This is the greenest city in Italy in 2024. Where is yours in the ranking?

How sustainable is the city you live in? The Urban Ecosystem 2024 report, published by Legambiente in collaboration with Environment Italy And Il Sole 24 Oreoffers us a clear and often surprising answer.

Among the 106 capital cities analyzed this year, emerging as a leader in sustainability and quality of life is Reggio Emiliawhich displaces Trento from the historic podium and positions itself at the top, overtaking other cities in Northern Italy in a general framework that sees the South still in trouble.

But be careful, there are some surprises: if in fact cities like Naples, Catania and Palermo occupy the last positionsthere are cases like that of Cosenza, which reaches 13th place. With new indicators and updated assessments, the 2024 ranking photographs a two-speed Italy, where urban sustainability no longer seems to be just an option, but a necessity.

Emilia Romagna emerges as the leading region in sustainability with three cities in the top ten positions: in addition to Reggio EmiliaAlso Parma And Bologna (the only large city in the top ten) stand out for the progress made in the field of waste sorting and of sustainable mobility.

A victory for the environment and the community

At the top of the ranking, Reggio Emilia gained first position thanks to important collection results recycling, fight against smog and development of cycle mobility. The city has achieved a separate waste collection rate of 83.8%, well above the national average, and boasts the largest cycle network in Italy, with 48.14 meters of paths for every 100 inhabitants. Furthermore, it recorded a reduction in water consumption and a significant increase in the number of passengers on public transport, underlining the city’s growing focus on sustainable mobility.

In second place we find Trentpreviously at the top of the ranking for a long time, which nevertheless confirms excellent environmental management. Parmain third place, showed significant growth, recovering fifteen positions compared to last year thanks to improvements in the efficiency of public transport and urban mobility.

The large metropolises in difficulty

Among the top ten positions we mainly find cities in Northern Italy: as well as Reggio Emilia, Trento and Parma, there are Pordenone, Forlì, Treviso, Mantua, Bologna, Bolzano and Cremona.

The fate of the main Italian cities is different, with Milan, Naples and Rome who are struggling. Milan places only at 56th placedespite the excellence in public transport; Naples, slipped to 103rd placehighlights a deterioration in environmental performance compared to the previous year. Rome shows improvement, going from 89th to 65th place but the weight of environmental critical issues remains considerable.

The South is in trouble, but with virtuous exceptions

The results of the South still show a strong delay compared to the rest of Italy: eight southern capitals are in the last ten positions in the rankingwith Catania closing the ranking in 106th place. However, Cosenza stands out positively in 13th place, showing that environmental efficiency is also possible in the Southern regions, albeit with a slight worsening compared to last year.

Among the few positive notes for the South there is L’Aquila, which stands out for its air quality with the lowest incidence of PM10 among all Italian citiesAnd Ragusa, also rated positively for air quality.

An ecological revolution that is too slow

“Despite ongoing efforts, the ecological revolution in Italian cities is proceeding at too slow a pace” – he comments Stefano Ciafanipresident of Legambiente. This year’s survey shows how Italian municipalities are grappling with chronic problems: smog, pollution, land consumption, inefficiencies in transport systems and, more recently, the growing impact ofovertourism. Cities need support and an Italian Green Deal that includes structural interventions, adequate financing and a common vision to tackle the climate crisis, urban regeneration and sustainable mobility.

The Urban Ecosystem 2024 introduced significant changes in the evaluation criteria, adding new indicators to offer a more accurate representation of urban sustainability. The twenty indicators used are divided into six thematic categories – air, water, waste, mobility, urban environment and energy – and are the result of constant study, necessary to reflect the reality and challenges that Italian cities are facing.

URBAN ECOSYSTEM RANKING 2024

  1. Reggio Emilia 80.66%
  2. Trento 78.70%
  3. Parma 76.64%
  4. Pordenone 75.55%
  5. Forlì 72.84%
  6. Treviso 72.63%
  7. Mantua 71.86%
  8. Bologna 71.42%
  9. Bolzano 71.40%
  10. Cremona 71.16%
  11. Ferrara 71.14%
  12. Rimini 70.75%
  13. Cosenza 70.75%
  14. Varese 70.13%
  15. Cesena 69.82%
  16. Bergamo 68.53%
  17. Wedge 67.96%
  18. Ravenna 67.42%
  19. Belluno 66.90%
  20. Teramo 66.40%
  21. Verbania 64.67%
  22. La Spezia 64.33%
  23. Macerata 64.26%
  24. Cagliari 64.18%
  25. Lodi 64.09%
  26. Siena 63.12%
  27. Modena 63.05%
  28. Aosta 62.87%
  29. Livorno 62.80%
  30. Brescia 62.69%
  31. Biella 62.28%
  32. Trieste 61.86%
  33. Ancona 61.74%
  34. Udine 61.02%
  35. Piacenza 60.07%
  36. Pavia 59.95%
  37. As 59.93%
  38. Gorizia 59.83%
  39. Venice 59.72%
  40. Perugia 59.64%
  41. Pisa 59.51%
  42. Padua 59.47%
  43. Enna 58.84%
  44. Novara 58.79%
  45. Terni 58.72%
  46. Pesaro 58.48%
  47. Arezzo 57.69%
  48. Lucca 57.46%
  49. Asti 57.40%
  50. Ascoli Piceno 57.29%
  51. Vicenza 56.98%
  52. Nuoro 56.97%
  53. Genoa 56.50%
  54. Monza 56.39%
  55. Sondrio 56.23%
  56. Milan 56.18%
  57. Meadow 55.68%
  58. Lecce 55.61%
  59. Vercelli 55.45%
  60. Benevento 55.43%
  61. Savona 55.40%
  62. Oristano 55.31%
  63. Florence 55.26%
  64. Lecco 54.59%
  65. Rome 53.48%
  66. Avellino 53.07%
  67. Chieti 52.91%
  68. Messina 52.82%
  69. Ragusa 52.01%
  70. Caltanissetta 51.69%
  71. Brindisi 51.14%
  72. Pescara 50.94%
  73. Trapani 50.83%
  74. Sassari 50.76%
  75. L’Aquila 50.41%
  76. Rovigo 49.99%
  77. Grosseto 49.94%
  78. Verona 49.09%
  79. Taranto 48.81%
  80. Power 48.55%
  81. Isernia 48.53%
  82. Matera 48.11%
  83. Rieti 48.03%
  84. Foggia 47.41%
  85. Turin 47.34%
  86. Agrigento 46.90%
  87. Viterbo 46.30%
  88. Salerno 46.26%
  89. Bari 44.84%
  90. Campobasso 44.70%
  91. Mass 44.45%
  92. Syracuse 44.39%
  93. Frosinone 41.69%
  94. Pistoia 41.09%
  95. Alexandria 40.83%
  96. Latina 40.48%
  97. Imperia 40.38%
  98. Caserta 39.80%
  99. Catanzaro 39.68%
  100. Firm 39.68%
  101. Vibo Valentia 36.84%
  102. Palermo 34.63%
  103. Naples 33.23%
  104. Crotone 30.60%
  105. Reggio Calabria 26.41%
  106. Catania 15.79%