when in English, to describe something that is intelligent, full of ideas and concepts, and fit for a purpose, we use ‘intelligent’, ‘smart’, on the other hand, stands for cunning, shrewd – something that smacks of a shortcut – and is a significant conceptual blunder, not just a lexical one. Especially if you say ‘smart city’ whilst actually thinking of a city that’s a tourist trap, or all about hit-and-run, rather than an ‘intelligent’ city that thinks deeply and with foresight about its future, its transport and its human boundaries. Forget ‘smart’ – let’s talk about ‘intelligent’ cities. Not a bad provocation, at an event dedicated to ‘Smart Cities’ – the event organised by Il Foglio, in the Sala delle Colonne at Banco Bpm in Milan, ‘Cosa c’è di nuovo in città? Le Smart City come laboratorio del futuro’. This intelligent observation was put forward by one of the event’s guests, the writer Gianni Biondillo, a Milanese who knows how to tell the story of his city without merely ‘skimming the surface’. In short, to discuss what’s new in cities, the future and the transformation of collective life, we also need a good dose of what we call ‘lateral thinking’ – a creative, non-formulaic way of looking at facts and problems. Fortunately for us – and, we believe, for Biondillo too – today’s event was brimming with lateral thinking, and it was in-depth – no skimming over the surface – and there was plenty of it. And it was multifaceted too.

We are in the midst of the transition to Artificial Intelligence (just as, some time ago, we were in the midst of the green transition – and there was plenty of skimming the surface going on back then), and AI has been the recurring theme of many presentations. In the field of knowledge and scholarship – speakers included Rectors Francesco Billari of Bocconi, Donatella Sciuto of the Politecnico di Milano, Marina Brambilla of the University of Milan, Anna Maria Fellegara, Vice-Rector of the Catholic University, Valentina Garavaglia of IULM, Giuliana Mattiazzo, Vice-Rector of the Polytechnic of Turin, and Giovanni Cannata of Mercatorum University: we will be publishing their speeches in the coming days in "Il Foglio" – knowledge as the key to transformation, but also to social integration and to attracting young "brains" who are all too often forced not only to leave, but to return to their better-equipped countries of origin. But also AI as an indispensable driver of economic development – this was discussed by Alvise Biffi, president of Assolombarda, which is increasingly committed to fostering the growth of an AI-based ecosystem for businesses (“but we need a simplified and efficient bureaucratic and regulatory framework”). Massimo Sertori, the Lombardy Regional Councillor for Energy Resources and the driving force behind Italy’s first law regulating data centres – the ‘engines’ without which AI cannot exist – also spoke on this topic. Paolo Citelli, who works at the highly innovative design studio Lombardini 22 on integrated design and urban planning based on new data collection and processing systems, also addressed the issue. But questions were also raised about the actual ‘sentiment’ (“‘for whom’ are we investing?”, asked Alessandra Ghisleri whilst analysing social data on cities) of those who experience our cities on a daily basis (or even our real or future ‘smart territories’, because ‘Italy is an urban country, not a country of metropolitan areas alone’, as Cannata pointed out) and on the steps to be taken so that ‘in ten years’ time, we can say that a city like Milan has truly become smart’, as Emmanuel Conte, Councillor for the Budget at Milan City Council, stated in his speech. Answer: “We will be smart if we ensure that Milan remains a city where people can live well regardless of their income: development and inclusion, productivity and liveability”. In short, from major systemic challenges to the practicality of everyday choices. There were many presentations during that eventful morning; it is impossible to cover them all here, but you can watch them in full on our website and summaries of some will be published in the coming days. ‘Smart’ is far from being a trivial or generic term; rather, it can encompass, under the banner of a morning of ideas, a wealth of in-depth insights, pointers for the future and the discovery of examples of excellence already in place. There is much that is new in the city.