A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #24-26 - Against speculation and overdevelopment: Updates and reflections on the Bosco Ospizio in Reggio Emilia (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Since August 3rd, many citizens of Reggio Emilia-joined by supporters 
from other cities-have been maintaining a permanent protest camp and 
assembly to defend the Bosco Ospizio. This green space is under threat 
from the city administration and CONAD; their plan is to replace it with 
yet another supermarket, alongside facilities like a neighborhood 
library (which already exists) and a community health center-additions 
used by CONAD and the Municipality to give a positive veneer to the 
planned concrete sprawl.

This permanent protest did not emerge out of nowhere; for over two 
years, many people have been actively working to oppose this latest act 
of environmental destruction-a project of asphalt and concrete that 
further threatens an area already suffering from rising land consumption 
and increasingly unbearable temperatures.

In the last month, however, the issue has gained significant media 
attention.

Bulldozers have been turned back and construction delayed; despite new 
legal complaints filed by CONAD against those who stood between the 
machinery and the woods, the struggle has continued with growing 
strength and participation. Self-serving statements from the 
Municipality, the local health authority (AUSL), and other citizen 
groups favoring the project failed to deter the Bosco Ospizio assembly, 
which has persisted in its protest-doing so peacefully, colorfully, and 
imaginatively.

The growing number of activists and ordinary citizens involved in the 
protest-combined with the backing of academics and university students, 
including climatologist Luca Mercalli (from the University of Modena and 
Reggio) and other experts and scholars-forced both the municipal 
administration and CONAD itself to open a dialogue with the activists 
during the sweltering month of August. This happened-be it noted-only 
after CONAD filed a second complaint alleging the absurd crime of 
"private violence" against the participants of the protest. A similar 
complaint had already been filed last year; on September 2nd, it was 
dismissed by the Preliminary Investigations Judge (GIP) at the request 
of the public prosecutor's office itself, which evidently found not even 
a suspicion of unlawful conduct in the activists' actions. Yet, this 
speaks volumes about the company's strategy: to achieve its goals, it 
employs a combination of legal threats and hollow, generic rhetoric 
devoid of any real commitment.

Indeed, initial talks with the Municipality of Reggio Emilia came to 
nothing; the administration hid behind its usual mantras-"nothing can be 
done now" and "sooner or later a decision has to be made." Subsequently, 
a week ago-following boycott campaigns and leafleting outside their 
stores-CONAD was forced to yield to demands for a dialogue, something 
that had never taken place during the preceding two and a half years.

On Friday, August 28th, over 300 people gathered outside City Hall to 
await the two delegations. From 5:00 PM until late in the evening, the 
square was filled with speeches, songs, and a spirited atmosphere-along 
with banners, signs, and colors-as everyone waited for news from the 
ongoing discussions.

Initially, CONAD took a few days to evaluate the alternative proposals 
put forward by the Bosco Ospizio assembly. However, we are well aware of 
how corporations operate: after letting a few days pass to feign 
consideration, CONAD announced on September 3rd that it would not accept 
the assembly's proposals and intended to build yet another supermarket 
right there in Ospizio, on the land that is currently a green space. 
They did, however, declare themselves willing to fund the "regeneration 
of another green area at a location to be decided by the Municipality." 
So, take note: the plan is to eliminate an existing green area without 
even proposing the creation of a new one of equal size; instead, the aim 
is to "regenerate" a third site-which, logically speaking, must already 
exist to be regenerated in the first place. The net result for green 
space would therefore be negative, with over four hectares lost to the 
city-and, let us not forget, to the wildlife inhabiting the area-in 
exchange for essentially nothing.

Or rather, in exchange for the much-discussed library and community 
health center mentioned earlier. Two points are worth considering here: 
first, not all the "public" spaces would come at zero cost, contrary to 
the impression CONAD and the Municipality wish to convey. A significant 
portion would be leased to the Municipality for tens of thousands of 
euros annually (those who have seen the paperwork cite a figure of 
45,000, though without direct access to the documents, we can only 
report what has been made public-Author's Note). In short, the 
Municipality sold the land to CONAD; CONAD then builds on it and leases 
part of the property back to the Municipality. It is quite a convoluted 
loop, to say the least, and represents a considerable waste of public funds.

Another point concerns public service policy in general: here we have a 
local authority that, in order to provide services to the public, is 
forced to sell off public land at bargain prices and give private 
entities free rein over construction and investment. And we are talking 
about the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, not some tiny mountain village 
of five thousand inhabitants. This once again highlights the utter 
failure of institutions to ensure the well-being of the citizenry. The 
dismantling of public services in favor of privatization has been 
underway for decades; however, in recent years-exacerbated by 
skyrocketing military spending and the cost of numerous useless 
infrastructure projects-funding transfers to service-providing bodies 
have steadily declined. Let us not forget that the money in question 
comes from the taxes we pay-deducted from our paychecks and pensions-yet 
instead of being returned to us in the form of services, it goes toward 
financing wars and fattening corporate coffers.

By leaning into this kind of arrangement, the Municipality is 
essentially admitting its own inability to provide these services to its 
citizens. This is not even a true public-private partnership; rather, it 
involves a company pursuing profit goals while dictating urban planning 
policy to the Municipality. This situation is facilitated by 
Emilia-Romagna's regional planning laws, which-under the guise of 
"simplifying" procedures-actually favor corporate construction projects. 
Let us not forget that this law was enacted by a PD-led regional 
administration and is taking effect in a municipality where the PD holds 
the majority. The Right is not required to prioritize corporate 
interests over people and the environment.

Ultimately, one significant fact stands out: recent weeks have shown 
that a movement of people-refusing to see a forest vanish to make way 
for yet another supermarket-can shake the resolve of those who 
prioritize profit and capitalist market logic over the environment and 
the well-being of our communities and cities. It is not a victory. In 
light of the latest news, this is not yet a victory-not even the 
beginning of one. But it is a step in the right direction.

We trust that this marks the start of a grassroots, leaderless struggle. 
Its goal is not merely to save Bosco Ospizio, but to challenge the 
vision of a city defined by concrete, surveillance, and militarization-a 
vision championed by politicians and developers. We aim to see citizens 
take a leading role in urban policy: not by entering the institutions, 
but through open, permanent, horizontal assemblies and committees.

As we work toward this goal, we stand in support of the Bosco Ospizio 
committee.

J. Scaltriti

https://umanitanova.org/contro-speculazione-e-cementificazione-bosco-ospizio-di-reggio-emilia-aggiornamenti-e-considerazioni/
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