OECD Territorial Reviews OECD Territorial Reviews: Venice, Italy 2010

This Review of Venice, Italy, offers a comprehensive assessment of the city-regions economy and the extent to which its land use, labour market and environmental policies embrace a metropolitan vision. A new understanding of the provinces of Padua, Treviso and Venice as an interconnected city-region of 2.6 million people guides this study. Venice ranks as among the most dynamic and productive city-regions in the OECD, with high employment levels and growth rates. Though it has thrived on a model of small firms and industrial clusters, it is undergoing a deep economic transformation. Venice confronts growing environmental challenges as a result of rising traffic congestion and costly infrastructure pressures, exacerbated by sprawl. Demographics are also changing, due to ageing inhabitants, immigrant settlement and the rapid depopulation of the historic city of Venice. This report offers a comparative analysis of these issues, utilising the OECDs metropolitan database to benchmark productivity and growth. It draws on regional economics, urban planning, transportation studies and hydrology to throw light on the changes within the city-region. In light of planned inter-city rail extensions, the Review calls for programmes to increase economic synergies between Venice and its neighbours. It evaluates key tools for promoting economic growth and metropolitan governance and proposes enhanced co-ordination of land use policies, additional business development services for small and medium-sized businesses, and the enlargement of university-linked innovation. Given frequent flooding, the report appraises the quality of metropolitan water governance and Venices potential to become a powerful reference for climate change adaptation. Table of Content :Assessment and recommendationsChapter 1. Towards a resilient and integrated metropolitan economyChapter 2. Towards a competitive city-regionChapter 3. Effective water governance: from instability to resilience-Annex 3.A1. The institutional framework for governing Venice and the Lagoon-Annex 3.A2. Principal supporting institutions engaged in decision support and research activities for protecting Venice and the LagoonChapter 4. Metropolitan governance: a goal in search of a model Foreword......Page p0005.djvu Acknowledgements......Page p0006.djvu Table of contents......Page p0009.djvu Assessment and recommendations......Page p0013.djvu Developing innovation capacity and enhancing labour market inclusion......Page p0019.djvu Connecting Venice, Padua and Treviso......Page p0023.djvu Calibrating economic and spatial policy to safeguard the environment......Page p0024.djvu Metropolitanise an economic and environmental agenda......Page p0025.djvu Towards a resilient and integrated metropolitan economy......Page p0029.djvu Introduction......Page p0030.djvu The emergence of a city-region......Page p0031.djvu Economic trends......Page p0039.djvu Is the model resilient to the transformational changes taking place?......Page p0064.djvu Conclusion: towards a resilient and integrated metropolitan economy......Page p0091.djvu Notes......Page p0094.djvu Bibliography......Page p0099.djvu Towards a competitive city-region......Page p0105.djvu Towards a strategic vision for a metropolitan area......Page p0106.djvu Addressing the economic base in the context of a new regional economic scenario......Page p0107.djvu Preparing the labour force for the twenty-first century......Page p0124.djvu Connecting Venice, Treviso and Padua: overcoming urban sprawl and improving mobility......Page p0131.djvu Notes......Page p0138.djvu Bibliography......Page p0145.djvu Effective water governance: from instability to resilience......Page p0149.djvu Water: a critical resource of the Venice city-region......Page p0150.djvu Water resources in the Venice city-region......Page p0153.djvu The impact of climate change and the need for adaptation......Page p0158.djvu The institutional framework of water governance......Page p0162.djvu Urban water governance in the Venice city-region: critical challenges......Page p0168.djvu Strategies and tools for improving water governance......Page p0173.djvu Recommendations for improved urban water governance in the Venice city-region......Page p0179.djvu Notes......Page p0182.djvu Bibliography......Page p0186.djvu Annex 3.A1. The institutional framework for governing Venice and the Lagoon......Page p0189.djvu Annex 3.A2. Principal supporting institutions engaged in decision support and research activities for protecting Venice and the Lagoon......Page p0192.djvu Metropolitan governance: a goal in search of a model......Page p0197.djvu The Venice city-region in the Italian governance framework......Page p0199.djvu Strategic planning for a polycentric metropolitan region......Page p0202.djvu Vertical co-ordination......Page p0205.djvu Horizontal co-operation......Page p0207.djvu Towards a metropolitan government?......Page p0217.djvu Sub-national finance issues......Page p0218.djvu Participatory governance and civic engagement......Page p0221.djvu Towards improved multi-level governance......Page p0225.djvu Notes......Page p0228.djvu Bibliography......Page p0231.djvu This review offers a comprehensive assessment of the city-region's economy and the extent to which its land use, labor market and environmental policies embrace a metropolitan vision. A new understanding of the provinces of Padua, Treviso and Venice as an interconnected city-region of 2.6 million people guides this study. Venice ranks as among the most dynamic and productive city-regions in the OECD, with high employment levels and growth rates. Though it has thrived on a model of small firms and industrial clusters, it is undergoing a deep economic transformation. Venice confronts growing environmental challenges as a result of rising traffic congestion and costly infrastructure pressures, exacerbated by sprawl. Demographics are also changing, due to aging inhabitants, immigrant settlement and the rapid depopulation of the historic city. This report offers a comparative analysis of these issues, utilizing the OECD's metropolitan database to benchmark productivity and growth, drawing on regional economics, urban planning, transportation studies and hydrology to throw light on the changes. In light of planned inter-city rail extensions, the review calls for programs to increase economic synergies between Venice and its neighbors. It evaluates key tools for promoting economic growth and metropolitan governance and proposes enhanced coordination of land use policies, additional business development services for small and medium-sized businesses, and the enlargement of university-linked innovation. Given frequent flooding, the report appraises the quality of metropolitan water governance and Venice's potential to become a powerful reference for climate change adaptation.--Publisher's description This publication finds that the Toronto region is one of the chief economic powerhouses of Canada, generating almost one-fifth of national GDP and 45% of Ontario's GDP. The region is home to 40% of Canada's business headquarters and is a main manufacturing hub, with major automotive, biomedical and electronics companies. Toronto is also one of the most diverse metropolitan regions in the world: half of its population is foreign born and it hosted 40% of all immigrants to Canada during 2001-2006. Nevertheless, the region's current economic development model is under pressure and its economic performance has been mixed in recent years. From 1995 to 2005, GDP per capita and GDP growth rates were below the Canadian average while its annual economic and labor productivity growth were lower than the average for OECD metropolitan regions. During this period, population growth boosted demand in the construction, sales and retail, professional and financial services sectors. However, the recent decline in the area's manufacturing jobs has illustrated the structural difficulties of some traditionally strong areas, such as the automotive and electronics industries. This review proposes a new sustainable competitiveness agenda to enhance productivity, focusing on innovation, cultural diversity and infrastructure, as well as on green policies. To implement such an agenda, the review proposes improving the current governance framework by intensifying strategic planning at the level of the Toronto region.--Publisher's description