Time to spruce it all up

ELECTRIC bicycles have been added to Milan’s bike-sharing scheme. The city’s canals have been restored, with boats now dotting a formerly dilapidated harbour. Thousands of events have been planned to coincide with Milan Expo, the world fair that opened on May 1st and is due to last six months. In its first week the fair reportedly drew 650,000 visitors.

The Milanese, with the Boston Consulting Group at hand, hope this heralds a longer-term revival. Fondazione Prada, an art foundation set up by the eponymous fashion house, has just opened a sparkling permanent abode in a revamped distillery to tickle up the city’s surprisingly dull contemporary-art scene. Its presence in the old industrial quarter on the city’s south side will—it is hoped—brighten up an entire area.

The Unicredit tower, which opened in 2011, has already transformed the city’s skyline, while the redevelopment of the surrounding Porta Nuova district has pulled two areas together. The project, which includes residential, commercial and retail property, was bought out by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund in February and is valued at €2 billion ($2.3 billion). Westfield, a global property group, is planning to build a vast retail complex on Milan’s eastern outskirts.

Such high hopes are set against a glum backdrop. From 2007-2014 the economy of Lombardy, of which Milan is the capital, shrank by 3.6%. The unemployment rate is 8.2%. Public housing is shoddy and scarce. And the building of two new metro lines, one linking up with Linate airport, will put the city heavily in debt.

Still, Italy’s culture minister compares these latest projects to the rejuvenation of Barcelona and Berlin. The next decade, he predicts, will belong to Milan.