How do you envision Venice in the future? Jane da Mosto, We Are Here Venice

In Venice, a place of inspiration for the most important global challenges, rowing boats, outdoor cinema, public spaces for residents. Jane da Mosto, environmental scientist, and We Are Here Venice, for #RiscrivereilFuturo

We Are Here Venice, or WahV for short, is a non-profit, independent collective founded in 2015 that dedicates all its energy to the conservation and enhancement of the city of Venice. Their first initiative was conceived for the 2010 Architecture Biennale.

The sharing of interviews that Venezia da Vivere and Associazione Piazza San Marco are conducting with entrepreneurs, curators, directors of cultural institutions, university professors, hoteliers, event organizers, and Venetian citizens continues with the contribution of Venetian Jane da Mosto.

How do you envision Venice in the future?

We have been able to appreciate the extreme beauty of Venice during this period of unprecedented tranquility. More people have described it as “heartbreaking beauty” since the lack of residents makes us notice the city’s fragility as a living organism, with an excessive, almost toxic dependence on tourism. The Venice of the future we desire will be much more populated and more economically resilient.

Only this will change in the Venice of the future I envision; the constancy of the particular socio-urban fabric and the lagoon system that protects us will persist.

However, let us not forget that this apparent “constancy” is the result of a dynamic system, of a balance between the natural system and human activities, continuously monitored and regulated when Venice was thriving, but evidently not in recent decades, during which the governmental emphasis has been to support the most extraneous interests, such as votes from the mainland, insensitive to the conditions of Venetian life, real estate speculation, corruption, and power linked to heavy public works.

Venice has enormous potential in hosting the transformation of the business and production world to continue existing as a living city in modern times, thinking about innovation and quality production, “smart working,” and the “maker” communities of the circular economy.

With this vision, tourism must also change its focus. It can no longer be tourism evaluated entirely on the basis of economic interests or the lowest common denominator of global consumerism, as demonstrated by the exploitation of the cruise industry and similar massive activities.

Venice as a living city of the future could instead return to offering hospitality and experiences based on sharing its particular lifestyle as well as its beauty and cultural heritage.

What can politics and citizens do for a rebirth of Venice?

Politics and citizens should not be considered two separate things—politics should take citizen participation into account. When we were still in strict lockdown, we were more optimistic. We believed that without the strong push of easy profits linked to mass tourism, a bit of effort on the part of the current administration could create better conditions for introducing new activities and stimulating citizens.

In Bruges (Belgium), for example, the administration has a very intelligent and articulated program to raise awareness among the population about tourism-related issues (as well as the fact that tourism generates greenhouse gas emissions four times larger than initial estimates) and they are developing methodologies to evaluate tourism’s economic impact and effects from the perspective, first and foremost, of residents. In Barcelona as well, the administration is working in closer collaboration with residents and not only with large categories.

Great delicacy is needed in addressing changes, and we must ensure that Venice continues to create situations favorable to social cohesion.

Jeffrey Sachs, the American economist, emphasizes the distinction between “being better off” or (simply) “getting richer.”

Propose a specific idea in at least one of these areas: environment, housing, work, culture, safety, tourism.

These days you will see among the posters around the city a variation on our regular awareness campaign created in collaboration with citizens, responding to the invitation to express their wishes, ideas, suggestions for the city’s future. We have noted fantastic creativity and willingness to actively participate in defining and implementing diverse projects centered on those who actually live here.

As for mobility, water traffic must not resurface as it was before lockdown—polluting the air we breathe and damaging the banks and foundations with wave motion, not to mention the noise. We would like to see more rowing boats in the canals with, for example, the introduction of incentives for gondoliers and other rowers to provide public transport on short routes (also reactivating more ferry points), in light of the decline in tourist numbers, and to facilitate residents’ quality of life, making it easier for shops of all kinds to continue offering home delivery.

It would obviously be necessary to introduce more incentives or disincentives for property owners to rent long-term rather than prioritizing tourist rentals.

We must equip public spaces to create a new relationship between residents and these spaces. Outdoor cinema is the most obvious thing that comes to mind, also with the possibility of the same structures hosting musicians when there are no screenings. I am thinking not only of San Polo, where the summer cinema is sorely missed, but also of other spaces as well as the various parks from Villa Groggia to the Giardino delle Vergini.

Jane da Mosto, Executive Director We Are Here Venice.