Gthem students in Italy? Very few, completely insufficient compared to demand. And apartments for rent in many cities have unaffordable prices. It is no coincidence that university students are protesting, with or without tents. Now an innovative proposal comes from Vicenza: it is the City Campus project carried out by a social cooperative, Urbana. We start in January 2024with many new features both in content and in the financing method.
The area where the Campus Margherita student residence will be built, part of the City Campus urban regeneration project in Vicenza.
Meanwhile, what is it about: Vicenza does not have “its” university, but hosts some courses from Veneto universities: 8 three-year degrees, 5 master’s degrees, two doctorate courses, for a total of 5000 students, number that grows from year to year. You study Economics (branch in Verona), Engineering (Padua), Food Safety (Padua) and Industrial Design (IUAV Venice). All courses that have a strong connection with the territory. However, given the demand from off-site residents, the coverage of residential needs does not reach 10 percent. Too little. With City Campus and its 85 total beds, it will reach 23.5.
The project aims at the regeneration of two areas, in the opposite poles of the city, where two student residences will be built. The first, Campus Margherita, is adjacent to the university classrooms and will have 42 beds, common areas with study rooms, a food shop, a cafeteria, a garden. For now there is abandoned land, work will start in January. Afterwards, the campaign for the Carducci Campus will start.
They are the first student residences financed by equity crowdfunding
«City Campus has two great innovations compared to other student housing projects», says Tommaso Carrieri, one of Urbana’s administrators. «Meanwhile, for the first time ever in Italy an equity crowdfunding campaign is being promoted for a cooperative company. Until November 10th you can invest in the project on the Ecomill platform: 100 euros are enough, we have chosen a low threshold to also allow young people to participate. For those who invest there is a 30% deduction and a 4% annual remuneration, therefore very interesting.” Among the partners, there are Banca Etica and Fondazione Cariverona.
The project of a room for the future Campus Margherita student residence in Vicenza.
«The second aspect is that City Campus is at the center of a broader program on the way of experiencing the city», continues Carrieri. «Until today the university and the city have remained distant. Students arrive, go to class, and leave. An approach would contribute to the development of the territory. This is why we say that ours is a fair living proposal: not a simple dormitory but a starting point to make the city more attractive. It is no coincidence that the common classrooms, the garden and the shop will be open to everyone.
Furthermore, City Campus «will act as a lock pick to activate other projects we are working on in Urbana, such as energy communities, sustainable mobility, 0 km food. Energy communities will be developed in the same residences. «In short, we promote a new way of living in community», concludes Carrieri.
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