Itmust be said that if Venice has witnessed a succession of unrealised projects for a long time, this is not only due to the fact that no room has been given to the technical effort necessary for their achievement, but also because, by paying attention to large interventions and to the most macroscopic impacts, the invisible economic and social micro-dynamics are often ignored . These are often slow but incredibly resistant and disruptive in the long-term and tend to oppose certain types of processes." Among these, two appear to be of great importance: trust and socio-cultural acceptability.
The mistrust in the credibility of a radically innovative and beneficial change risks threatening the participative process of Agenda 21 at its root. The lack of realism (when not of good sense) in the projects which aim at revolutionising the urban and socio-economic'? fabric of the city, needs to be dealt with by incorporating credible, slow and socially acceptable tendencies; recent experience clearly shows the path to follow in this respect. For example, after many years and only recently, in Venice and Mestre work aims at improving the urban landscape, redesigning the road conditions, excavating canals in the historical centre and at maintaining buildings and coastal defence. These, and many other projects, which, individually, appear modest in comparison with some great plans which have fallen through in the past, reinstate the feeling that the inhabitants' quality of life can improve in an ordinary way.Itis this very road of realism which, in our opinion, must be followed in order not to risk losing the trust which sustains the participative process.
Socio-cultural acceptability of a project is meant as something different to social consensus. The latter is prevalently the expression of interest groups and, therefore, assumes importance based on the power which each group is able to express through institutional channels. Instead, socio-cultural accept- ability is formed by the subjective perception of the nearness to ones own values.Itis not translated into presentations or in Council meetings, but rather into shifts in opinion or into widespread ill-humour, as well as into demon- strations. A project which does not enjoy this acceptability, whether it is valid or not, is destined to be considered a failure (e.g. Expo) or to be perceived as an act of collusion (e.g., the extraction of methane in the Upper Adriatic).
Such a subject could appear banal if it were not for the fact that the recent past
Material production in the municipality of M!nice 147 is full of projects and results which give no sign of attention being paid to these two conditions (e.g. Dekleva, 1972).
In short, a possible key for reading this chapter is that of opposing the myth of the technical measurability of development's sustainability with the capacity for carrying out an analysis which is able to provide information on the actual state and the possible evolutionary trends for the actors who are responsible for solving the real problem. For this reason, the first step in constructing a sustainable development scenario consists in the effective translation of the concept of sustainability, thereby identifying the prerequisites that a evolutionary course must have in order to be considered as such.
10. Making the concept of sustainable development operational
The concept of sustainable development involves two fundamental dimen- sions, each of which is strictly related to the other. The first dimension is the durability, which is meant as the process's capacity to nourish and replicate itself. The second dimension is the desirability, which is meant as the existence of a wide social consensus on the effects of the process. This consensus is achieved when the process has the capacity to satisfy, by best reconciling them, all of the possible needs presented in a present-day civil society, i.e. the environmental, economic and social needs. However, a complication emerges.
If on the one hand it would be theoretically possible , in terms of isolated aspects, to single out the desirable directions of development, at the stage when the interrelationships between the various aspects have to be considered, it becomes very difficult to express an unequivocal judgement on the most opportune direction. For example, it is difficult for an indicator to give an indisputable answer on the sustainability of a trend with regard to the different aspects which are involved. An indicator of productivity, for example, can be interpreted differently according to whether it is considered in economic terms or in terms of employment. For this reason it is, above all, necessary to reflect on the relationships between economic sustainability, socio-cultural sustain- ability and environmental sustainability. More precisely, since universally shared criteria for the desirable form of socio-economic development do not exist, it is necessary to formulate hypotheses on this subject . Care must be taken to ensure that no scenario exists which is not founded on hypotheses about the dimensions of sustainability. In any social science it is utopian to think it possible to create models which can provide an evolutionary framework which leaves the starting hypotheses of the model itself out of consideration.
Furthermore, to omit the explanation is an unacceptable methodological choice.
Equally, starting up a debate on the configuration of the scenario would be in vain since it risks falling on common ground where it is not possible to disagree. Indeed, the ideal scenario is one which durably and simultaneously achieves the elevated production of wealth, large quantities of individual free time, comprehensive distribution of wealth, absence of pollution, and so on.
There is nothing else to say about such a scenario except that itis optimal and currently desirable to the same extent as it is unachievable and, therefore, useless even if only seen from the perspective of an ideal-typical reference.
This is why, if on the one hand the debate must instead centre on hypotheses of sustain ability and on decisions on what is held to be most desired (looking not only at that which is obtained but also at what, on the contrary, is renounced), on the other hand, the contribution of the analysis, which must be made in the technical phase, is to identify the variables which act on the socio- economic system and to identify their interaction, to define the instruments for guiding the direction of development and to possibly collaborate in drawing up and executing the plan.
To conclude , making the concept of the sustain ability of development operational for the Venetian territory means no more than expressing the hypothesis at the basis of the scenario which is chosen for proposal on the basis of it being the most reasonable among all those which can comply with the needs of the various social components of the city. In particular, specific attention is given to material production here. Nevertheless, for the reasons given above, it is not possible to talk about sustainable development by accentuating the differences between the different plans for socio-economic development. Therefore, the comments made here deal with a complete overview of the problems of development.
10.1. Hypotheses ofsustainability
Inan area such as the Municipality of Venice which connects a peripheral part, which is highly interconnected with the Veneto hinterland, to a historical centre and to a lagoon component which both remain relatively isolated from the rest of the territory, the existence of an economic system which is differentiated in terms of sectors, production forms and the size of production unit, is both the symptom of and the driving force behind the wealth and welfare (in general, the quality of life) in socio-economic and cultural terms.
Even if production specialisation has advantages in some respects, these advantages risk prejudicing the quality of life of the population of the territory when the displacement of other production activities, and their related socio- cultural heritage, occurs. A phenomenon of this type is visible in Venice in the case of tourism, where its current form of development has triggered a series of phenomena which inflictvery great hardship on the residents in numerous ways;
high prices, problems of urban mobility, unlawful activities, petty crime, etc.
Along with the socio-cultural phenomena, it is also necessary to consider that an excessive production specialisation in a restricted area can also have negative effects on the economy itself, since potential effects of recession (both from cyclical downturns and trend recessions) can be tolerated better by a differentiated economic system. This is because, when other conditions remain equal, it is less likely that the crisis affects non-interdependent sectors of
Material production in the municipality of 149 activity in an equal manner. As a result, the non-penalised sectors can act as an element which triggers economic growth (in the case of phenomena that tend not to be repeated) or can playa counterbalancing role (in the case of pheno- mena which are seasonal and related to economic trends). Finally, in the case of a recession, a potential policy of conversion and/or revitalisation would prove to be much less burdensome on the social and economic level and the influence of activities involved in the process of restructuring/converting would be less pronounced on the local economy.
This kind of argument could be countered by the fact that specialisation could guarantee a competitiveness which is useful for overcoming crisis situations. Nevertheless, this interpretation is based on the supposition that specialisation is synonymous with having a distinct advantage. The chemical industry in Porto Marghera is an example of how things can develop differently with the passage of time.
Ifthis is true, a hypothetical plan for the programming and development of production activities should be able to set out the advantages of specialisation, as well as those of diversification, in order to take advantage of the opportunities inherent to a local system. These can be summarised as:
(1) the existing competence and structures,
(2) the natural vocations related to the local culture, (3) the territorial and location availability,
(4) a boost from inter-sectorial relations.
Furthermore, the idea of sustainability requires the respect of certain constraints:
(1) compatibility between the different possible types of activity and polymor- phism of the production structure,
(2) adequate levels of employment and economic growth for the local population,
(3) respect of local culture and prospects for growth (competence, innovation and research),
(4) respect for the environment.
In the following, an attempt is made to tackle some of the many aspects related to this subject, in the full knowledge, however, that this is not the place to examine them in suitable depth.
10.2. Development Opportunities Existing competence and structures
In terms of material production in the Venetian territory, specific competence and structures constituting a strength, which is difficult to reproduce in the short-term, are widespread. The sectors identified in this respect are: the manufacture of aluminium, the oil industry, the petrochemical industry, the
shipbuilding industry, more minor shipbuilding, medium and heavy mechan- ical industry, the works on the lagoon and sea, the manufacture of blown and hand made glass. There is also a port in evolution, the economic impact of which could be exploited further with appropriate interchange structures for goods transport.
Natural vocations linked to local culture
The so-called traditional activities, as well as being closely related to the residents' quality of life (see the constraints), can be the sources of oppor- tunities for at least two reasons : employment of marginal groups in the workforce and boosting demand for other goods and services.
The first aspect regards activities such as the manufacture of glass 'a canna', the lace making on Burano, woodwork for boats and decoration, furniture restoration, mask making and others. These are all activities which, as a whole, have employment and revenue advantages which are, perhaps, of little relevance in percentage terms but have the merit of employing (or being able to employ), on a full- or part-time basis, groups of the population (mainly the young and the old) who would otherwise remain inactive.
The second aspect, boosting the demand for other goods and services, refers to the fact that certain marginal activities, mentioned above, can have connections (in terms of image or function) with more important activities.
The connection with tourism is obvious, but it is also possible to envisage a scenario in which, for example, the presence of diverse forms of typical crafts in the historical centre, located at the same place of sales (the typical Venetian store), can also encourage the inhabitants of the metropolitan and mainland area to visit the old city more frequently. As well as employment benefits and variety in the urban production fabric, this also creates a reason for the greater mobility of residents.
Territorial and location availability
The great diversity of environments, in the term's widest sense, which are rooted in the Municipality of Venice must be regarded as a potential source of opportunity rather than a point of structural weakness. This is particularly true where particular advantages of location specialisation can be exploited.
Porto Marghera is an area which could be put forward for employment and production revitalisation on the condition that the real costs and the pro- gramme for the area 's use (in particular, the legislative reference framework) are made clear. Development linked to immaterial activities in the form of a centre for research and innovation can also be envisaged. However, it is also important to highlight one aspect: although it cannot be disputed a trans- formation into forms of production which respect the environment and are linked to innovative and developing sectors is desirable, it is also obvious that entrusting the transition to the inevitability of decline and to market forces, that is, to let the trends continue without adequate planning, firstly means squandering an important heritage of experience, knowledge and technology, and secondly, means the impoverishment of the economic structure of the
Material production in the municipality of Venice 151 Venetian territory. Itcould not be justified, for example, if once the industrial areas of Porto Marghera were restored, or at least, were made to act within the regulatory requirements, at the expense of the collective, they then yielded to activities which did not have a positive effect on the economy of the collective.
Equally, letting the current state of decline mature to the point where any alternative solution to its abandonment appears as an improvement is also unacceptable. At the moment, location advantages for the activities of industrial transformation in Porto Marghera stand out unequivocally; an advantage which mainly lies in the following factors: isolation from the residential sphere (already operating); limitation of environmental impact (already existing in part, in part to be achieved through appropriate investments at both the level of the individual firm as at the general area level); infrastructure such as the road and railway networks and dockside (already in operation and more to be executed); finally, a consistent supply of a potential workforce settled within a limited range in terms of travel time. Nevertheless, at this stage these advantages remain ineffective since the basic uncertainty about the costs and comprehensive programme for revitalisation tends to frustrate the evaluation of the economic opportunities for investment in the area.
The city waterfront is the site preferred for minor boatyard activities, while certain areas of island Venice and the shores of the lagoon represent the same for shipbuilding. The reputation of companies such as Fincantieri and De Poli is well-known, but other lesser-known cases exist which aim for or have achieved ambitious goals. In particular, the smaller boatyards on the islands are partially penalised by their location, but this could also be a source of opportunity if internal demand were fully exploited and synergy with the demands of tourism were sought. In this respect, the role of local demand in acting as a trigger to economic growth should not be underestimated. This demand can be fed by the mass of works required for maintaining the various parts which constitute the city of water , and by the demand for working or supply boats or their related maintenance and service activities. In particular, it should be considered that once the works which appear to be extraordinary, such as those in the lagoon environment, on buildings, on the city canals, etc., begin to operate, in reality they take on a permanent character, thereby opening up possibilities for construction activities and for the development of technology for marine intervention.
These are elements in the production district of blown and hand-made glass on Murano which contribute to the definition of a production district in relation to the Muranese artistic production already in a historical perspective.
The forced transfer of the glass factories , decreed for reasons of safety by the Great Council at the end of the XIII century and, as a result, the rigid institutional control on the state of the art and on its form of transmission has engendered the formation of a selective socio-cultural fabric which is strongly directed towards the self-preservation of roles and competence. On the one hand, this has guaranteed the endurance into our times of manufacturing techniques which are unique in the world. On the other hand , the Muranese district's capacity for communication with a changeable reference environment
such as today's appears limited and it appears more oriented towards invo- lution rather than towards entering the competitive arena. The possibilities of valorising this sector further are certainly numerous and principally related to the perceived high differentiation of these types of products.
The lagoon and the islands are already used for the intensive exploitation of activities such as fishing and fish-farming. Unfortunately, the unauthorised practice of these activities threatens to irreversibly destroy a highly valuable resource which should be valorised and regulated instead. On the other hand, the Cavallino coastline, the island of St. Erasmo and the Venetian mainland host a significant amount of agricultural activities. In fact, there are over 19,000ha in the Venice Municipality which are destined for agricultural use, with employees estimated at about 2400. An important fact should be noted:
the development of agricultural activities in the cultivated lagoon islands (St.
Erasmo, Vignole, Mazzorbo and Torcello) and on the Cavallino coast are developing in accordance with innovative models. However, they do not damage the landscape as a result and they are partly able to limit the environ- mental impact (Benevolo, 1996, pp. 36ff.).
Boosting inter-sectorial relations
The activities already existing in the Venice Municipality can be sources of further economic development once the manufactured goods produced by them find favourable conditions for developing inside the same Municipal territory. In particular, the availability of area for industrial use in Porto Marghera should be exploited to allow production activities, which have the same process as those already present, to locate in proximity to them. In order to identify the most suitable instruments for ensuring that such a boost to activities is facilitated, it is necessary, among other things, to have an exhaus- tive picture of the opportunities for locating in the rest of the Province and/or the Region, by gathering the information that a businessman would use to decide on the most opportune location for his company. In this respect, the location advantage of the Venice Municipality in terms of its ability to transport goods must not be underestimated, just as the overall increase in the transport of goods between 1994 and 1995 seems to indicate (+ 17.8% for the railway; + 14.6% for the airport; +9.6% for the port, divided into: commercial + 14.6%, industrial + 11.1%, oil goods +4.4 %, container + 11.6%; + 10.7% for motorway toll booths from and to Venice).
10.3. Constraints on Sustainability
Equilibrium between the different possible types ofactivities and polymorphism of the production structure
In brief, as has already been mentioned, the main advantage derived from the presence of a differentiated production system is the reduced impact of a potential sectorial crisis on total local employment. In addition to this aspect, there are the considerations inherent to the social and cultural desirability of