lunedì 21 dicembre 2009

Ghost-houses in Italy


A recent police investigation has confirmed the "presence" of at least more than 1 ml ghost-houses in Italy. More than 500.000 of them have been discovered in the current year 2009. The larger part of these houses are the result of total construction abuses. The ghosts have been identified thanks to a confrontation between maps with the existing buildings and some air recognitions. From this, some anomalies emerged which often everyone knows (above all in small towns and villages) but noboby has never declared.

Just make a short walk in the countryside and in many rural areas in Italy one can see how easily can be to build a villa where before there were fields...

This is not only a problem of fiscal evasion. The issue is definitively wider. On the one hand all this confirms a total lack of a culture of the territory as economic, environmental and cultural resource. On the other hand it confirms once again that there are too many italians who too easily and too frequently violate any minimal rule at the base of the governance of the territory where they live and the quality of the landscape of the place around them.

Too often small municipalities prefer to "shut their eyes" and ignore what is happening because making these rules observed may become an umpopular policy eroding votes. Defending the territory, environment and landscape as well as the respect of the law may become something umpopular!

So, everyone feels free to do anything he/she wants: villas, countryhouses, pools, garages, chalets, wells etc. detroying and disarranging all, thus stressing landascapes and the countryside.

This cofirms also the enormous power focused on those local authorities devoted to construction licenses and governance: they may make controls, sanctions or avoid to do this.

A small advantage in the short run is obtained at the cost of huge disvantages in the long run in economic, environmental and social terms. And the final bill will be charged to local communities. As usual...

Nessun commento: