Both in Italy and abroad Urban city development programs have proved to be unique opportunities for underdeveloped areas to be improved. Urban Italia in Venice is eloquently called “let’s break the walls”; the program’s main goal was to improve the social environment of the impact area as well as its infrastructures. In order to achieve this objective various actions were implemented: development of entrepreneurship and employment, social inclusion, integrated transportation improvement, creation of an efficient communication networks.

These efforts were aimed at improving the city’s’ infrastructures but also at meliorating the living conditions of the inhabitants. Urban Italia program has implemented activities worth 13,4 million euros, 5,06 of which were given by the Ministry for the infrastructures. The intervention involved various neighborhoods in the city: Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, Santa Marta, San Basilio and the port area, Giudecca Island and Sacca Fisola Island. The program dealt especially with the redevelopment of certain areas (Stucky areas, ex Junghans, Sacca San Biagio and San Basilio) many implemented projects were orientated to the residents and to underprivileged members of the society such as children, senior citizens, students, inmates and ex-inmates.

The main goals and the expected results were strictly bound to the shakiness of the demographic structure, largely composed by senior citizens and characterized by an extremely low birth-rate. The whole city is evidently facing a weakness of its demographic structure and the impact area served as a reliable marker of this condition. If applied to the entire city, the activities realized will prove effective in balancing the social and demographic structure (children, teenagers, students, adults and senior citizens). Another issue addressed by the program was the scarce social integration of certain parts of the residents, isolated because of physical, cultural or historical barriers.

By means of various activities, both infrastructural and social, Urban Italia has reached different goals:
 Reduction of the population decrease; the rate has shifted from 9 per thousand to 2 per thousand (that means that if each neighborhood was losing 9 inhabitants every one thousand after the program that data dropped down to 2 inhabitants every one thousand, the lowest figure ever registered over the past decades in the historical centre);
 Open access to the facilities of the university and in the port area for the residents; the Ca’ Foscari Library at the Zattere has free access for the public, the Iuav areas in San Basilio (Wi-Fi internet connection available) and the ex-church in Santa Marta and the Seaman’s Club in the port area as well.
 Improvement of those facilities already destined to public service such as the creation of various public Internet points and the reopening of the Centro Civico “cz95” on Giudecca Island.
 Recovery of neglected areas: the demolition of the incinerator in Sacca Fisola, the recovery of the sport facilities in Sacca San Biagio, new constructions in the ex-Junghans areas where a new canal was established and last but not least the requalification of the Stucky-Trevisan-Scalera areas where a new bridge was erected.
 Social inclusion policies were implemented and aimed at involving the weakest parts of the population in a more fulfilling public life: creation of public in-home elder care, information points, inmates readjustment services through professional training and counseling and the establishment of shelter homes for disadvantaged people along with the creation of an Alzheimer community services center.
 The cultural aspects of public life were also taken care of through the creation of new spaces devoted to cultural events and the Arts; performances were held at the theatre in Santa Marta and the Centro Civico in Giudecca organized other events as well.

Most of the activities created by Urban Italia will be continued after the program is over. This was one of the foremost requirements of the Urban programs all over Europe; every intervention implemented for the project had to be translated into long-lasting solutions. Some of this are: information and support centers for inmates (three inside the prison building and one in the city), inform@nziani service, three free Internet cafes, free Wi-Fi in the San Basilio areas, public access to the university library in Zattere, Alzheimer community services center in Giudecca, eight shelter homes for senior citizens together with public in-home elder care, a new day nursery and the improvement of the one already existent, professional training and support for inmates; all of these activities will continued after the end of Urban Italia thanks to the partners involved. The program intervention was also aimed at stimulating the cultural life of the neighborhoods, opening the university theatre in S. Marta and producing plays and cultural events created by the cultural association Shylock. The project has also established two cultural centers: the ex-church of Santa Marta and Centro Civico in Zitelle.
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