Stefano Lo Russo Ph.D. has been the Mayor of Torino since 27 October 2021. He was elected to the municipal Council for the first time in 2006. Re-elected in 2011, he was the leader of the Democratic Party in the Council until 2013, when he became Deputy Mayor for urban planning. Elected again in 2016, he served as leader of the Democratic Party in the municipal Council until October 2021, when he was elected Mayor.
Mayor Lo Russo is a geologist and professor of Engineering geology in the Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering at Politecnico di Torino. He is the author and co-author of several national and international peer-reviewed publications and appears in various conference and symposia proceedings. He is also a co-founder and board member of the Energy Security and Transition Lab at the Energy Center at the Politecnico di Torino.
“I have decided to join the OECD’s Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth initiative because it is important for mayors to take the lead in tackling inequalities. The role that the municipal administration plays in the co-planning of the health and well-being of citizens is fundamental. In fact, the city must be the bearer of a single health and social program and must relate to the other bodies that have complementary functions in this field. If the city is suitable for its most fragile inhabitants, it is a city suitable for everyone. Active citizenship and community policies must be developed to support minors, homeless, and migrants, in collaboration with local associations. Priority is given to projects whose beneficiaries are young people of the “second and third generations”, who often feel excluded from opportunities for cultural and economic growth in the suburbs. Promoting a culture of hospitality and reducing digital inequality through inclusion and digital literacy policies for the most fragile citizens: no one should be left behind.”
Since 2018, the City of Torino has promoted a Social Inclusion Plan aimed at designing an integrated system of services to meet the economic, employment and housing needs of residents. The system is based on proximity welfare; it focuses on people and on communities and it includes a co-planning process of long-term strategies with local stakeholders to reduce inequalities and foster social cohesion by strengthening social ties and undertaking collective responsibilities. The engagement of different stakeholders has expanded ideas, skills and know-how, matching people’s needs with the most appropriate responses. The different activities supporting individuals and families in need include, among others: employment support through internships and trainings complementing national anti-poverty measures; promotion of opportunities of active inclusion, socio-educational help through the community centres and third sector organisations working in the different city districts; new housing solutions for deprived people and housing-first solutions for the homeless; and food and basic goods distribution. The City of Torino has invested part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) funds to projects aimed at implementing the Social Inclusion Plan and promoting inclusive growth through seven action areas that will drive the City of Torino’s investments and projects over the next few years to build an economically stronger, more cohesive, inclusive and sustainable Torino. Further information is available at Torinocambia.
The City of Torino aims to foster greater social cohesion and integration in urban areas characterized by a high number of social houses and by people experiencing situations of hardship, marginality and inequality. The tool identified to support and facilitate this process is the implementation of the social mix, i.e. a diversified social, cultural and economic fabric with a positive impact on the areas that are defined, identified and perceived as “urban and social peripheries”. To this end, the City has developed several projects:
“Youth Solidarity Co-housing”, i.e. co-housing communities, made up of young volunteers aged 18-30, set up in municipality-owned flats located in public housing districts or in marginalized urban areas.
“Lo.C.A.Re”, a center facilitating the matching between demand and supply in the private rental market and providing incentives as one-off non repayable grants.
“Homes4all”, the impact finance project promoted by the City of Torino in the frame of Torino Social Impact, addressing the problem of housing emergency.
See the event “TORINO: Sviluppo – Coesione – Sostenibilità – Cura” – (OGR Torino 15/11/2022) in which a year in mandate is reported to illustrate the future program: https://youtu.be/x1hX-SxR2q4
The City of Torino is committed to promoting equal access to culture and to fostering the public and social value of music, art, culture as a tool of personal wellbeing, social inclusion and life-long learning. Since 2021, the City of Torino has been partner of “Culture around the corner”, a project promoted by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo. The programme was designed to bring the cultural activities of some of the major cultural bodies of Torino (eg. The Egyptian Museum, GAM-Gallery of Modern Art, Gallerie d’Italia, theatres, etc.) to the more peripheral areas of the city. All the activities are free and fully accessible, and they are carried out in the community neighbourhood centres and in local libraries. The project wants to promote new moments of sharing, gathering and active participation through arts, music, history, science, photography and theatre, bringing culture closer to people with fewer opportunities. The programme entails more than 120 cultural activities including workshops, lectures, science dissemination, concerts and museum visits.