italian planning system

Regulatory Frameworks in Developing Countries

Student No: 130443540

Module: TCP8936

MSc Planning for Developing Countries

Architecture, Planning & Landscape

Newcastle University

9th January 2014

The Italian Planning System

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MODULE: TCP8936 MSC PLANNING FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES STUDENT NO: 130443540

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The Italian Republic

The Italian Republic was established in 1946, following the results of the constitutional

referendum held to determine the form of the state after the end of World War II. The

fundamental Italian law is the Constitution of the Italian Republic of 1st January 1948.

Capital: Rome (population: 2,638,842)

Formation: - Unification 17 March 1861

- Republic 2 June 1946

Area: 301,338 km2

Population:

- 2011 census: 59,433,744 - Density 197.7/km2

- Growth rate 0.38% (2012)

Figure 1. Italy and its 20 Regions.


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1. Political system and structure

The Italian political system is based on the principle of the separation of powers: the

legislative power is attributed to the Parliament, the Government has the executive power,

while the Judiciary - independent from the executive and the legislature powers - exercises

the judicial power, with the President of the Republic who is the highest office in the State

and represents its unity.

Figure 2. The Italian Government.

President of the Republic. The President of the Republic is elected for seven years by

the Parliament and has the power to nominate the Prime Minister and to preside over

the Judiciary. The President of the Republic is also the head of the Italian armed forces

and has the power to call elections and disband the Parliament. Although he is the

head of the State, his powers are actually very restricted: since Italy is governed by a

Parliamentary Republic, the political direction is determined by the Parliament and

the Government, the latter being the top of the executive power also holds the

administrative function, so the political-administrative orientation of the state makes

the Italian Government the authority with the most political power.

The Parliament. The Italian Parliament is a bicameral system constituted by two

Chambers that have the same duties and equal authority, and this is the reason why

it is called “perfect bicameralism”. The lower chamber of Parliament is the Chamber

of Deputies, which comprises 630 deputies elected by all citizens who have reached

the age of 18. The upper chamber of Parliament is the Senate of the Republic, which

comprises 315 senates elected by all Italian citizens older than 25 years old.

The Government. The Government depends on the vote of confidence given by both

chambers of Parliament and consists of three bodies: the Prime Minister, the

Ministers, and the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister is the head of Government.

After being appointed, the Prime Minister proposes to the President of the Republic

the nomination of each minister together with whom he will form the Council of

Ministers if he will receive the vote of confidence from both chambers of Parliament.

President

of the Republic

Parliament:

- Chamber of Deputies

- Senate of the Republic

Legislative power

Government:

- Prime Minister

- Ministers

- Council of Ministers

Executive power

Judiciary

Judicial power


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The Judiciary. The Judiciary is an autonomous authority which is independent from

any other power. The magistrates embody the judicial power which is managed on

behalf of the people. The Superior Council of the Judiciary has the task of self-

government of the Judiciary, removing it completely from the control of the Minister

of Justice and from the influence of the government.

2. The legal system

The Italian legal system is based on Roman law and basically follows the model of civil law.

Once a trial has been concluded and ruling has been done, a party found guilty can appeal the

decision to an appeal court. If the appeal fails, it may be possible to appeal to the Supreme

Court, but only on the grounds of wrong interpretation or application of the law by a judge.

The appeals are treated as new processes, and there are three sets of proceedings. The last

grade of trial takes place before the Court of Cassation (the Supreme Court), which has

appellate authority.

In general, the Italian legal system is

tremendously complicated because there is a

huge amount of laws, most of which are

ignored, and it is very hard, even for judges and

lawyers themselves, to deal with the enforced

laws and those that are not enforced or only

weakly enforced. The legal system timing is very

slow and it takes years for a case to come to

court; the average time between accusation and

a court sentence can be ten years, and eight out

of ten convictions involving prison terms never

take effect.

It sometimes appears that law is different depending on who

you are. In fact the more money and power you have, the more

you can manage to avoid court, postponing a sentence that will

eventually never take place. However, this problem can be

attributed to the political system rather than to the legal one.

In fact, one of the most renown and disgraceful examples is the

eternal fight between former Prime Minister Berlusconi and

the Judiciary. Given the strong corruption and the everlasting

conflict that permeates the Italian political system, the courts

in Italy are always entangled in political issues and it gets

harder and harder for the Judiciary to deal properly with all the

legal matters that involve politics.

Figure 4. Ironic picture about the perception of the Italian law. "Justice

for all! Yes, while stocks last...

Figure 3. Overwhelmed by bureaucracy.


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3. The planning system

The operative instruments of urban planning are the so-called planning instruments,

distinguishable by hierarchical level, type and functionality. In Italy, they take start with the

promulgation of the Law August 17, 1942 n.1150 (1150/1942) defined “Urban National Law”

(UNL), which moves on a national scale. The law has been integrated over time until the

Decree of the President of the Republic D.P.R. 6th June 2001 n.380 better known as

“Consolidated Act for Construction” while preserving the key points of the original

1150/1942.

In addition, with the introduction of the Government of Regions in 1972, the matter of

construction and land use shifted from central management to regional management, and in

fact each region began to build up their own policies regarding construction, urban planning

and land use. Over time, other issues appeared within the city and the region planning

framework, which were not originally considered as priority by the UNL. These issues relate

primarily but not limited to landscape protection and environment defence.

Between the 80s and 90s there has been a reorganisation of the tasks by giving the regions

the duty to program mainly matters relating to the transformation of the territory and the

protection of the environment - specifically seismic and hydro-geological issues - leaving the

management of the territory to municipalities and provinces. Regarding the protection of

cultural heritage, there is collaboration between the region and the Ministry of Cultural

Heritage. This collaboration works properly from the formal point of view, but it is not very

effective in practice due to lack of funds. This is due to the large number of cultural and

historical sites located throughout the country, all of which have the need of protection and

maintenance. A recent example has been the collapse of some walls of the ancient city of

Pompeii (2011-2013), a great historical loss that could have been prevented if the Council had

more money to invest, and new critical situations are still arising, to which the ministry is

unable to adequately remedy.

Italian urban planning is hierarchically structured on three levels:

• Regional (Spatial plan)

• Provincial (Supra-municipal plan)

• Municipal (General Master Plan)

Of these, the most significant one is the Master Plan (PRG).


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Figure 5. An example of the Master Plan (PRG) of the city of Verolavecchia, in Brescia Province.

The Master Plan (PRG) is produced and approved by the City Council. Its purpose is to predict

the development characteristics of the population and the economy in the municipal area

and, based on these, it has to provide guidelines for the construction of public and private

works; all this in reference to existing structures (railways, highways, roads, industries,

countries, districts, cities, environment), that may have a provincial or regional relevance.

Each region is required to have its own Master Plan, organised by considering the opinions of

the different departments (environmental, geological, cultural, etc.). Each Master Plan has

unique aims and objectives depending on the characteristics of the specific municipality, but

generally it should provide over time:

1. The location of public works.

2. The maintenance of certain environmental standards, health and social life.

3. The location of private works - for which the authorisation to build only in certain

areas of the territory.

Other planning instruments generated by the UNL (1150/1942) are the “piani attuativi”,

consisting of urban implementation plans that meet specific needs:

• Detailed Plan: interpretation of the PRG in municipal reality

• Recovery Plan

• Plan for Affordable Housing

• Plan for Production Plants

• Urban Traffic Plan


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3.1. How a policy plan is made

The councillors elected by the people, either as individual or in group, write the policies they

would like to be approved. These policies are then analysed and possibly modified by the

relevant authorities of the covered fields. After passing the first screening, the policies go on

to the Council (regional, provincial or municipal) that will decide whether to endorse it or not

by vote.

State and Region communicate at the same level (co-planning) while Municipality and

Province are subordinate bodies, the work of which is controlled by the upper levels through

a tool known as “Consistency Check”. Its purpose is to ensure the correct and orderly

structure of the regional territory and the protection and enhancement of the landscape and

environmental values within a sustainable development framework. The “Consistency Check”

on the acts of the general planning of local authorities is carried out by the General Director

of Urban Planning and Regional Supervision of Construction, subjected to the opinion of the

Technical Committee for the regional planning (CTRU).

3.2. Land ownership and expropriation

In Italy everybody has the right and the opportunity to own land, there are no distinctions of

gender, religion or origin. The ownership of land may be exercised by deed of purchase, deed

of inheritance or through adverse possession.

The Italian State has the right to expropriate property or land if the area appears to be of

public utility. In the Italian system the expropriation procedure is regulated by Presidential

Decree DPR June 8 2001 n. 327, embodying the “Consolidated laws and regulations on

expropriation for public utility”, revised by Legislative Decree December 27 2002 n. 302 and

supplemented by Legislative Decree December 27, 2004 n. 330. The new consolidated act

brought together, under a single legislative act, provisions that were before scattered over a

hundred laws and regulations, repealing the Law June 25 1865 n. 2359.

The expropriation is governed by two basic principles:

• Legality: the public authorities may expropriate private property only in the cases specified

by law and only in accordance with procedures determined by law. (Article 23 of the

Constitution)

• Compensation: The State must correspond to the owner of the expropriated land a sum of

money, according to the criteria determined by law, to compensate for the loss. (Article 42/III

of the Constitution)

The expropriation is seen and felt as an act of violence towards those who suffer it, who - in

spite of the compensation - in most cases lose an important part of their livelihood (home,

business, job, money, etc.). Often the expropriation affects the economically weaker citizens,

such as those who, losing their land, lose their source of income too, or those who do not

have the necessary means to oppose.


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3.3. Building permit

The building permit is governed by Presidential Decree June 6, 2001 n. 380, which replaced

the previous building permit pursuant to Law January 28, 1977 n.10 (Law Bucalossi) and the

building permit in art. 31 of Law August 17, 1942 n.1150 (state planning law).

Those who have entitlement to perform interventions that are not subject to simplified

procedures must ask for building permission, which is generally subject to concession fees.

The application must be submitted with a fully described project - prepared by a qualified

professional – that certifies its compliance with the planning policy and the regulatory

requirements specifications (seismic, acoustic, thermal insulation, etc.). If the intervention

property interests something under particular protection (environmental, architectural,

artistic value, etc.) the issue of building permit is bound to the prior authorisation of the entity

appointed to the protection of that sector. The application for the permit must be submitted

to the “Sportello Unico per l’Edilizia” (SUE) complemented by the necessary technical

documentation.

In Italy, the objections are interpreted as participation, since by law the communities directly

affected by planning interventions have the right to produce and submit their comments,

within the approval, to ensure evaluation and integrate observations to the plan. Thanks to

the tools of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) it is guaranteed a greater

communication and participation, for the implementation of the plans. of the major

stakeholders generating an increased efficiency in obtaining the desired plans, despite

increasing issuing times.

4. Problems

Some of the problems of the planning system are represented by excessive bureaucracy, lack

of resources and the huge amount of time necessary for the implementation of plans and

specifications. Although most of the regions are equipped with the best planning instruments,

most municipalities have not implemented them and have not introduced plans, nor have

adjusted to the hydrogeological specifications. This problem arises primarily from the

presence of a large number of policies, their complexity, the time required to implement

them, the lack of sufficient training of some of the staff and, in addition, the severe shortage

of funds.

After the introduction of laws that eliminate taxes on real estate (2012), and in addition to

years of mismanagement of public funds, the municipalities have found themselves forced to

seek new ways to increase their revenue. Less virtuous municipalities have used a system of

tolerance for unauthorised buildings, known as “Redevelopment Plan”, allowing illegal

structures in exchange of concession fees. This despicable policy was subsequently repeatedly

supported by the central government, headed by former Prime Minister Berlusconi through

a variety of building amnesties that challenged even the virtuous municipalities, which found

themselves forced to provide services (roads, public lighting, sewers, etc.) also to structures

that were not in line with the Master Plan. Plus it resulted to be particularly complicated to

introduce any policy or plan that would put limits to this sprawl, because the community does


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not always accept them, people want their houses not to be demolished and do not think of

the possible consequences. This was an action taken without proper analysis and precautions,

and above all without any real planning needs, but rather to facilitate the owners of large

structures and households. This mind-set can and does cause disasters.

A major example can be found in what

recently happened in Olbia (Sardinia) where

local authorities not only failed to keep under

control illegal construction, but condoned it

rather than penalised it by endorsing several

“Redevelopment Plans”. These plans have

provided roads and sanitation to the illegal

structures by solving the immediate problem

of the lack of services, but causing bigger

problems. On 18 November 2013, Olbia was hit by a flood of extraordinary magnitude. Many

households were illegally built on the river bed, many more had been made regular use of the

basement as dwellings, although the current regulations did not allow neither the first nor

the latter situation. With this in mind the epilogue of the flood is even too clear: about 17

deaths due to the huge amount of water that submerged households up to the upper floors.

A tragedy that could have been avoided with a more careful and rigid planning, which should

consider the particular environment in which the community lives rather than just the shallow

desire to build and expand where one should not.

Besides issuing building amnesties,

sometimes the same municipalities

ignore on purpose (and for personal

interest) their own Master Plan,

authorising the construction of new

buildings in dangerous or protected

areas. Examples of this is the Capoterra

flood of autumn 2008. Capoterra

(Sardinia) arises on a river bed and it

has been hit by a high number of

hydrogeological phenomena in the

past 15 years, yet the municipality

hasn’t addressed the problem and still

people lose their homes and lives

because of this insane building strategy. The Master Plan was drafted ignoring the dangerous

areas defined by the PAI (Plan for the hydrogeological layout), turning high-risk areas into

residential, commercial, and leisure areas.

There is a real and practical inability to remedy for reasons of both self-interest of the political

groups, eager to have a gain from the building works and pure lack of knowledge, and lack of

interest in the problems that decisions based on this way of thinking could cause.

Figure 6. Flooded City of Olbia, Sardinia.

Figure 7. Another example of flooded city.


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5. Conclusions

The Italian planning policies are generally well structured and based on strong and sound

evaluations and strategies, but the problems arise when these have to come into practice.

Corruption can be found at all levels of government, from national to local, and the basic

reason why it is so difficult to adhere and follow the planning policies is because of political

and social pressure. At national level, politic entities are always looking for personal profit

and tend to do what can be useful for them in terms of gaining votes, re-election etc. At local

level things seem to be less important, but the situation is almost the same, and the

consequences are even more significant, given that the local Master Plan is the most

important planning tool. Many mayors constantly feel the pressure of unemployment and

social demands, and for this reason they tend to promote planning strategies that will provide

employment, such as new plans to expand the town, building residential or public services

areas even in those areas that are identified by the Master Plans as dangerous or protected

and, most importantly, even if these plans are inappropriate and not necessary. This happens

because there is still a short-term view of planning that in one way allows instant benefits but

in the other does not consider what the future consequences could be. Basically it could be

said that within the planning framework there is lack of awareness, even though the plans

themselves are soundly prepared. In a country like Italy, where there isn’t a stable

government, where there are internal conflicts within the political sphere and where most of

the people who should act on behalf of all the citizens are worried only about their position

and their carrier, those who really care and want to make a difference are entangled in an

almost hopeless situation, where each individual struggles to make things better.


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5. Content

Figure Source

Figure 1. Italy and its 20 Regions.

http://a141.idata.over-blog.com/2/39/54/51/Documents-pour-la-classe--

Seconde-LV2-/mappa_italia_politica.jpg

Figure 2. The Italian Government.

Figure 3. Overwhelmed by bureaucracy.

http://www.adesso-online.de/in-primo-piano/notizie/cgia-mestre-burocrazia-costa-a-

sistema-paese-70-mld-euro-lanno

Figure 4. Ironic picture about the perception of the Italian law. “Justice

for all! Yes, while stocks last...”

http://www.nadirpress.net/processo15annigarciai.ht

ml

Figure 5. An example of the Master Plan (PRG) of the city of

Verolavecchia, in Brescia Province.

http://www.comune.verolavecchia.bs.it/bin/index.php?id=1622

Figure 6. Flooded City of Olbia, Sardinia.

http://www.greenme.it/informarsi/ambiente/11860-alluvione-sardegna-olbia-gallura

Figure 7. Another example of flooded city.

http://oubliettemagazine.com/2013/11/22/la-sardegna-si-indegna-aprono-la-diga-ed-unonda-

dacqua-di-due-metri-arriva-ad-olbia/

http://a141.idata.over-blog.com/2/39/54/51/Documents-pour-la-classe--Seconde-LV2-/mappa_italia_politica.jpg



http://www.adesso-online.de/in-primo-piano/notizie/cgia-mestre-burocrazia-costa-a-sistema-paese-70-mld-euro-lanno



http://www.nadirpress.net/processo15annigarciai.html

http://www.nadirpress.net/processo15annigarciai.html





http://oubliettemagazine.com/2013/11/22/la-sardegna-si-indegna-aprono-la-diga-ed-unonda-dacqua-di-due-metri-arriva-ad-olbia/

