SUMP Metropolitan City of Messina: The “Stitching” Strategy for Democratic and Integrated Mobility

The Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) of the Metropolitan City of Messina is a far-reaching strategic project, tasked with guiding the transition toward sustainable and democratic mobility over the next decade. The primary challenge lies in embracing an area comprising 108 Municipalities with profound diversities in terms of topography, structure, and size, making them synergistic, cohesive, and integrated.

The core vision of the Metropolitan Strategic Plan – and consequently of the SUMP – is encapsulated in the keyword: “Ricucitura” (Stitching), understood as the act of connecting and enhancing the diversity of the territory.

The SUMP therefore pursues this “Stitching” goal through coordinated actions operating across the three dimensions of sustainability:

• Environmental Stitching and Sustainability
• Economic Stitching and Sustainability
• Social Stitching and Sustainability.

Environmental Stitching and Sustainability

This strategy aims to stitch together territories and people with a focus on the environment. Actions are centered on prioritizing public transport over private vehicles, promoting the use of shared transport modes, and reducing road congestion. The Plan favors the maintenance and safety of existing assets over the construction of new infrastructure, thereby reducing land consumption and ensuring adequate connections through sustainable interventions.

Economic Stitching and Sustainability

The SUMP links economic development to mobility by acting on key sectors such as slow tourism (a precious resource) and the organization of the logistics system and freight transport networks. In this context, “stitching” means:

• Logistics: Connecting industrial, production, and consumption areas in the most sustainable way possible.
• Tourism: Bringing territories and attractions together, weaving a network that creates synergy and added value for slow tourism.

Social Stitching and Sustainability

There is no sustainability without social inclusion. This strategy aims to improve people’s quality of life and reduce the social costs resulting from road accidents. The goal is the stitching together of communities around their own vital spaces through pedestrianization, the removal of architectural barriers, and the enhancement of social interaction.

The SUMP translates these strategies into concrete actions, specifically by strengthening Active Mobility and Local Public Transport (LPT) on a metropolitan scale.

The Plan develops a comprehensive vision of active mobility, promoting slow tourism and the electrification of cycling. Key actions include:

• Creation of a safe and continuous cycle-pedestrian system.
• Development of multimodal interchange nodes to support soft mobility.
• Integrated articulation of cycle-pedestrian routes according to specific user targets.

Particular attention is given to LPT, which is crucial in the Sicilian and Messina context. The interventions aim to ensure territorial continuity and accessibility:

• Territorial Continuity: Improvement of internal connections (sea – mountains) and coastal links, with particular reference to the stable crossing of the Strait and connections to the Aeolian Islands.
• Exchange Nodes: Strengthening of interchanges to facilitate the transition between different modes of transport.

The SUMP of the Metropolitan City of Messina is conceived as a Plan-Process that, through continuous monitoring and dialogue between local authorities, stakeholders, and citizens, invites the entire territory to adopt the strategic guidelines to move toward democratic and sustainable mobility.

In partnership with Airis