Turin (pronounced as “To-REEE-no!” in Italian) was the host city to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. It’s also known historically as the “Automobile Capital” of Italy, similar to Detroit in the United States.
Turin has been one of the more unusual cities I have been to in Italy – at least while being driven around its streets. There are a plethora of streetcars in this flat city with a grid-like urban arrangement. The streets, much wider than most Italian cities, are littered with overhead electric lines – even the traffic lights are hung over these abundant lines that criss-cross the city. Turin clearly showed its attachment to the automobile and to faster methods of transport other than walking (which, for a city that was dedicated to the auto industry, is only natural). I became quickly attracted to the urban peculiarities of Turin.
I noticed more peculiarities after we were free to roam on our own in the city center. The above picture shows a bike lane suddenly ending in front of a vendor in the middle of town. While taking a picture and wondering if anyone was using the bike lane, I almost got run over by a cyclist! Clearly there were individuals who were interested in fully utilizing a system that does not yet seem fully complete.
This brings me to my next point – Turin is in the midst of an urban renaissance and is in the process of renewing its (unfortunately) long-neglected history. Turin did not fare well after the rapid decline of the auto industry (Fiat closed its massive production factory in the Lingotto District in 1982), but the massive flow of Olympic funding refreshed Turin’s image for Italy and the rest of the world. Neighborhoods are rapidly being gentrified and fresh new attractions now host an abundance of visitors. Elda Tessore, the city councilwoman for the Olympic Games, told NBC Sports back in 2006 (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/11567263) that “Before, no one in the world knew where Turin was…We had to say: think of Europe … northern Italy … close to Milan … But now we can just say: Torino!”
But this, of course, is only one side of the overall view about redevelopment in Turin. During a walking tour around one of Turin’s gentrifying neighborhoods, I asked one of the guides whether gentrification was actually reducing overall crime rates around the city, or whether crime was simply being pushed out to other neighborhoods. The response I received was, “in fact, the neighborhood adjacent to us is filled with drug abuse!”
…it looks like there are a lot of possibilities ahead for the city of Turin.