'THE EARTHSHOT PRIZE' - and the winner is... the CITY OF MILAN!

Perhaps not surprisingly, Milan, this most innovative of cities, has merited its place amongst the winners of the Earthshot Prize, currently run by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. This prize, which claims to be the most prestigious global environment prize in history, has been ‘designed to incentivise change and help repair our planet over the next 10 years’.

Milan has been named as ‘BUILD A WASTE-FREE WORLD WINNER’ for its ‘Food Waste Hubs’. The project, launched in 2019, aims to halve waste by 2030 with each hub recovering food mainly from supermarkets and companies’ canteens and giving it to NGOs who distribute it to the neediest citizens. Given that the global food system generates between 25-30% of the world’s total greenhouse emissions, the Milan project is truly commendable. It reflects the ingenuity, the brainpower and the common sense approach of the people of Milan, who have cleverly opted for a solution that does not involve the introduction of new energy hungry technology.

Far from me to be able to offer a history of this most influential of cities, with its complex and impressive past and a more recent radical evolution into a cosmopolitan European city that functions so well as to have become a model for others.

With its cathedral ‘The Duomo’ (the third largest church in the world) as its symbol, Milan is a proud and progressive city, whose inhabitants come across as cultured and stylish, dynamic and intelligent, albeit a little arrogant at times. The city now attracts more tourists than some of the more traditionally touristy places like Florence and Naples. This is not surprising, as Milan offers plenty to see and do, not the least some great shopping and wonderful and varied food, as well as its trademark ‘Aperitivo’, which mainly consists of an Aperol Spritz with plenty of yummy finger food. Visitors and residents can benefit from a very functional, easy to use and cheap public transport system made up of underground trains (the ‘Metro’), buses and trams. There’s no actual need to have a car in Milan. Its flat landscape lends itself well to riding bikes and scooters, which, together with electric cars, are available for hire as part of a council initiative to be ‘green’.

Like any city, Milan has its challenges: first and foremost its pollution, that is in part due to its geographical position in the plains closed in by the Alps to the north, which makes the smog stagnate in and around the city. It also needs to create well-tended, usable green spaces, which are notably missing in Milan. It urgently needs to beautify its outer suburbs and strive to create neighbourhoods with a real sense of community. The city would moreover benefit from promoting itself more consistently as a gateway to the neighbouring regions of outstanding beauty, such as the great lakes to the north, Bergamo to the east and the Pavia/Ticino river to the south amongst others.

In my opinion, Milan would do well to relax a bit; be more reflective and a little less mainstream. Having said that, its greatest asset remains its people – energetic, versatile, forward looking  and unique. Being one of the winners of ‘THE EARTHSHOT PRIZE’ has confirmed what was already known – Milan’s future will most certainly be a positive one.

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