1. ORGANISING CENTRES AND NETWORKS

>1.1 Public transport on rail
The reinforcement of the public rail network was one of the basic elements of the territorial organisation proposed by the PTCP. Since 1994 accords have been underwritten between the Municipality of Bologna, the Province, the Region, the State and the Railways to develop the Metropolitan Light Railway Service (SFM), consisting of 8 lines running parallel to the established major roads and converging on the regional capital: when fully operative it will have 82 stations and a service operating every hour or half hour, and more frequently at peak times and on the busiest lines. The SFM is distinguished by its reduced impact in terms of atmospheric pollution and the fact that, since it uses the existing rail network, it will not produce any radical change in the physical structure of the territory.


The relations between the rail network and the developed areas were a decisive factor in the planning decisions on different scales. On the provincial scale, the Plan attributed greater potential for development to towns served by the SFM, while, on the local scale, the importance attributed to integrating the SFM with the other public and private systems of mobility has entailed a concern with the reorganisation of the peripheral stations and the exploitation of their role in the urban context. Improved accessibility to the stations makes it probable that facilities capable of drawing the greatest benefit from this fact will be installed in their vicinity.
For the major urban axes (connections between the old town centre and San Lazzaro, Borgo Panigale, the Trade Fair and Corticella) it is planned to establish a public transport service that will travel both above ground and underground.

1.2 > Polycentric development
The irregular dynamics of settlement in recent years have produced a series of deleterious effects in terms of territorial impact and costs for the community, and have determined a general reduction in the quality of life. The objective that the PTCP proposes for the coming years is to oppose this tendency by deploying complex strategies that will exploit the capacity of the provincial capital and of the other towns to contain the spread of development.
The re-launching of the territory of Bologna on a European scale is therefore based on a plan that creates a convergence between urban development policies, services and public transport systems, particularly by rail.


Within the provincial boundaries the plan has identified 228 urban settlements, with a preliminary distinction between those at present served by the Metropolitan Light Railway system and those that are still not served by it or will not be served in the near future. A second distinction was made on the basis of the availability of services and facilities for social life and leisure activities. On the basis of this composite classification, a strategy was developed for the urban settlements included in each landscape unit aimed, in relation to the specific cases, at reinforcing its territorial significance in terms of development or consolidating its present role in terms of urban regeneration.
A series of specific policies seeks to re-launch the city of Bologna in the European ambit by undertaking the transformation of (public and private) areas now derelict or soon to be derelict as well as alternatives between them, all equally capable of articulating and enriching the functional composition of the urban fabric. The objective is to improve the environmental conditions and the level of services, so excluding new urban developments that would lead to an extension of water-impermeable surfaces and so aggravate the occurrence of subsidence and the risks bound up with the flow of water on the plain.