Lugano: bars, stores and restaurants are transforming unused urban spaces
At times very little is needed to change a corner of a city. To transform a street, which may be in decline or at least excluded from the flow of customers and tourists, into a «place to go» and worth visiting. One example? The waterfront. In every city in the world, it is absolutely natural and logical to allow small bars, bistros, markets and street artists to establish themselves on the banks of a river. Not so in Lugano. Lugano has never really had a promenade, also because the Cassarate has always been conceived as a break between the center of town and the surrounding area. For a while now, a small piece of Viale Cassarate (leaving aside for a moment what happened on May 29 and the demolition of the former slaughterhouse, about a hundred meters to the north) is more alive than ever. The Badalucci Restaurant requested and received from the City Hall the opportunity to expand and take a piece of sidewalk to install an outdoor bar, placing a few tables and some furniture. And considering the result, there are already those who can imagine the potential of that area if other operators were to decide to do the same. But this is not, as we’ ll see, the only such initiative in Lugano. On the contrary. Everything can be traced back to the pandemic and the various strategies studied to help traders and restaurateurs. A pandemic - a disaster for millions of people - which, at least involuntarily, would seem to have left at the very least something good in the city’s fabric. And the municipal authority seems intent on pursuing the path laid out.
«It was already an ongoing process.»
The starting point is the decision, taken by almost all Swiss cities, to grant restaurateurs the option of increasing the use of public land by 30% (thereby cancelling the relative tax). In other words, to increase outdoor spaces by 30% to ensure that customers have enough space without sacrificing too many tables. «At that point - explains the head of the department of Urban Spaces, Karin Valenzano Rossi - we also had to consider the problems of the restaurants that, in the city, did not have an outdoor space». Space that, in some cases, has been created ad hoc. Badalucci, in fact, came forward and obtained a small part of the riverfront. The Orologio Restaurant, close to the Bus Stop, instead, has been able to take advantage of the small square that has been created near the new fountain in Via della Posta, actually contributing to «lengthen» the semi-pedestrianized area by about one hundred meters.
«To tell the truth - explains the municipal - the City prior to the pandemic had already launched a project to identify and enhance some urban areas. The areas that we wanted to allocate through a contest». But the pandemic stopped everything. First halted and then accelerated. The health crisis has pushed the Municipality to take initiatives such as the increase in the use of public land and the creation of spaces for those who have no outdoor space. And the results are welcome. «The squares have never been so alive, Via della Posta is splendid. So I believe - underlines Valenzano Rossi - that even when we have left the pandemic behind us, we must continue in this direction. Maybe revising the cantonal regulations according to the changing needs of urban centers». With the new relaxations decided by the Confederation (see 2 and 3) such measures could theoretically no longer be necessary, but carrying them out will mean helping restaurateurs and traders. And also to satisfy several citizens, who have appreciated the proposed solutions.
We talked about Badalucci and the Orologio, but there are many similar examples. Gabbani has adorned Piazza Cioccaro, while in Via della Posta a private party (Dahra) has managed to do what the Executive has struggled to do for years: create an urban design capable of creating unanimity. «We wanted - explains Marco Badalucci, chef and owner of the restaurant of the same name - to recreate what can be seen in Paris on the riverfront, and we thank the City Hall for allowing us to do so». «We came up with this idea - explains Alex Moscatelli - not to increase revenues, but to enhance the area where we are located with two of our restaurants (the Clock and the Bistrot Lugano)». Livening up what was a construction zone, and the Shelter. «And we also did it to provide job openings for young people from the region.»
«Continue on this path.»
Such initiatives are also welcomed by the Merchants’ Society. «It is important that they are supported by the public - confirms President Rupen Nacaroglu - but it is also crucial that individuals come forward proactively with ideas and projects. I also hope that the authorities will maintain these facilities, such as the increased use of public space, even after we have emerged from the pandemic.» At least some of that will most likely be the case.