Approfondimento

Governet Project - Work Package n. 2

Case study area: periurban area of Mestre (Italy)

Authors: Luca Ciresola, Oreste Del Re, Giuliano Zanon
COSES - Consorzio per la Ricerca e la Formazione
August 2004

Translation by Equa Trading Coop S.c.a.r.l, Mestre - Venezia

Overview of the area

Surface
Mestre's urban periphery extends over more than 964.06 km², making up 39% of provincial Venetian territory. This includes the body of lagoon waters of the area in question. From an administrative standpoint, the area is composed of 20 municipalities, all belonging to the Province of Venice. In this paper, the municipalities will be divided into three sections. The most eastern section, known as Venice-Mestre, is composed of only 3 municipalities: Venice, Marcon, and Quarto d'Altino. This is, however, the largest division of area, with approx. 466 km² of surface, which represents 48% of the area's expanse (and approx. 19% of provincial territory). This includes surfaces occupied by lagoon waters, without which, there would be a total of 441 km². The most western section is North Brenta-Dese, with 8 municipalities: Martellago, Mirano, Noale, Pianiga, Salzano, Santa Maria di Sala, Scorzè, and Spinea. This is the smallest division of area, with a total of 204.24 km², or 21.2% of the area's expanse. The section furthest south is South Brenta-Dese, composed of 9 municipalities: Campagna Lupia, Campolongo Maggiore, Camponogara, Dolo, Fiesso d'Artico, Fossò, Mira, Stra, and Vigonovo. This area has a surface of 293.53 km² (30.4% of the area's expanse). There are also lagoon waters here, though in much smaller quantities.

The Soil
The provincial territory is covered with a superficial layer of earth that is loose with a medium to high permeability, is quite variable laterally, and is tied to morphological conditions (argillaceous and peaty in depressed zones interspersed with sandy areas in zones raised by river banks and dunes).

The soil in the North Brenta-Dese area is sowable (corn, fodder, soy, grapevines, beetroot), though it is also obviously used for residential and productive uses. The municipalities of Venice, Marcon, and Quarto d'Altino differ clearly, from this standpoint, from the residential density of the Lagoon of Venice and of Mestre (as well as the construction in Marghera) and the sowable lands with wheat, beetroot, soy, corn, and fodder over most of the eastern zones. In South Brenta-Dese, the soil characteristics are similar to those more north in the province, with prevailing mixed sowable lands.

Mestre's urban periphery - Municipalities and territorial divisions

Use of the soil

Introduction
The territory that falls under this study is highly developed by humans. The area immediately surrounding the capital city municipality registers a settlement and mobility network conjunction. Demand for housing development is continually high. The challenge is not finding new opportunities for development (and ensuring coherence with local identity), but rather of bringing a level of dignity to a well-defined system, intervening in areas of elevated deterioration and introducing, where possible, opportunities for functional and environmental reclassification. Into this picture, development perspectives are readily added for agricultural use of the territory, with the scope of environmental compatibility, as well as strong and continual development of the economy and cross-sector integration (commerce, tourism, etc.).
One of the biggest challenges of the area is in the excessive dispersal of settlements and an elevated level of mixing of uses and functions, with considerable effects of congestion and superimposing of traffic of various types. Areas designated for production are prevalent and attest to the primary network of motorway communication and of connections between urban centres. This renders the challenge of mobility increasingly more binding. It is therefore vital for this area to adopt policies which reclassify and rationalize existing assets, in order to avoid further territorial loss and reduced viability of cities. This requires the adoption of policies of compaction of settlements, of reconstruction of natural habitats in order to increase the attractiveness of these areas.
The area is also rich in natural and landscape resources of considerable interest, and has recently been developing an interesting integration of the flow towards the capital and the development of not only a support for Venice, but also a development of local environmental and historical-cultural resources.

The municipalities of the "Riviera del Brenta" are characterized and connected one to another through a strong territorial and cultural identity. The Riviera represents the historical axis along which the summer villa system was developed for wealthy Venetian families and today presents a marked residential presences as well as a strong specialized production. The strong functional and cultural dependence at Porto Marghera (in particular with regards to the most eastern part of the Riviera) has been substituted, in recent years, by a consciousness of being physically located between two large centres, Venice and Padova, and the proximity to networks with connect with these two cities, as well as a consequential series of aspirations towards the development of functions (residential, tourist, productive, and logistical) which are not always reciprocally compatible.

Agriculture
Most of the territory that has not been urbanized by the municipalities included in this study can be described as cultivated land. Cultivated lands have been subjected in the last few years to considerable fluctuation in quantitative terms and even techniques and types of cultivation have changed. The intensive cultivation of corn has modified traditional cultivation rotations, favouring monoculture, mechanization, and the use of herbicides, as well as elimination of fences, which until the middle of the 1900's were of great importance in the biotope. These elements have impoverished and reduced the biodiversity in the area of this study. At one time, a primary landscaping element was the intensely cultivated countryside. Today, the North-east development model has also includes land which was primarily agricultural.
The plain-like land and its deep soils, found throughout the area of study, allow for both extensive and intensive agriculture. In some areas, there is a predominance of corn monoculture, destined for bovine feed. Other crops commonly grown in the area are soy, grapevines, and beetroot. There are also many orchards (particularly peach, kiwi, pear, and, in smaller quantities, apples). The current trend is to grow specialized crops such as vegetables (radishes, legumes, potatoes, onions, wine grapes), sometimes in greenhouses. Cultivation methods are becoming increasingly important, whereas until a few years ago, cultivation was completely mechanized and used fertilizers and herbicides. The trend is now towards "organic" agriculture. Agricultural businesses have also begun to link organic agriculture to agritourism.
With regards to the type of crops cultivated, the most common appears to be grain, which takes up most of the growing area. This is particularly true for some municipalities, specifically Noale (where 73.6% is used for grain) and Campolongo Maggiore (at 69.8%).

Mestre's urban periphery has a total agricultural area of 381 km², almost 40% of the area itself. This number, while not inconsiderable, is lower than the provincial average (60%). The areas with the largest total agricultural areas are South Brenta-Dese (144 km²) and North (131 km²). The latter also possesses the highest amount of designated agricultural area within the territorial expanse. Lastly, Venice-Mestre has 105 km².
The utilized agricultural area (UAA) in Mestre's urban periphery is 294 km², 77% of its total. In the interior, the South Brenta-Dese has a UAA of 112 km² (38% of the area's UAA), and slightly more than that of North Brenta-Dese. This indicates how agricultural spaces in this area are largely used (relationship between UAA/total agricultural area is 83.2%, compared to 77.7% in South Brenta-Dese).
In Mestre's urban periphery, there are 11.224 agricultural businesses, almost half the businesses in the province. In North Brenta-Dese, with 5,380 businesses, this amounts to 48% of agricultural businesses in the area, with another 39% active in South Brenta-Dese (4,388 businesses), the remaining 13% in Venice-Mestre (1,456 businesses). The North and South Brenta-Dese areas report a lower average number of working days and a lower contribution towards the non-family workforce. In the Mestre's urban periphery, agricultural working days are 1,088,501 (of which 1,030,764 are family workforce), with an average number per busines of 97.

Almost all the businesses of the area have less than 5 hectares of land, and 50% of these have less than 1 hectare. Farms are extreme spraying, in comparison with data available from the latest census (year 2000) and that of 1990 (when the last agricultural census took place). The reduction in the number of farms is proportionally larger that the reduction of UAA. This means that the average surface area of farms has increased.

The South Brenta-Dese area is well-established in its industrial vocation, the evidence of this being in the well-known footwear industry. The role of the agricultural sector is therefore marginal, as shown in the low employment numbers for that sector. Nevertheless, the area is distinguished for its agricultural community and the high number of agricultural areas (available and utilized) as well as the high density of farms. This agricultural landscape is fragmented by diffuse residential development, and is therefore classified as "urbanized countryside", as are the entire Veneto plains.
The percentage of land occupancy by farms is among the lowest in the province. This is a result of the intense parcelling out of landed property (almost 10% of the UAA is held by farms with less than 1 hectare of land). To complete the picture of this residual agriculture, there is a low percentage of young farm heads and a low UAA of farms with employees and with lease agreements.. Agricultural reality is distinguished by the presence of small, part-time farms alongside medium-sized professional farms, managed with economy or individually. The cultivation concentration index has a relatively high value (0.88) for the prevalence of grain cultivation. Fruit and ornamental plant farms and specialized vegetable growing represent the area's only specializations. Grapevine cultivation is relatively developed, cultivated lands survive because of income compensation, and animal breeding plays a minor role. The agritourism sector has considerable potential, encouraging integration of environmental activities in the area.
Between 1990 and 2000, South Brenta-Dese reported a decline in UAA clearly smaller than the number of farms, with a subsequent increase in average size. The process, the result of competition between residential and industrial use, has influenced, to varying degrees, all the interior municipalities except Dolo, where a fairly consistent number of farms experienced a decrease in utilized agricultural area.

In North Brenta-Dese, as in the South, there is a high residential concentration next to a diffuse agricultural community. This area reports the highest amount of land within the territorial expanse area designated for agricultural use, as well as a more intense use of this land. Furthermore, there is a higher density of farms and a lower average land area. The period between census (1990-2000) highlights a decrease of 8.9% in the number of farms, and a -5.8% in UAA. The average UAA has grown thus grown by 4.6%. The slow but gradual process of farm concentration is caused by the strong traditional fabric of small and medium-sized farms. There are particular trends in the Municipality of Martellago, where the UAA is growing, and in Mirano and Spinea, where there is an average reduction in farms.
In North Brenta-Dese, approx. one fifth of businesses are agricultural. This primary role is concentrated largely in the Municipalities of Noale, Santa Maria di Sala, and Scorzè. The opposite is true for Martellago and Spinea, largely as a result of greater residential density (in relation to territorial area) and therefore a lesser availability of useable area.
Agriculture here is constrained by the considerable parcelling off of farms. In fact, UAA covers little more than 50% of the territory, with 12.1% held by farms with less than 1 hectare of land. Furthermore, the lowest percentage values for non-family working days (4.8%) are reported here, as well as for UAA for farms with employees (11%), leased UAA (13.5%), and organic agriculture (0.3%). Agriculture in this area, as in South Brenta, is "traditional", with fewer average working days per farm and a lower contribution for non-family workers. The diffuse specialization in the cultivation of grains and other seeds raises the concentration index to 0.87.

The Venice-Mestre profile is typical of a highly urbanized and industrialized area, with high population density, small agricultural expanse, and low concentration of farms (22.5% of the area is being used, while UAA is only 15.8% of the provincial territory). The stable employment load is equally modest in agriculture. Farms are medium to large in size, many of them employing workers (37.4% of UAA).
Although agriculture has a small presence here, it is particularly dynamic, with the highest participation by young women in farm management and the highest leased UAA, testifying to a high incidence in capitalistic-type investments. Between 1990 and 2000, Venice-Mestre reported a decrease in the number of farms that was almost double that of other areas (-22%) and in the UAA (20.6%). The increase of average UAA was therefore lower than in other areas. This overall negative dynamic is largely attributable to the municipal capital city, which lost more than 26% of its farms and UAA. The Municipality of Marcon instead increased its farms by 3.5%, though it experienced a slight decrease in average area used. In Quarto d'Altino, the number of farms decreased, though the average size became larger.
In 2003, agricultural businesses registered in the Province of Venice amounted to 12,305 (17% of all businesses). Compared to the previous year, these decreased by 8.6% .

Mestre's urban periphery - Utilized agricultural area

Source: COSES elaboration
Legend:
SAU = UAA
destinazione agricola = agriculture destination
destinazione non agricola = other destinations)

Agritourism
Agriculture has strong ties of connection and interdependence with other sectors. For example with tourism activity. In Mestre's urban periphery there are 24 agritourism businesses (more than 1/3 of 72 businesses in province), 13 of which offer accommodation. South Brenta-Dese has the greatest number of businesses (11), suggesting an attraction to Venetian villas located on an agricultural landscape. In Venice-Mestre, there are 9 businesses, and there are 4 in South Brenta-Dese.

Specialized areas and agribusiness farms
Faced with a saturated market for food products, businesses must modify their products or differentiate themselves to meet consumer tastes. Analysis of structural changes in the agribusiness product market confirms the growth potential of quality foods that are certified at a municipal level. Local products are labelled DOC, DOP, IGP, and IGT, and traditional products are listed in the Region of Veneto's Traditional Agribusiness Products List.

The productive specializations (in terms of cultivation and of the surfaces used for this practice) in Mestre's urban periphery, compared to the entire province of Venice, are:

Grains, cultivated in many municipalities in the North and South Brenta-Dese area. Corn is the predominant crop, and in many cases exceeds 50% of the UAA;
Other seed crops are grown in the Venice-Mestre area and the Municipalities of Piangia (North Brenta-Dese), Dolo, and Stra (South Brenta-Dese). The most common of these are soy and sweet beetroot;
Pastures and grassland, in the Municipality of Mira, accompanied by a prevalence of seed crops for the redeployment of production or the alternation of crops.

Local and traditional products from the Mestre's urban periphery are:

radishes, certain species (not produced in other areas of the province) such as "Radicchio rosso di Treviso tardivo IGP", "Radicchio rosso di Treviso precoce IGP", and "Radicchio variegato di Castelfranco IGP", in many municipalities of the North Brenta-Dese and Mira areas. In general, in Venice and Mira, a good percentage of UAA is used for seed crops, favoured by the proximity to the urban area of Mestre, which is home to a large river basin;
asparagus, in the species "di Giare" e "del Sile", the former grown in some municipalities of South Brenta-Dese, the latter in the North;
"Biso di Peseggia", a type of pea cultivated in the Municipality of Scorzè;
artichokes, in the species "Violetto di Sant'Erasmo", produced on some islands of the Venice Lagoon;
"Insalatine da taglio", lettuce common to the Municipalities of Venice, Mira, Campagna Lupia, and Dolo (South Brenta-Dese), Scorzè and Noale (North Brenta-Dese);
tomatoes, in the species "Pomodoro del Cavallino", grown on the lagoon islands of Sant'Erasmo and Vignole;
grapevines (grown throughout the province), one of which is "Merlot IGT del Veneto", found in many municipalities of the urban periphery;
pears ("Pera del Veneziano"), grown throughout the provincial territory. The production of fruit is particularly common in some municipalities of North Brenta-Dese;
nursery (in general), in some municipalities of South Brenta-Dese.

The activity of breeding in the urban periphery is focused on birds (more than a quarter of the provincial total), with more than 6,500 farms. The raising of cattle is also common (approx. one third of Venetian breeding), though the number of farms is considerably low (880). The raising of pigs is less common (522 farms). The area with the highest concentration of breeding is North Brenta-Dese (65 farms of 100).

Emerging landscapes
Agricultural has today a significant role to requalificate environmental and to redesign the landscapes. For example San Giuliano park is part of a larger project for the creation of a series of green areas in the surrounding territory and which will include the creation of the Bosco di Mestre (forest) in the next years. This project also include rivers, cycling and footpaths (which will become part of a network of paths that connect the green areas on the terraferma), and a visitor centre.

Planning

Public institutions in the area
Mestre's urban periphery extends over 20 municipalities and a single province. It includes the capital city (provincial and regional), and has a particularly high density of public institutions at the following levels:

regional, whose responsibility is over legislation, planning, policy, and co-ordination;
provincial, with administrative functions over vast inter-municipal zones or the entire provincial territory;
municipal, with administrative functions regarding the population and municipal territory.

Areas of planning
The Province of Venice is influenced at various levels by various instruments of economic, territorial, and urban planning. At the regional level, the instruments used are:

the Programma Regionale di Sviluppo (PRS - Regional Development Program);
the Piano Territoriale Regionale di Coordinamento (PTRC - Regional Territorial Coordination Plan);
the Piano di area Laguna e Area Veneziana (known as PALAV - the Lagoon and Venice Plan);
the Piano d'area regarding the Corridoio Metropolitano Padova - Venezia (Metropolitan Padova -Venice Corridor),
recently, "Norme per il governo del territorio" (LR 11/2004)

At the provincial level, the Piano Territoriale Provinciale (PTP - Provincial Territory Plan).

Regulatory instruments for the production of goods and environmental services
The regional administration has created, for the 2000-2006 period of community planning, a rural development plan, whose general goal is to consolidate, rationalize, and develop rural activities in an economic, social, and territorial context for Veneto. More precisely, the plan aims to improve come the competitiveness and efficiency of the agricultural, agro industrial, and forestry systems, with the object of a sustained integration of territory, the development of rural communities, the multifunctionality of agriculture, and actions of safeguarding and protecting the environment and rural landscape.
The Region of Veneto has also created a promotional program for its agricultural products that aims at increasing its renown on regional, national, and foreign markets, for farms and local products of quality, and the synergies between agribusiness production and tourism and historical-cultural resources, through means of fruition integrated with tourism, eno-gastronomia, and cultural solutions. Among the primary intervention strategies of the project, there is the development of local and high-quality products, coded according to their designations of origin or quality label, with the aim of rendering the promotion of agricultural products compatible with community orientation in: PDO and PGI products, CGDO and CDO wines, organic products, traditional agribusiness products, products protected by regional labels or other labels compatible with municipal regulations.

Concerted planning initiatives
The Province of Venice is influenced by numerous concerted planning initiatives regarding various economic sectors. These planning initiatives are connected, directly or indirectly, to the instruments in place at the regional level, in other words the PRS and PTRC. Some of these initiatives developed within the province also refer to the Mestre urban periphery. Among these, the existing Territorial Pacts are the following:

the "Riviera del Brenta" Territorial Pact;
the "Centro-Sud della provincia di Venezia" Territorial Pact;
the Miranese Territorial Pact.

Territorial Pacts in the Province of Venice (*)

Source: Province of Venice

(*)This map does not include the Miranese Pact.
This is outlined in red, and excludes the Municipality
of Pianiga (included in the "Riviera del Brenta" Pact).

Conclusions: issues, potentials, directions for development

In the 1990's in the Mestre urban periphery, as in many provincial, regional, and national contexts, there was a general decrease in the agricultural community. The number of farms considerably decreased, which affected even larger number of the workforce. UAA fell only slightly, resulting in an average increase in farm size.

All the same, this progressive contracting of the base agricultural production does not represent, a chronic "crisis" in the sector. In fact, the agricultural sector experienced a complex dynamic of restructuring. This area gradually adapted to new economic circumstances and acknowledged development and functional mechanisms common to other sectors.

Gradually a farm model with strong entrepreneurial capacities emerged and behaviours oriented towards markets and an increase in productivity became diffuse. Farms that operated in a logic of market began growing, while marginally economic farms were cast off. Through specialization processes, farms geared towards crops with a greater economic yield but also require a more attentive production organization and an increase in entreprenuralism.

There remains in a local context, nonetheless, areas in which agricultural production, though marginal, retains a certain importance, both to social ends (employment of the elderly, common presence throughout the territory, etc.) and to private, family consumption ends and/or integration with income derived from other activities.

The agricultural sector is taking the right view not only in terms of sectors, but also in the larger picture of territorial and rural development. In fact, the rural concept includes the social, economic, and cultural factors of a society.

Agriculture on the whole has a fundamental potential to exploit for productive ends and for territorial and environmental realignment. In a context where the primary goal is not "how much" but "what" and "how to" produce, it is auspicious participation that aims for environmental protection and development , safeguarding economic goals as much as possible. Workers and agricultural equipment become strategic resources for a productive use of soils and the protection of farmer income. Agriculture then assumes an important role, non only in the production of foodstuffs, but also as a system of roles and responsibilities that touch on various aspects: production, environmental protection, the wholesomeness of foods, and maintenance of tradition and of a rural culture.

The strong ties of connection and interdependence that define the primary sector and other activity established in the territory, despite some tension and inefficiencies, represent a potential that could be better exploited.

The survival and competitiveness of the agricultural sector can be guaranteed through the identification of strategic opportunities for:

an improvement in the quality of production and production processes;
a reduction in distribution costs (to increase the added value of the sector and offer reasonable prices to consumers;
encourage vertical integration with the distribution sector;
reinforce horizontal integration (in structural and territorial terms);
encourage multiple activities (environmental protection, foodstuff security, local origins and quality of products);
encourage integration with the tourism sector (in the form of agritourism, for example);
increase public awareness regarding the cultural and environmental values of agricultural landscapes.

In the Region of Veneto, the measures and forms of intervention in the agricultural sector are outlined in the Piano Sviluppo Rurale (Rural Development Plan, 2000-2006), which includes all participation which favours the primary sector, and can be summarized in the following three objectives:

improvement of competitiveness and efficiency in the agricultural, agro industrial, and forestry systems;
integrated sustainability of territory and development of rural communities;
multi-functional agriculture and actions that safeguard and protect the environment and rural landscape.

Fondaco Venezia - Cap. 16 Governet Project