Autumn: ecological shopping?

Autumn has come!
How delightful to come back to Florence from a weekend at the beach and discover that the city climate isn't that bad after all...!
Over the past weeks I have suffered the poor air quality, feeling quite frustrated at the thought that I live in the pedestrian area where, in theory, cars shouldn't circulate. I say in theory because taxis are exempt from this rule, and scooters seem to simply ignore it.


Last Spring the new young Florentine Mayor, Matteo Renzi, introduced significant changes in car circulation by closing to traffic two important streets, Via Tornabuoni (the famous luxury-shopping district) and Via Guicciardini (that runs from Ponte Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti). 

He made this difficult choice a year after deciding to close to traffic the whole area around beautiful Duomo - which gave rise to months and months of polemics. 

One the reasons behind these choices is to reduce air pollution. Florence is in a valley, sorrounded by hills, and air is oftentimes stagnant. On lovely autumn days like today fresh breezes sweep away the pollution, but this of course isn't sufficient to guarantee decent air quality in such a densely populated environment - hence the traffic changes. 

The so-called pedonalizzazione wasn't welcomed by everyone with a smile. 
Many shopkeepers expressed frustration out of the belief that their clients wouldn't shop in their stores unless they could drive right by them. This is clearly not the case: car-free streets are, in fact, even more likely to become shopping districts precisely because they are safer and nicer to walk through. One example for all: Borgo la Croce (the pedestrian street that runs from Sant'Ambrogio to Piazza Beccaria) is always packed with shoppers, especially on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, when Italians enjoy the classic weekend pastime: passeggiata.


I must say that local shopkeepers seem to display unreasonable behaviour, and their hostility towards pedestrian areas is only one of the possible examples.
One of the strangest and most unreasonable behaviours I have witnessed is the following: in Summer shops will have the air conditioning full-blast but all the doors wide open. In winter, same thing: hot air at full regimen, but doors open to the elements.


Last winter Florence had an unprecedented snowstorm: the whole city stopped in its tracks because of how much snow fell in just a few hours. And the shopkeepers? Doors wide open, heat full blast, snow blowing in.
I was walking around when I got caught in the snowstorm and took refuge in a popular bag and accessories store called Segue. I walked in and shut the door behind me. The young employee rushed up to me and scolded me: "You can't close the door!". 
I was shocked and pointed out: "It's snowing inside!", to which I received the same answer: "You simply can't close it!!". 
I was so outraged that I went back out in the storm - to be inside and get snowed on, may as well be out in the street, don't you think?



In the years, talking with many many shopkeepers, I learned that they believe that if they don't keep their doors open clients will not step in. And they appear unwilling to revisit their position and recognize that it's based on false beliefs - people are generally accustomed to opening doors in order to get inside shop, and they generally don't associate a closed door with an unwelcoming shopkeeper, or with the obligation to purchase something if they enter the store). 


Moreover, most shopkeepers appear unwilling to reflect on the fact that their behaviour determines an outrageous energetic consumption that nullifies the eventual benefit of a few extra clients. Again, they are unwilling to see that their behaviour is counter-beneficial because in the winter clients freeze in the front side of the store which is open to the elements and roast to death in the over-heated back; while in the summer customers freeze in the super-cold shops, only to suffocate when they walk on the sidewalk outside because of the excessive exhaust produced by the over-running air-conditioning. Finally, shopkeepers are unwilling to see how short-sighted their behaviour is, given that this ludicrous energy expenditure is polluting the environment in horrific ways and is depleting resources.


Ironically, shopkeepers make life miserable for the shoppers that they struggle to attract. Sadly, most pedestrians blame solely the harsh Florentine climate for its blasting hot summer days, without recognizing that the city itself produces way more heat than it would if shop-owners made reasonable and sensible choices.


I think that we should all contribute to making Florence a better place to visit and to live in. We can make such a difference in life-quality by making small, every day choices!
I've been asking shop-owners to close their doors, and I have also considered doing more serious research, and presenting shops with some nice hard-data that demonstrates how consumer behaviour is different from what they imagine. And mostly: if all shops in Florence kept their doors closed, it would become the norm, and nobody would ever think that it has any meaning - apart from: "I'm a sensible person"!!!


You can make a difference too, even if you spend just a few days, or even hours, in this beautiful city - and if you do make the choice to contribute to the quality of life in Florence, do write to me and tell your story! I would love to share it on this blog.