Ferrara (Italy)

Ferrara is situated in the Plain of the Po River, capital city of the province of the same name, and ancient Duchy of the "Signoria degli Este". Its 131.000 inhabitants are distributed on a completely flat area of over 404 square kilometres. The rapid shrinking of the population (157.000 inhabitants in 1975) has mainly to do with a dramatic decrease of the birth rate in the last decades, especially in the Emilia Region and an increase of life expectancy.

Ferrara has consolidated in the last years its position as a university town showing a dynamic and innovative policy in this field with an attractive course program. The University offers numerous graduate courses and attracts over 14700 students. In the nineties, the Ferrara University has undergone a substantial transformation: it has changed from a typically traditional structure to a dynamic and open school, thanks to a wide diversification of the educational offer (new graduate courses).

The development of tourism is positive, particularly if one considers the indicator of overnight stays above all by foreigners. In the cities of Art, Culture and Nature such as Ferrara, this tendency is directly related to the quality of environment and culture and the liveability. This confirms the predominance of a tourism of "passers by" often related to specific cultural events. Thanks to the spread of a type of tourism linked to enjoying eating and drinking, environmental excursions and "agriturismo" new spaces of promotion are being opened up. Since 1991, the "Ferrara's Geothermal Energy and District Heating" project, a local best practice in the field of renewable energies, has been taking shape.

The City of Ferrara began to take a concrete interest in environmental subjects in 1995, with the institution of an Environmental Department. Already in 1996, the first tendencies in favour of a Sustainable Development could be noted, with the creation of the Bike Office for a "Sustainable Mobility" and the signing of the Aalborg Charter. Ferrara is internationally renowned as the City of the Bicycle, symbol of sustainability and local quality of life, which entitled the City, thanks to the work of the Bicycle Office, to obtain the first "Sustainable Cities Award", given by the Ministry of Environment in 1999.

The City has also received formal recognition as a Sustainable City for Children, thanks to the local action coordinated by the Office For a Child Friendly City. Finally, the UNESCO has recognized Ferrara as Cultural Mankind Heritage, due to the good preservation of the City Walls and Historical Centre. At the end of 1998, the Agenda21 took off in Ferrara, within the Special Projects for a new way of governing: periodic reports on the state of environment and sustainability in the City were introduced. The Forum for Environment and Sustainable Development has been activated together with the Province of Ferrara; after the creation of an Action Plan, they're now working for its execution. The activities in favour of environmental awareness have considerably increased and have been widely communicated, thanks also to the work of the Environment Educational Centre IDEA.

Contact

City of Ferrara
Department Territory and Sustainable Development
Ms Giovanna Rio
Via Alfonso d’Este 17 I 
441000 Ferrara
fon: +39 0532 744 657
email: g.rio@comune.fe.it