Urban Decay in Venice: Issue 1

There is an issue…one that is vicious and caught in a deadly circle of occurrence. Cities falling into a state of disarray resulting in abandoned and run-down buildings and stores. Fueled by the complex mix of social, economic and political dynamics, there is a huge exodus of inhabitants and capital leaving the city, producing devastating effects on the infrastructure, economy and society. A cause for this is a lack of sufficient basic supplies stores in the country, as well as a lack of appeal in an area, driving business straight to the ground in defeat. Since World War II, Venice has taken a turn for the worst. Over the past 50 years, the population has dropped from 165000 to a mere 63,000. This huge migration is a major detriment to the number and type of stores dotting Venice’s streets. With the incoming attention of tourists, more and more supply stores were transformed to souvenir shops, leaving less available stores of absolute living necessity to the actual Venetian residents. This along with the high cost of living for residents and high real estate costs force many residents to move out to the mainland. With all the empty houses, foreigners such as New Yorkers and Londoners, are willing to pay top dollar for them as second homes, thus forcing the cost of living to escalate. With this decrease in actual residents, the remaining supply stores have less customers, and without enough income to pay the rent, some are forced to close down. Also with the introduction of the euro in January 2002, prices in some cases almost doubled, forcing store owners to increase their store prices to stay afloat to meet up with this high cost of living. More often than not, the prices drive the population to shop further for cheaper prices, thus causing decreased income for shops and eventual foreclosure. Also, the number of educated middle-class jobs available in Venice are limited, since an inability to handle inflated real estate cost forced such companies as doctors’ offices, banks, and insurance companies out to the mainland. Such a cycle is hard to get out of and actions must be taken immediately!

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