Uses of Time

Bolzano is an Italian city of 100,000 inhabitants, located in the north of Italy, in the middle of the so-called Italian Tyrol. It is a touristic and commercial city, a reference point when exploring the Dolomites. The city has also been a leader in implementing time policies since Italy passed the Turco Law, which obliges Italian municipalities to coordinate the times of the city. Since the 1990s, Bolzano has been active in promoting time policies, with the creation of a time office within the municipality structure. However, the office in charge of time policies has changed along the way, passing through different departments and thus under different competencies. These interdepartmental transitions, beyond the mobility in competencies, have influenced the approach to time policies. In 2023, Bolzano will be the second World Capital of Time Policies, taking over from Barcelona.

Interview with Mr. Angelo Gennaccaro, Councillor for Digital Innovation, Smart City, Youth, Participation, Personnel and Demographic Services, Information Technologies, and Community Development of the Municipality of Bolzano (Italy).

1. Which time policies stand out in this long trajectory?

In the first period, through the Department of Economy, Schools, Mobility and HR, the focus was on the opening hours of shops and services, the working hours of employees, their mobility and the reconciliation of personal, family and working life.
Some of the most notable successes achieved during this phase are the reorganisation of nursery school timetables, the harmonisation of public transport timetables (in particular during school start and finish times) and the introduction of flexible working hours in the municipality of Bolzano.
Subsequently, with the Department of Urban Planning, we realised that the success of time policies requires good management of timetables and also of urban spaces. Therefore, in this new phase, the focus was redirected to urban regeneration.
On the one hand, we focused on degraded urban spaces and, through participatory projects with different stakeholders, we implemented various policies: maintenance of buildings, street lighting, community regeneration, cultural events, etc. Emphasis has also been placed on better management of the cycle lane network and public transport.
Since 2019, the Time Office and my department have been working together, focusing our work over the last three years on digitalisation.

Our aim is to digitise administrative procedures so that services are accessible to citizens at all times. In this transition phase, we cannot leave behind those citizens who are less familiar with “digital tools” and who therefore need our support. For this reason, it is our duty to organise actions and promote policies to counteract the digital divide for those citizens who still need to improve their digital skills.

2. What are the specific benefits that have been achieved by the citizens of Bolzano through time policies?

The ultimate goal is to ensure a better life for citizens, so that we save time and thus ensure a better quality of time. That is why our aim as an office is to focus our efforts on responding to the main problems and needs expressed by our citizens and to find the most suitable solution for each person involved. It is also important not only to consider time alone, but to always remember that time and space work together and go hand in hand.
Our best practices regarding school timetabling and in particular the ‘intermensa’ project have enabled families to manage their time better and students to experience school spaces not only as a place to study, but also a place for human relations, play and fun.

As for urban spaces, we have on the one hand worked on upgrading and adding some bicycle lanes leading to the schools, and on the other hand we have worked on repopulating some unused and decaying areas of the city. By making the space more frequented by citizens through the organisation of events and activities, squares and gardens have been redeveloped, thus allowing citizens and residents to spend their time there.

3. Time policies are a cross-cutting issue that affects all areas of the municipality, how do you ensure coordination between the different departments and stakeholders?

The participatory process is essential to achieve our goals. In the initial phase of the projects, it is necessary to collaborate with other colleagues in the municipality with competence in the field. For this reason, inter-municipal committees are set up, which must be approved by the municipal council. Participation in the inter-municipal roundtables guarantees a formal and official commitment on the part of the municipality.
The second step involves identifying the actors who may have an interest in the success of the project (organisations, associations, citizens, etc.). They are then invited to collaborate by setting up co-design tables. Good organisation is essential for success.

4. As the next World Capital of Time Policies, what are your objectives?

Our first objective is to value time and raise awareness of the importance of time policies. During this year we want to focus on four main aspects and questions:

• What are time policies and why are they so important?
• What new working time models have been promoted and what has been their impact?
• Night time. We often focus on what happens during the day and give little relevance to night time. What do citizens do during the night? How can users with different needs coexist?
• How fast does the digitalisation process happen and how fast can we follow it?

5. You are also a key member of the Local and Regional Government Time Network, why did you decide to join and what are the key benefits of belonging to this network?

For our conception of time policies, participation and consequently networking are very important. The network is a great opportunity to share best practices of time policies and to get to know other international realities that can be taken as examples for the development of new projects. Collaboration between cities is also an opportunity to develop and pursue new projects together. In addition, the network has a strong impact on communication, spreading the concept of time and raising the awareness of time among other cities.

6. What advice would you give to institutions and organisations that want to implement time policies, on how to start and persevere?

The first step is to identify the conflicts of citizens towards the management and organisation of their time. After detecting and analysing the different problems, it is necessary to identify areas of intervention according to current priorities. The second step is to choose partners to work with and the right stakeholders to involve.
Initially, we always start with pilot projects. After an initial trial period during which the project is monitored, we check the progress of the actions undertaken. If the project is successful, the action is transformed into a real service.
Last but not least, we will never stop repeating how important it is to have a structure dedicated to “time” at the administrative level.