gis map ?

Charting the Emergence

of a Knowledge Economy
in
Venice, Italy

Laurie Zapalac, MSAS, LEED AP

PhD Candidate
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 10-485

Cambridge, MA 02142

lzapalac@mit.edu
+1 512 413 8440

2010.09.07
 ABSTRACT

In this paper, I explore how digital technology and the sustainability imperative
are changing the use and value of the historic center of Venice, Italy. These
changes suggest new potential for urban regeneration and lead to larger
conclusions about the role of Venice and other historic cities in 21st century.

Even as tourism acts as a dominant force, the historic center of Venice is

becoming more attractive for certain types of self-directed, highly skilled
workers who can be described as knowledge workers.1 Through seven case
studies, along with on-site observation and review of employment and building
use data in Venice, Italy, I answer the research question: why is the historic
center of Venice attracting knowledge workers?

My findings suggest that a main advantage of the historic center for knowledge
workers is access to “place knowledge” -- knowledge accrued over time by a
local community as well as knowledge embedded within the physical fabric of
the city. These case studies demonstrate how digital technology is allowing
workers to generate high value products and services based upon place
knowledge.

In addition to providing competitive advantages based upon place knowledge,

the historic city also facilitates physical-virtual social networking and personal
responses to the sustainability imperative, all of which are viewed as important
and related concepts by knowledge workers.

I conclude that the rehabilitated historic center will be more highly valued
as a place to live and work than in the last century, especially as technology
changes how work is done and erases the temporal and spatial boundaries of
when and where work takes place. Within this context, the historic center
of Venice, as well as other cities, can meet the dual objectives of sustainable
productivity and high worker satisfaction.

Keywords: Historic Cities; 21st Century Cities; Place Knowledge;Venice;

Cultural Heritage; Tourism Economics

Laurie Zapalac
laurizapalac@gmail.com
+1 (512) 413-8440 1 Drucker, 1966, p. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE: Introduction ..................................................................................... 1

PART TWO: Background ..................................................................................... 4

PART THREE: Literature Review ...................................................................... 10

PART FOUR: Research Method and Case Studies ...................................... 16

PART FIVE: Conclusions .................................................................................... 42

APPENDIX ONE: Additional Case Study Data ............................................ 48

APPENDIX TWO: Research Description and Interview Questions ....... 52

BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 56

3
 Fig. 1. Aerial photograph of the Venetian lagoon, historic center and
4 mainland area of the Province of Venice. Source: Google Earth
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

Constructed as a defensible community upon a foundation of mud flats and

wooden pilings, within a nearly unnavigable lagoon,Venice has always been a
highly artificial city set within a dynamic natural environment (see Figure 1).
Actively managing the tension between urban systems and natural systems is
imperative for its continued existence. Historically,Venice has a remarkable
track record for not only plucky ingenuity, but also extraordinary innovation.
What bearing does this have on the contemporary city, especially now that
many of the advances of the Industrial Age, roughly corresponding to the last
two centuries, produced impacts that are now having to be remedied?

The dramatic flood which inundated the historic center of the city on
November 4, 1966, produced three specific outcomes: it renewed interest
in understanding how development of the Venetian Lagoon and its environs
impacts the physical integrity of the historic city; it began a debate about how
to transition the regional economy away from industrial activity; and it inspired
an international campaign dedicated to “saving” or “safeguarding” cultural
heritage. That campaign has since invested millions of dollars in a wide variety
of projects, from the conservation of singular works of public art to the
preservation of entire buildings

The regional and state governments have complete numerous improvements

to the infrastructure of the city and its environs. In 1973, the government of
Italy enacted The Special Law for Venice, laying the groundwork for two now
seemingly contradictory initiatives. It started the development of the multi-
billion euro Modulo Sperimentale Electromeccanico “MOSE” project, a system
of inflatable dams at the three primary openings of the Venetian lagoon to
protect the historic center of Venice from high water (acqua alta), a type of
storm surge now occurring with greater frequency and intensity. It also set
out to ensure continued economic activity by preserving jobs, particularly
those in the industrial port of Marghera.1

Yet, during the course of these interventions, the population of the historic
center of Venice has continued to decline steeply (from 175,000 in 1951 to
60,000 in 2009; see Figure 02), while tourism has proliferated, resulting in
an increasingly homogeneous economy. While both high water and archaic
infrastructure are frequently cited as major factors in the depopulation of
the city, the city’s relationship with tourism, now mass or global in character,
appears to be having equally insidious effects on the residential population of
the city.

1 Environmentalists and politicians alike have since acknowledged that industrial

activity poses many problems for the lagoon environment; activities such as the dredging
of the lagoon for deep water ship channels have, in fact, directly contributed to the
conditions under which high water takes place. Environmental restrictions enacted by
the European Union are now reorienting activities in Marghera away from chemical
production. See the Introduction by Musu in A Future for Venice for further description.

1
 PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

There are, however, reasons to be optimistic about the regeneration of Venice

in the 21st century. Venice has again become a point of reference in city-
making; in Norman Foster’s design for the city of Masdar in the United Arab
Emirates, the design team looked to the scale, physical density and pedestrian-
oriented framework of Venice as points of inspiration for a highly sustainable,
highly networked, new city.

Even more importantly, some new economic activity emerging both in the
historic center and on the mainland suggests the potential for a future
beholden neither to the industrialization of the Venetian lagoon nor to the
type of tourism that competes with the development of a diversified urban
economy.

This paper focuses on events that have taken place in the roughly the last
twenty years. A milestone in the shift in thinking about the potential of
the historic center was the election of Mayor Massimo Cacciari in 1993
(with tenure until 2000) and his “ ‘Idea of Venice’ ... combining history with
innovation, the conservation of its cultural and artistic values alongside the
development of available resources.”2 This was followed by the creation of
the new master plan for Venice (1995) under the leadership of Mayor Cacciari
and Assessor of Urban Planning, Roberto d’Agostino.3 The plan attempts to
address Venice’s triad of contemporary problems: managing its urban fabric
and infrastructure, managing tourism, and arresting depopulation. In the
preface to the plan publication, Cacciari writes:

“The fundamental question that every Venetian will have to confront

in this plan is the following: do we think that Venice can actually save
itself by “inventing” for itself and placing within its delicate (urban) fabric
new functions, new sectors of research, new productive activity? If we
believe, then this Plan has to be our path of orientation. If we believe,
instead, that Venice is simply incompatible with innovative technology,
research, development, and production, and that it should be in every
case be merely conserved, that it cannot support our steps forward,
then let’s drop this project. But if we drop it, we should also drop the
discussion about the need to stop the exodus, to revitalize the city, etc.”4

The master plan outlines a strategy for the relationship between the historic
city center (centro storico), the other lagoon islands (estuario) and mainland
areas (terraferma) of the Comune of Venice and the larger Veneto Region.

RESEARCH QUESTION
Though the master plan has produced a number of important initiatives, more
2 Benevolo, p. 82
3 The prior master plan for Venice was developed in the 1950s, approved in 1962
and never fully revised or updated. (Benevolo, p. 82)
4 Cacciari, “Quale idea per Venezia” in Nuovo Piano Urbanistico (Benevolo, ed).
Translated by me.
2
recent policy decisions reflect an increasing reliance upon or relenting to the
dominance of tourism toward the end of Cacciari’s last term as mayor (2005
- March, 2010). Even as these shifts have taken took place, it is possible to
observe new types of work in Venice at the edge and beyond the traditional
boundaries of the tourism sector, as Cacciari’s “Idea of Venice” implies.

I first took notice of this activity through the experience of living and working
in the historic center at various intervals from 1995 to 2007. The availability
of electronically published business directories and database as well as
small, though promising economic indicators documented by the last census
provides further evidence of this new activity. As noted in The Venice Report
published in 2009 (by the non-governmental organization,Venice in Peril),
while the number of jobs in the historic center fell by more than 20 percent
from 1981 to 2001, between 1991 and 2001, “employment in professional
activities almost doubled.”5 The issue now, is to understand more about the
arrival or emergence of new types of firms and workers to the historic center.

This leads me to the primary research question for this paper: why is the
historic center of Venice attracting knowledge workers? By knowledge
worker, I mean self-directed, highly skilled workers focused on effectiveness,
emblematic of Peter Drucker’s observations about the transition from an
industrial economy to a knowledge economy.6 Through seven case studies,
I consider this question by looking at the attributes of “knowledge firms”
found within the historic center and the workers associated with them.
(“Knowledge firm” may not be the best way to describe the range of firms
employing knowledge workers, but it’s the term I’ll use for now.) Additional
questions relating to my primary research question include: Is this activity an
indicator of the potential to cultivate more high skilled, high wage jobs in what
has become an increasingly tourist-dominated economy? Does attracting
knowledge workers offer a strategy for repopulation of the historic center?
What are the opportunities for and limits to the current activity?

PAPER STRUCTURE
I have organized this paper in five sections. In addition to this introduction,
I provide background about key conditions in Venice in the 20th and 21st
centuries in Section Two. In Section Three (Literature Review), I discuss
ideas relating to the changing nature of work and “knowledge workers,”
and propose a definition of place knowledge. In Section Four, I describe my
research method, introduce seven case studies and my findings from these.
In Section Five, I present my conclusions and policy recommendations. At
the end of the paper, I include two appendices (one containing additional
information about case studies and the other providing further description
of my research, including interview questions and proposed future research),
followed by a bibliography.
5 The Venice Report, p. 52
6 Drucker, 1966, p.3. See Section Three for further discussion of what constitutes
a knowledge economy.
3
 PART TWO: BACKGROUND

First, because of the volume of popular literature on Venice, I want to dispel

three myths:

1) Venice is not (presently) sinking. Drilling in the Venetian lagoon for fresh
water and for natural gas which took place in the 20th century did contribute
to subsidence, but these practices have since been stopped. Venice is, however,
quite susceptible to tidal changes.

2) There is plenty of space. Venice does, however, endure severe but rather
predictable pedestrian congestion in distinct neighborhoods and along certain
pathways. In regard to building space availability, a strong real estate market,
heavily influenced by the tourist economy and second home ownership, has
resulted in a very short supply of affordable, reasonably well maintained
housing options in the historic center. This is compounded by the fact
that existence in a lagoon environment demands cyclical maintenance. If
performed, buildings last centuries. If ignored, reversing damage can be
arduous. Restrictive historic preservation laws intended to safeguard
the cultural patrimony of the city often, unintentionally, make building
rehabilitation slow and costly.

3) Tourism is not the only form of economic activity present in the city today,
though it is the dominant activity.

Three inter-related events in the 20th century have contributed significantly to

conditions in the historic city today: industrialization of the Venetian lagoon,
population loss in the historic center and the rapid expansion of the tourist
economy.

INDUSTRIALIZATION
The health and livelihood of Venice is tied directly to the integrity (and
morphology) of the Venetian lagoon, whether effected by human intervention
or natural processes. Industrialization, effecting the scale, nature, and rate
of changes to the Venetian lagoon, particularly with development of the Port
of Marghera beginning in the 1920s, has had a dramatic effect on the lagoon
ecology and infrastructure (see Figure 3). One of the strongest indicators of
the impact of industrialization has been the increasing frequency and intensity
of high water.

The combined impacts of deep water channels for industrial shipping, pollution
and silt deposits from rivers that drain into the lagoon, as well as a lack of
maintenance of protective sea walls and canals all exacerbated the effects of
high water. The proliferation of motor-powered boats has also resulted in
more wave action, speeding up erosion of building and canal foundations. The
impact of chemical production on air and water quality has also been a major
concern. Since the 1960s, many of these impacts have been addressed, though
some persist, such as the creation of deep water channels to support the

4
expansion of cruise ship activity.

Debate about the type of development that Venice and the lagoon can sustain
has been long-standing, but there is no doubt that rising sea level and other
forms of climate change would have strong implications for the continued
existence of this sea level city.

POPULATION LOSS
While there is some correlation between increasing incidence of high water
and population decline, the factors cited as contributing to population decline
are numerous. They are also not merely a result of exodus from the historic
center, but also larger demographic trends in Italy, including low birth rates
and a condition of “brain drain” in which educated Italians are leaving the
country in pursuit of good jobs.

The first definitive study to shed light on demographic change in the historic
center was the 1969 UNESCO-commissioned, Rapporto Su Venezia. It
examined many factors contributing to population change, but focused on
living conditions, and in particular the quality of housing. The report points
out that the availability of new housing in Mestre, adjacent to the port of
Marghera, played a signficiant role in attracting the inhabitants of the historic
center, resulting in a form of suburban exodus not unlike what many inner
cities were experiencing at the time.

In the context of population loss, the health and continued relevance of

Venice’s industries have also been examined, leading to new questions about
how jobs availability is impacting the population of the historic center.

Rispoli et al identify the leading material production sectors (in degree of

product specialization and contribution to workforce) as:
• ship-building
• oil industry (refineries and deposits)
• petrochemical industry
• aluminum intermediate products
• electricity production
• artistic glass production on Murano
• construction and building industry7

In regard to immaterial production, another important factor to consider

is that in the 1980s and 1990s, changes within to banking and insurance
sector, including a trend toward disaggregation of services, prompted many
companies, beginning with Assicurazioni Generalil, to leave the historic center
to locate head offices on the mainland.8

7 Rispoli, di Cesare and Stocchett, “Material Production in the Municipality of

Venice,” in Musu, 138
8 Rullani and Micelli in Musu, p. 207
5
 PART TWO: BACKGROUND

TOURISM
Venice is one of few cities for which city officials and researches have collected
and analyzed extensive data over time, providing the opportunity to consider
how changes in tourism activity impact a local community and local economy.9
Cities intent upon expanding their tourist economy should look closely at
Venice and the lessons that can be learned from it.

Since World War II, a rise in mass tourism has occurred in Venice. The
characteristics of mass tourism include: large and cyclical numbers of visitors;
more people traveling in large groups; more staying for shorter periods
of time, including daytrippers; and more involvement in the industry by
multinational corporations, controlling the flow of money generated by the
industry.

In 1951, approximately a million people visited the historic center. In 2007,

approximately 16.5 million people visited the city.10

Tourist visitation at this scale has a profound impact, especially on urban

infrastructure, urban management and maintenance. Two distinct burdens of
mass tourism are increased impacts on urban infrastructure in the form of
“point loading” during high attendance events and the fact that as numbers
increase, generally the average income generated per visitor decreases.

Beyond this, the extraordinary demand of tourists for accommodations, as

well as for food, drink and other basic needs, impacts supply and demand
within the local economy, effecting not only real estate value, but the general
cost of living in the historic center.

Within the timeframe that tourism has continuously increased, population

has continuously decreased. While correlation does not imply causation, it
is seems only reasonable to suggest that if it is desired to reverse the trend
of population, the increasing impact of tourism will have to be thought about
differently. Better management of this industry necessitates thinking beyond
the physical impact of tourism to its indirect effects on factors known to
contribute to population loss, such as the condition and cost of housing, job
choice and the availability of services. It is also important to consider the
social impacts of different forms of tourism on a local community.

At present, tourism is Venice is estimated to generate 1.5 billion euro

annually.11 There are, however, no guarantees of future rates of return,
especially as other destinations become more sophisticated, as high value
9 The work of Jan Van der Borg at the CISET, the Center for the Study of
Tourism Economics at Ca’ Foscari has been particular informative.
10 The Venice Report, p. 33.
11 Ibid, p. 45

6
 Population Change

SOURCE:
tourists become more discerning, as the per capita The of
rate Venice Report,for
return 2009mass

tourists declines and as global tourism companies siphons off profits before
tourists ever reach their destination. The paradox is that unless tourism is
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
carefully and aggressively managed, the city will be left holding even larger bills Figure 2. Population change over time.
as residents, and then tourists, will go elsewhere. Source: Graphic excerpted from the Venice
Report (data source: COSES), p. 12.

The morphology of Venice may be unique, but the challenges of dealing with
the combined impact of industrialization, population loss12 and the effects of
unbridled tourism are not. What can be learned about the interrelationship
of these issues in Venice will likely prove valuable for other cities.

Now, in the 21st century,Venice is being shaped by a set of new forces. These
include the idea of sustainability, the realization of the MOSE project and the
seemingly boundless potential of digital technology (see Figure 4).

SUSTAINABILITY
Though there is no precise agreement about what the forces (or severity of
issues) are that make changes in action necessary, the sustainability movement
has been formidable. With the publication of Our Common Future by the
World Commission on Environment in Development (Bruntland Report,
1987), the United Nations established the idea that managing the environment
and development are a single issue. From this report has come an aggressive
unrolling of environment regulation in Europe, including legislation now
12 In the debate about whether it is important to maintain Venice as a populated
residential city, or whether it should be thought about as something else (museum city,
etc.), I would point on that on purely practical terms, the most cost-effective way to
maintain the unique urban environment -- even if it is only in service to the tourism
industry -- is to maintain Venice as a living city with an intact knowledge base about how
to manage this environment.
7
 PART TWO: BACKGROUND

altering the chemical industry in the Port of Marghera.13

More broadly, the sustainability imperative is producing three interrelated

outcomes. It is changing industry regulation and accountability (including life-
cycle costs and impacts) and setting new expectations for both cities and firms
to develop sustainability agendas (emphasizing proactive measures to be green
and competitive). It is also profoundly effecting changes in personal decision-
making, influencing individuals not only in major issues such as where and how
to work and live, but also in decisions made on an every day basis, such as
what to buy (or not buy) and what to eat.

RENEWED STRATEGIES FOR WATER MANAGEMENT: THE

MOSE PROJECT
After decades of research and debate, the Venetian and Italian government
have been successful in starting construction on the MOSE project to manage
high water conditions. This large-scale systemic responses to changing

20th Century Challenges conditions of the Venetian lagoon represents an investment in the physical
infrastructure of the lagoon that will reach $4.3 billion euro or higher.14 The
endeavor has included extensive research funding to develop the solution
for managing and monitoring the lagoon, leading to the creation of new firms

Figure 3. 20th Century Threats:

Industrialization
Industrialization represented by the Port of
Marghera, high water, and mass tourism.
High Water Mass Tourism
and research institutes that are amassing extraordinary amounts of data and
knowledge about the lagoon and urban environment. The system is expected
Sources: Google Earth,Venice in Peril, photo
by author.
operational in 2012.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
In the Industrial Age, concepts of linear thinking and efficiency in production
(making things faster and cheaper, with much less concern for the externalities
of natural resource depletion) dominated. Today, changes in digital technology
open up a world of new possibilities, particularly for sectors delivering
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
13 Job loss in the Port of Marghera as a result of plants closing or becoming
decommissioned presents another major challenge for the economy of Venice and the
Veneto.
14 Consorzio Venezia Nuova web site: http://www.consorziovenezianuova.com
8
intangible products (media, data analysis, etc.).

Digital technology is changing the way residents and visitors alike use and
experience the historic center. In their article “Immaterial Production in
Venice,” Rullani and Micelli point out that immaterial production in Venice
already plays an important role in the city’s economy; by their analysis of 1991
cross-sector census data (real estate, legal services, business consultants,
banking and publishing, etc), those already employed in this activity comprised
approximately 45% of the total employment in the city, with tourism,
transport, and non-retail trade comprising 27% and employment in industry,
comprising roughly the same percentage. 15 In reference to expansion, they
state,

“It is not necessarily a matter, as several international observers have

pointed out, of bringing programmers from all over the world to Venice
for the purpose of making the city a capital of software or of electronic
21st Century Responses
component production. Instead, it is necessary to reconsider the
entirety of the activities currently carried out in the historical centre
in different terms, by evaluating, case by case and sector by sector, the
impact of the new information technology on the transformation in

Figure 4. 21st Century Opportunities?

the chain of value in the different economic functions. Each immaterial
Sustainability MOSE System
activity present in the Venice, from trading to trade, from the supply of
museum services to publishing is open to being digitalised and made
virtual.”16
Digital Technology?
Sustainability policy, part of the MOSE project
and new source for digital technology -- a
Vodafone store -- in the historic center
Sources: Amazon, Consorzio Venezia Nuova,
photo by author.

These factors suggest a renewed potential for the viability and economic
productivity of the historic center in the 21st century. What opportunities
can these conditions create? What role will knowledge and heritage play in
this new existence?
Zapalac | Copy not for publication

15 Rullani and Micelli p. 197-203 in Musu, 2001.

16 Rullani and Micelli p. 201 in Musu, 2001.
9
 PART TWO: BACKGROUND

TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE
To understand what constitutes a knowledge economy and why it may be
a highly appropriate activity for a historic city, it is important to understand
distinctions between different “types” of knowledge. Webster’s Dictionary
defines knowledge as “acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from
study or investigation; general erudition.” Knowledge is what is created
from the studying or processing of information, including information gained
through direct and indirect experience.

Anthropologists and sociologists use the term traditional knowledge to

describe knowledge accrued over time by a particular community. Traditional
knowledge may include or be closely linked to specific beliefs, values or
practices. It often, though not always, takes on a spiritual significance or serves
as the basis for the cosmology or world view held by a community. Traditional
knowledge combines both practical and moral purpose, such as when it is
used to manage natural resources for the long term good of a community.

Ethnographers use the term local knowledge to describe the specific

knowledge a community holds about a particular region or place.17 In
this application, the term local knowledge might be understood as place-
specific attributes of traditional knowledge. More recently, participants in
urban planning have started to use the term local knowledge in reference
to knowledge of “how things work” within a specific community structure.
The use of the term in this capacity speaks to the importance of insights and
perspective contributed by local stakeholders to the planning process.18

PLACE KNOWLEDGE
Educators present another definition of knowledge: “place knowledge”
describes how children construct an understanding of the world around
them.19 Place Knowledge is also used in the field of robotics, to describe how
robots build place recognition based upon interaction in the physical world.
In both cases, it speaks to the process of assigning meaning to attributes and
experiences in a physical environment and thus, is indicative of the relationship
between environment and individual (or robot).20

For the purpose of this paper, I suggest that place knowledge is an

appropriate, more broadly encompassing term that can encompass traditional
and local knowledge, including as they are applied in a contemporary planning
context. Further, it is constructive to think of place knowledge in two
capacities: as accrued knowledge and embedded knowledge. Like
traditional knowledge, accrued knowledge can refer to knowledge that has
been assembled by a community over time, but inclusive of both informal

17 Gertz, 1983
18 Healey, 1998.
19 Joshi et al, 1999.
20 Langley and Pfleger, p. 344-352

10
 Place Knowledge City Knowledge (Carrera, 2004)

Embedded Knowledge

Accrued Knowledge

Real Time Information

Feedback

and formal methods of transmission, in tangible form (such as written Fig 5. An illustration of different types of
documents) as well as intangible (virtual, oral, temporal) form. An example of knowledge and information in the historic
city:
tangible and formal accrued knowledge would be the knowledge that can be
sourced from the Venetian Archives. An example of informal and intangible 1) Embedded Knowledge: a light-weight
accrued knowledge would be one neighbor telling another about a particular structural bracing solutions
2) Accrued Knowledge: a mother
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for publication
location to fish, or the best time and route to travel to arrive at a particular
where to take her child to learn to ride a bike
destination. Advances in information technology are, undoubtedly, dramatically in Venice
impacting how people can transmit this knowledge. 3) Real-Time Information: a man speaking on
a cell phone, charting the progress of an event
across town
Embedded knowledge is distinguishable by the fact that is manifest in 4) Feedback: the child learning to ride the
the conditions and use of the built environment. This knowledge can be bike “reads” and responds to the bumps in
understood as knowledge that is passed indirectly from one person to the stone pavers
another vis-à-vis the form and use of buildings and space such as in Figure
Source: photo by author
5. In this capacity, the physical and spatial construction of the city is both a
cultural and environmental record; architecture takes on a communicative
value or language, not unlike words on paper. Embedded knowledge can
be highly informative about specific environmental conditions; it can be
equally useful (and more universally applicable) as a means for understanding
the relationship between people and the built environment, specifically
by exposing how different types of buildings and spaces engender distinct
behaviors, activities and social interactions.

Sourcing embedded knowledge, which might be thought of as “above ground

archaeology” can also reveal specific ways in which a culture shapes the
built environment to respond to the repertoire of human needs. Because
embedded knowledge is conveyed through the medium of the environment,

11

Place Knowledge
Accrued Knowledge
Embedded Knowledge
Fig. 6. An illustration of different types of
knowledge and information in the historic
city:
1) Embedded Knowledge: Istrian stone bands
reveal normal tidal range.
2) Accrued Knowledge: building restoration
practices
3) Real-Time Information: the actual water
level
4) Feedback: An art installation from the
2009 Biennale. According the artists’
statement, it makes a general comment about
the state of the universe ... not just Venice.
Source: photo by author
12
PART THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW
City Knowledge (Carrera, 2004)
Feedback
Real Time Information
the “mining” of this resource often requires more (or a wider range) of
sensory engagement than acquisition of knowledge through more passive
knowledge acquisition, such as reading or listening to lectures.
As an example, in Venice, one can understand the normal extremes of the
tide (at least before the increasing incidence of high water)
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location and width of the band of Istrian stone at the ground level of most
buildings (see Figure 6). Traditionally, in the planning and construction of a
building, the width was determined so as to encompass the high and low tide
levels. Below the stone band and intended to be continuously submerged is
a base of wood pilings. Above the stone band, walls are constructed of brick
and plaster – materials that are less costly and lighter, but also more porous.
Though the tolerances have shifted over time, this construction technique
is still a practical way to build in the Venetian lagoon. (When water rises
above the stone, it wicks through and eats away at the porous plaster and
brick, often leaving behind a residue of salts, known as efflorescence, after the
water has evaporated. The height of a “salt line” is another indicator of tidal
conditions over time.)
Combining the opportunity to utilize accrued and embedded knowledge, a
living historic city serves as a laboratory for understanding how the use of
the built environment changes over time, especially in regard to critical events,
such as the introduction of new technologies, how cultures adapt and change
to environmental conditions, as well as what they value in symbols and signs.
Related to this idea, it is important to consider the meaning of heritage.
Heritage refers to that which is passed down to future generations, ; with
the implicit understanding that what is passed down retains some form of
value; it does not mean things that are old. Heritage includes tangible objects,
such as buildings, as well as intangible elements, such as rituals, stories and
even knowledge. Cultural heritage simply refers to elements of heritage
shared in some capacity by a group. Importantly, the recognition of something
as heritage does not preclude change in its form, use, or value; rather, it
provides a conceptual frame in which change can be understood.

In the case of Venice much – though not all – of the city’s cultural heritage,
manifest in both tangible and tangible forms, reflects pre-industrial ways of
thinking. These may find new application in the 21st century, not with the idea
of going back in time, but rather, taking relevant ideas forward into the future.

A KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
Writer and management consultant Peter Drucker first formalized the idea
of a knowledge worker in The Effective Executive (1966), distinguishing a
knowledge worker as one who primarily deals with information to use
or create knowledge. Drucker placed emphasis on the skilled worker as
a thinker and problem-solver. In The Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our
Changing Society (1969) Drucker outlined the necessary steps for companies
to be competitive in a post-industrialist society.

According to Drucker, a knowledge economy recognizes:

1) information as a key raw resource or raw material (the input for an
economy)
2) Knowledge as the essential tool used to transform information into a
productive good
3) the development or application of ideas as the critical -- if not central --
part of the labor process.

A knowledge economy can generate physical goods, but increases value by

producing things that are intangible – design, concepts, analysis and media, for
instance.

Like Drucker, Frances Cairncross proves to be a highly perceptive observer.

In the Death of Distance, first published in 1997, Cairncross draws upon
strong foundational knowledge and broad access to information as a writer
at The Economist. She outlines a series of trends about how changes in
communications technology will impact the nature of work and society as a
whole. Among the many trends she describes, three are particularly relevant
to this investigation.

First is her primary observation about the death of distance, “Distance will
no longer decide the cost of communicating electronically. ” She predicts that
technology will significantly facilitate supply distribution, bringing distribution
cost nearly to zero, particularly when what is being distributed are ideas.

13
 PART THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW

Second is the observation about location. She states, “Companies will be free
to locate many screen-based activities wherever they can find the best bargain
of skills and productivity. ” In doing so, she correctly predicts an initial boom
in outsourcing and proliferation of distributed offices. However, she fails to
paint a complete picture, particularly of the importance of location to start up
companies and to small firms and sole proprietors. Left out of the discussion
on competitive advantage is the ability for location to dictate access to certain
types of information (such as information related to place knowledge) as well
as to provide opportunities for physical contact with clients and associates.

Third, she identifies the rebirth of cities as an outcome of the communications

revolution, suggesting “cities will change from concentrations of office
employment to centers of entertainment and culture.”21 As changes in
communications dissolve the temporal boundaries of the workday and the
physical boundaries of the office, Cairncross sees increasing separation
between work activity and everything else, painting a rather two-dimensional
picture of future cities as places devoid of productive purpose. She also
places an extreme value on the capacity to work virtually, and in doing so,
undervalues the physical places of work. Cairncross fails to conceive of the
importance of work environments both as places of inspiration and as frames
for human interaction in which social relationships contribute to trust building,
idea sharing and decision-making.

It is fascinating to turn from the observations of Cairncross to those of

economist Edward Glaeser and urban theorist Richard Florida. Both explore
questions arising from “Death of Distance” concepts and the increasing
capacity of the knowledge worker to choose where he or she lives and works.
They do so by considering what these changes means for cities that seek
to be competitive by fostering a knowledge economy. Unlike Cairncross’s
interpretation of the future function of cities, Florida and Glaeser each
advocate for the role of dense environments in fostering idea transmission.
Where Glaeser and Florida differ, however, is in their evaluation of how
cities attract human capital. In The Rise of the Creative Class, Florida argues
that in a post-industrialist society, among highly skilled labor force, lifestyle
interests take on more importance than job location in determining where
people will live. He believes that the recipe for economic development is a
city that fosters technology, talent and tolerance in order to attract certain
types of creative individuals. Florida’s research has been especially useful in
defining why lifestyle is becoming an increasing important factor in location
choice among knowledge workers, which he terms the “creative class” and in
acknowledging the economic importance of creativity. His conclusions about
the associative relationship between creativity and certain lifestyle preferences,
as well as the role of particular subsets of “creative class” workers have,
however, endured much scrutiny.

21 Cairncross, p.xvi
14
Glaeser draws from his own research, as well as his critical analysis of
Florida’s data to conclude that urban success comes from being an “attractive
consumer city for high skilled people,” taking a more traditional view of the
importance of human capital to generate economic growth.22 Glaeser holds
that the most important offering a city can make is job choice and job quality.
He also suggests that the composite of people matters less (specifically in
response to Florida’s Bohemian Index) and that creativity, or more specifically,
the capacity for creative-problem solving, does not necessarily predetermine
lifestyle choices, or specifically, where people want to live.23 Additionally, apart
from density, Glaeser places little emphasis on the physical characteristics of
the city in fostering or reinforcing social relationships or in directly informing
the any type of work process.

The role of the built environment in fostering economic competitiveness is

especially interesting to consider given the rapid growth in social networking
facilitated by virtual environments, which is in turn reshaping the use
and social value of physical space. There is also the important issue that
knowledge of and experience in the built environment is vital to many sectors
and industries. Even, or especially, as communication technology is negating
distance, in a knowledge economy, place matters even more because of the
economic potential to be realized from place knowledge.

Both Florida’s and Glaeser’s work are immensely helpful as a frame for my
investigation; the historic center of Venice is an interesting place to test
the importance of being an attractive “consumer city” to residents and to
observe the lifestyle characteristics (and consumptive practices) of knowledge
workers. The seven case studies described in the next chapter provide the
opportunity to overlap these critical idea and to consider what conditions are
most important for the historic center of Venice to attract and retain human
capital within its resident population.

Finally, ideas in two other works have shaped this study. David Throsby’s
book Economic and Culture, establishes the difficulty of trying to assign value to
culture within standard economic models, emphasizing, I think rightly the need
to focus more the role of culture as generators of economies, rather than
merely focusing on how to quantify cultural products or the development of
cultural industries. Brian Graham’s paper, “Heritage as Knowledge: Capital
or Culture?” delves deep into questions about the relationship between
heritage and the knowledge-based city. His emphasis on knowledge as a form
of intangible heritage, articulating the importance of place in the rooting of a
knowledge-based economy is extremely relevant to the cases I observed in
Venice.

22 Glaeser, 2005, p. 593 and Glaeser et al,, 2001

23 Glaeser, 2005, p. 593
15
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

Having established that the historic center of Venice is greatly dependent upon
tourism and that this dependence is likely to continue in some capacity in
the future, the aim of this investigation is to chart the emergence of new, but
related economic activity in the historic center. To explore why the historic
center of Venice is attracting knowledge workers (and to what degree it is), I
conducted a series of on-site interviews in January 2010 and developed seven
case studies.24

I frame this investigation with the objective of understanding how technology

is changing the way people live and work, as well as how the sustainability
imperative is causing a reevaluation of the resources of historic center. I
am specific interested to evaluate if knowledge workers in Venice share
characteristics with knowledge workers documented in other cities (by
the work of Florida and Glaeser) or whether they have other important
characteristics. Based upon the idea of place knowledge, I perceive that there
might be important relationships between knowledge workers and historic
cities that haven’t been previously articulated in existing more quantitative-
based analysis.

HYPOTHESIS: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

My objective is to understand if knowledge workers are locating in the historic
center because it offers them a competitive advantage, and if so, how this
advantage relates to:

• Input -- access to (tangible or intangible) resources, including information

• Production or performance processes -- access to know-how, collaboration/
strategic partnerships as well as lifestyle conditions that directly result in
performance optimization
• Output -- brand value and physical proximity to point of sale

Based upon my emphasis on the value of place knowledge, I established the

following hypothesis for this investigation:

If knowledge workers choose to locate in the historic center, then there

will be some discernible evidence that locating there provides a competitive
advantage directly related to the use of place knowledge.

Alternatively, it may be that knowledge workers are locating in the historic

center based primarily on lifestyle objectives (not related to performance
optimization), with little to no concern for gaining competitive advantage as a
result of locating in the historic center. Before I identified the specific cases,
I surmised that I might encounter some remote workers for which work
has little to do with the environment in which the work is taking place. (An
example might be an Internet technology consultant working on projects
for a bank in London, but doing the work from Venice). For such individuals,

24 For a more complete description of my research design, see appendix two.

16
the historic center might meet social objectives (living in a cultured city)
or general lifestyle objectives (living in a car free city, hence making the
consultant less stressed). As it turned out, none of the cases included here
could accurately be described as remote workers. I expect that some remote
workers do exist in the historic center and imagine that understanding their
reasons for locating in Venice might actually be more informative and more
nuanced than term “remote worker” implies.

CASE STUDY SELECTION

I arrived at the following case studies as a result of “snowball method.” I
began my research into possible firms to interview by reviewing web sites,
including online business directories and resources made available by the
City of Venice. I asked for recommendations of potential case studies
from knowledge holders in Venice as well as from each firm who agreed
to participate. I contacted individuals from ten firms and seven agreed to
participate.

The method of case selection is biased toward individuals with active

professional networks in the historic center as well as toward work that
others perceive to be related to a knowledge economy. (For instance, my
case selection methodology did not lead me to seek out and interview any
accountants, though depending upon how they are conducting their work,
they might fit the characteristics of knowledge workers.)

RESEARCH LIMITS
Finally, while the issue of cost of living (housing as well as other costs)
and cost of doing business (rental costs for office space, transportation /
commuting costs) are not addressed quantitatively in this research, it should
be generally considered that sole proprietors and individuals affiliated with
smaller firms often consider such costs collectively when making a location
choice, as they usually directly incur both sets of costs. For many knowledge
workers, the increased flexibility in choosing where to work, whether it is in
an individual office, in a co-working environment, from a café or even from
home, means that there are often more options, thus generating more price
elasticity in office costs. Comparatively, the historic center offers fewer
options for suitable, affordable housing.

Therefore, certain preferences, such as the ability to walk to work, which may
appear to be strongly affiliated with lifestyle, have important implications for
both the costs of doing business as well as the optimization of physical, social
and emotional conditions under which an individual is most productive. More
comprehensive consideration of the choice implications about where to live
and work (and the relationship between the two) is not limited to knowledge
workers. Many individuals are thinking differently about such choices.25

25 Rosenbloom, 2010
17
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

What types of activities have emerged? “Knowledge transferring”

Vento di Venezia Ski Stradivarius I Tre Mercanti

INPUT

Old boats Surplus cured wood Food & wine products

+ + +
Boat building craft Boat building craft Trade / shipping
Graphic design
OUTPUT

Restored boats Curated selection

Design school Custom snow skis for the new global
market place
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
Fig. 7. “Knowledge-transferring” Case
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INVESTIGATION
Studies.
Source: photo by author and clips from firm I established six primary questions intended to produce responses by which
web sites the proposed hypothesis could be considered. The questions are:
1) What types of activities have emerged? (Activity)
2) Where do they locate? (Location)
3) When have they come about? (Time frame)
4) How do they work? (How do they use space?)
5) Who do they involve?
6) Why do they locate in the historic center?

CASE STUDIES FINDINGS

1) What types of activities have emerged in the historic center?

The seven case studies can be grouped into two overarching categories:
knowledge-transferring firms (see Fig. 6) and information-driven firms (see Fig. 7).

Knowledge-transferring firms place high importance on putting knowledge,

practices, and, in some cases, raw materials from historic industries in Venice
to use for new productive purposes. Some firms activities are more closely
elated to the historic economy of the city than others; often the transfer of

18
 What type of activities have emerged? “Information-driven”

Bressanello Studio Camuffo Relactions Forma Urbis

Art Studio
INPUT

Visual information Cultural information Tourism information City information

+ Digital editing + Commentary + Analytics + Analytics
Interior design Media design Media design Software design
OUTPUT

Digital art Publications, media Consulting reports Resource management

Installations Events Branding / marketing Digital models

Zapalac | Copy not for publication

Fig. 7. “Information-driven” Case Studies.
knowledge is specifically enhanced by the introduction of new technology, as Source: photo by author and clips from firm
well as by how design and creative problem-solving plays into the process. web sites
Three of the seven firms interviewed fit these criteria. These include:

Vento di Venezia
As early as the 12th century, the clergy of Venice occupied the island
of La Certosa, located a short distance the eastern tip of the Castello
neighborhood of the historic center (see Figure 8). The island is named for a
15th century Carthusian monastery, which lies in ruins. In the 19th and 20th
centuries, the island was used as a military base and explosive factory; more
recently it served as trash dump. In 1984, a group of Venetian citizens activists,
led by Cesare Scarpa, united to create a committee to reclaim the island for
public good. In the 1990s, they gained the support of mayor Massimo Cacciari,
and then, city hall, which set aside funds for the project through the Special
Law for Venice. Subsequently, the island was transferred from national to
municipal control.

In 2004, the group Vento di Venezia was awarded a lease on the western
portion of the island, with the stipulation that the island be accessible to
visitors and citizens. Founded by a group of sailors including Italian Olympian
Alberto Sonino, champion solo navigator Giovanni Soldini and Matteo Vianello,

19
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

Where do they locate?

Fig. 8. La Certosa, with the neighborhood “the group’s ideas was to create a nautical center – open to anyone – rooted
• Knowledge transferring = more
of Castello behind it. resource-specific
in the city’s historic ties with the sea.”26
Source: photos from firm web site
• Information-driven = more responsive to other factors
The program of Vento di Venezia includes a nautical workshop involved in boat
repair and hand construction of traditional Venetian vessels. It is different,
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
however, from the still numerous boat repair workshops found throughout
the city, for two reasons. The public-private project has lead to the creation
of a full-service marina with moorings for 120 boats and now includes charter
services, sailing and other recreational boating lessons. It also includes a small
nautically-themed hotel and bar / restaurant run by Vento di Venezia. This
makes it a participant in Venice’s primary industry – tourism – but only as a
complement to the multi-functional nautical program and maritime experience
it offers. This emphasis on recreational, rather than merely commercial
motorized navigation requires an acute understanding of vessel construction
and maintenance, navigation, and even wind conditions, all forms of accrued
knowledge drawing from pre-industrial navigation practices (of which
Venice has an extremely long history) while also integrating contemporary
technologies. Vento di Venezia now partners with the French sailing school Les
Glénans to offer educational programs for competitive sailing.

The other distinctive aspect of Vento di Venezia is that its focus on boat-
building led to a partnership with the European Institute of Design (EID) in
2006, a design university with programs in fashion, industrial design, visual
arts and communications, now with locations in nine cities. The Venice EID
program includes photography, documentary filmmaking and fashion design,
but the hallmark of the program is a yacht design program. Within a compact
26 Riva, p. 3
20
physical area, the Vento di Venezia project makes possible for students to
access to access the accrued knowledge of a working harbor, as well as the
embedded knowledge present in traditional sailing vessels, from which they
can draw inspiration.

The program for La Certosa is the only one of the case studies that includes
a specific, direct public improvement objective. The opportunity to create
highly competitive services by tapping place knowledge is described by Vento
di Venezia:

“The Vento di Venezia Yachting Centre began in 2004 on the initiative

of a group of young Venetians who wanted to promote the various
attractions of Venice to the nautical world – from traditional boats
to regatta prototypes. But that was not all. The philosophy of the
group was that ‘new forms of boating for pleasure are possible’
and are also likely; given the growing demand in this sector.”27

The former director the Venice EID program shared a similar sentiment when
interviewed for an article in the Wall Street Journal, “We’ve been able to
create this little jewel, a real center of excellence and with Venice’s traditional
ties to the arts, there couldn’t be a better setting.”28

Ski Stradivarius
What started as a hobby in the form of a ski-making class for Franco
Sonzongo, a former telecommunications executive, has lead to a full time
business that involves both Mr. Sonzogno and his wife, Angela Sonzogno, a
former banking executive, as participants in its operation (see Figure 9). The
company is defined by their passion for snow skiing combined with a drive
toward constant product improvement.

The manufacturing process used by Ski Stradivarius utilizes surplus wood,

stockpiled for the construction of gondolas, as well as knowledge of boat
building craft, to produce high performance all wood custom snow skis.
A key aspect in the ability to produce a high performance product was
Mr. Sonzogno’s realization that the quality of the cured wood and the
construction practices used in boat making could be utilized in such a way
that no aluminum or reinforcing metal was required in the ski construction,
the binding of wood and metal often being the failure point in mass produced
skis. Ski Stradivarius has also turned to Venice’s glass making industry for the
graphic design component of the skis, sometimes collaborating with specific
artists from that industry on one-of-a-kind creations. Realizing the creation of
a brand, Ski Stradivarius has expanded production to include ski bindings. It
also collaborates with other manufacturers to produce ski gear and jewelry
bearing the Ski Stradivarius logo.
27 Vento di Venezia web site: http://www.ventodivenezia.it/en/certosa/island_
history
28 Cristina Marchetti, former director of the IED Venice, as quoted by Riva, p.3
21
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

Who do they involve?

•A
Ve
Sm

Ski Stradivarius sells these skis and other products through a referral-based
Fig. 9. Franco Sonzogno, with finished
• Venetians as well as other Italians
skis(left); traditional gondola repair (top);
club membership that also requires members to commit to a set of ethnics on
Mr. wood assmebly (bottom center); Angela
• Work experience outside thethehistoric center
ski slopes.
Sonzogno displays the Ski Stradivarius brand (For example, all members wear helmets will skiing.) The club
membership
• Small core: 1 - 3 key partners;
on a bracelet (bottom right). but highlyhasscalable
a secondary benefit in that creates a tight feedback loop: if a
Sources: photo by authors certain design performs particularly well or poorly, Mr. Sonzogno will no doubt
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
hear about it.

Ski Stradivarius includes a facility on the island of Guidecca (part of the

Dorsoduro neighborhood of the historic center) that is used to store
the cured wood and to complete manufacturing. The ground floor of the
Sonzogno family palazzo, located in the Santa Croce neighborhood, is used to
store finished skis, as well as to workshop space to perform certain finishing
of crafted skis, and to host club activities.

I Tre Mercanti
In some aspects, I Tre Mercanti (“The Three Merchants”) is the most
traditional of the case studies, drawing inspiration from the mercantile roots
of Venice, including knowledge of trade and shipping strategies (see Figure
10). I Tre Mercanti sells high quality Italian products – primarily food and wine
– with the distinction that they create or curate a selection and provide the
consumer with detailed information, in the form of an online database, about
the provenance of the selected products. The founders of I Tre Mercanti, three
Venetian friends, conceived of the idea of developing a high quality marketplace
in the fabric of the historic center simultaneously with a virtual marketplace
/ web store, setting them apart from other commercial activity in Venice. I
Tre Mercanti delivers not only high quality goods, but also a knowledge-rich

22
 Where do they locate?

buying experience, in some cases capitalizing on the consumers’ memory of

• Limited competition with tourist activities
discovering particular products during their trip to Venice.
Fig. 10. Emanuele in the office of DNA Italia
(top left); I Tre Mercanti storefront (bottom
• In small spaces (little inventory requirement) left)
Another Sources: photos by authors, web site screen
• In innovative
the virtualaspect
realmof the firm is their approach to shipping.29 Many
capture
stores in Venice “will ship what you buy.” I Tre Mercanti has evolved the Zapalac | Copy not for publication
concept such that buyers make selections of products from the store or
from the online store, with shipping as an integrated service and cost of
the delivered product. This allows customers to know the near complete
cost (with the exception of customs taxes) that will be spent to receive the
product. It also allows the firm to limit the amount of inventory required to
be kept on site. In some cases, I Tre Mercanti can even wait to place orders
with vendors until after an order has been received from a customer.

Among the case studies, I Tre Mercanti is the most direct participant within
the tourist economy of Venice. Yet, their use of communication technology
is allowing them to expand beyond its traditional temporal and spatial
boundaries, selling to customers even after they return to their place of
residence. Similar to other firms profiled in this study, their success requires
an acute understanding of the “visitor experience” within the historic city,
including consumers’ habits and associations within this environment.

The founders of I Tre Mercanti view this venture as an extension of other

business activity. Founder Emanuele Dal Carlo also runs the branding,
advertising and design firm DNA Italia.30 Dal Carlo is now developing a new

30 Ibid. Among the individuals interviewed, Mr. Dal Carlo was the only person
who did not live in the historic center, having relocated to Mestre. He explained that his
23

Fig. 11. An abstract work by Fabio
Bressanello. Detail of plaster on a house in
Burano.
Source: Bressenello Art Studio web site.
24
PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES
social networking venture dedicated to connecting visitors with residents of
destination cities, capitalizing on the knowledge of how to live well (even if
temporarily) in a particular environment.
In the second category are firms engaged in information-driven activities. These
firms are more acutely in the “knowledge industry” realm in the respect
that they rely upon few physical raw materials as primary inputs for their
production processes. They are all in some way working with intangible
resources – usually information -- as the basis for what they are creating.
Bressanello Art Studio
Bressenalleo Art Studio is a gallery of digital photography launched in 2004 by
photographer Fabio Bressanello. To be precise, Fabio Bressanello extracts
the embedded visual information of the city as content for producing digital
photographs that function as both figurative works and abstract art. Mr.
Bressanello also collaborates with interior designers to produce custom art
installations. Based upon the extremely
streamline production and use of visual
information as primary input, both the
figurative and abstract works can be
considered products of a knowledge
economy. It is interesting, however, that
Mr. Bressanello articulates a distinction
between them, describing the figurative
works as images “for tourists,” while
indicating of the abstract works, such as
the large-scale images of plaster patterns
on a wall of a house in Burano (Fig. 11),
“these are what I’m really passionate
about.”31 This distinction reflects a
tension between serving a tourist
economy or a broader creative economy,
but it also speaks to Mr. Bressanello’s
flexible entrepreneurial nature. Other
artists and artisans in the historic center,
who desire to produce work that will be acknowledged as contemporary
culture, but who choose to spend at least some making products that they
think are geared toward the tourist market, likely share his sentiment.
Working with a German software company, Mr. Bressanello has developed
Art Views, a free application available on ITunes that provides a slide show
of his images set to music selected by the user. The app serves as a form of
marketing and brand development.
relocation was prompted by the desire to live close to where he worked most frequently,
the office location of DNA Italia.
31 Interview with Fabio Bressanello, January 20, 2010
Studio Camuffo
Originally founded by Giorgio Camuffo as a graphic
design firm, Studio Camuffo has since evolved to
provide content in form of publications, media and
events. While providing a broad range of exhibit-
related services for Venice’s museums and cultural
institutions, Studio Camuffo has also developed a
series of projects to document key issues about life
in Venice today, under the collective of publications
with the slightly tongue-in-cheek title, “Venice is
Not Sinking.” Similar to the commedia dell’arte
tradition of 16th and 17th century Venice, in which
observations about the political and economic
conditions of the day were conveyed through the
vehicle of theatrical comedy, these projects create
an opportunity for public commentary and debate,
achieved in multiple media platforms. For example,
their project “Se fossi sindaco …” (If I were mayor
…) involved recording the ideas – most often in “to
do” list format -- of more than 100 citizens about
what actions they would take for the future of the
city if they were elected mayor. This collective
was produced as a simple, but graphically engaging
book as well as an independent web site to which Fig. 12. A web screen shot from Studio
Camuffo’s “If I were mayor ...” program.
subsequent content has been added over time.32 The web site eventually
included video interviews of actual mayoral candidates as well as other
Venetian citizens (see Figure 12). This ability to assemble such a project is
very much based upon accrued knowledge of local politics in Venice; what they
have produced from this knowledge, in turn, becomes a record of the thought
and self-expression of (at least part of) the Venetian community at a specific
point in time.

Relactions
A web advertising company founded by Annalisa Ballaria in 2006, Relactions
provides a range of services to the travel and hospitality industry. Relactions
has been particularly adept at understanding how to deliver the traditional
services of a marketing and public relations firm within the environment of
the World Wide Web. Services include brand development, graphic design,
advertising content and strategy as well as search engine optimization and
online public relations, among others. Capitalizing on the ability to directly
measure responses to Internet advertising, Relactions uses fine-grained
feedback to make necessary adjustments within the course of a campaign
(closer to real time) and to propose alternative methods for future campaigns.

32 Se io fossi sindaco, nominerei Ciubecca assessore al decoro (If I were mayor, I would
nominate Chewbacca as Assessor of Decor) published by Venice is Not Sinking, Venice:
2009. Web site: http://www.seiofossisindaco.org
25
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

Relactions produces analytical reports based upon the

ability to mine a large quantity of data about tourism
(see Fig. 12) Being based in the historic center allows
the added opportunity for direct observation and
documentation of tourism activity in service to clients
not only in Venice, but also far beyond the Venetian
lagoon. This is particularly critical when the relationship
between hospitality design and services and tourism
management is considered. While a city government
establishes the policy that guides the management
of tourism in a historic city, hospitality and tourism
companies deliver products and services not only in
response to the regulations set by policy but also based
upon their understanding of market forces and market
Fig. 12. A screen shot of the Relactions web
site
opportunities.

This combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis is particularly useful

for developing concepts for brand elevation and distinction of hospitality
brands within an increasingly competitive market. In 2010, Relactions was
named a finalist for the Best Tourism Website at the 2010 Italian Web Awards
for their production of the Baglioni Hotels Group web site.

Forma Urbis
Founded by Fabio Carrera and Alberto Gallo, Forma Urbis develops urban
information systems for use by the city of Venice to manage the unique
infrastructure of the historic city. These systems enable and enhance the
delivery of basic city services as well as the management of urban systems,
such as the transportation of goods and people within the Venetian lagoon.
The firm’s innovative use of geographic information systems (GIS) as a basis
for developing and managing geocoded data sets, makes it possible to overlay
multiple types of data for display. Such digital map-based formats also make
it possible to perform both quantitative and well as qualitative analysis, with
greater ease in changing the scale at which data is analyzed.33

The delivery process of Forma Urbis entails designing ways to collect

pertinent data, documenting and utilizing place knowledge about the urban
environment. This includes collecting embedded information, such as the
record of how wave action has effected building foundations in the historic
center, or what the conditions of the city’s sewer system reflect about the
history of canal maintenance. Their work also involves the preservation of
formal accrued knowledge, such as in producing a digitization plan for the
Venetian archives and the using informal accrued knowledge, facilitated by
spatial analysis mapping techniques, to inform management of public space
usage by constituent groups. Carrera describes the conceptual basis for
33 Notably, the Venetian Republic’s maritime activity and the city’s printing industry
made it an important map making center as early as the late 15th century. The Archives
of Venice preserve an impressive map collection.
26
much of this work in his doctoral dissertation, City Knowledge: an Emergent
Information Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Maintenance, Management and
Planning (MIT, 2004).

As professor at the Worcester Polytechnics Institute and founder of

their Venice Project Center, Carrera has directed teams of students and
volunteers in research project design, data collection and analysis for new
urban information systems. In part due to the capacity to assemble large
project teams, Forma Urbis has been able to beta test diverse methods of
data collection, many of which involve documentation of real time events.
The emphasis on collection and analysis of real time data for use in the
management of cities has tremendous implications for urban planning (see
Figure 12). While the approach may seem especially important in a city like
Venice – where the number of people in the city shifts dramatically depending
upon the season and the when major events take place – managing the flow of
people in the urban environment and the infrastructure to support activities
such as transportation and security is applicable to cities throughout the
world. It may be particularly applicable for the emerging megacities that will
require, extremely sophisticated resource management systems.

Among the seven firms profiled in these case studies, no firm exists purely
within “knowledge-transferring” or the “information-driven” category; these
are not mutually exclusive but instead represent part of the spectrum of
activities present within the historic center today. It is important to note
the degree to which each of these firms is flexible and adaptable. With the
exception of perhaps Ski Stradivarius, all could be described as providing more
than one key product or service.

Relactions, Forma Urbis and Studio Camuffo in particular can be understood

as especially engaged in and responsive to the complex web of problems and
opportunities in the historic city today. Their work produces information and
knowledge-building that can directly impact the management of the urban Fig. 12. A map documenting permitted use of
public space in Venice
environment, the urban experience, and the economy of Venice. In that sense, Source: Forma Urbis web site
their productive contribution in Venice is particularly iterative and also rich
with potential. The newly elected mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu,
observed a similar scenario in regard to innovation in a challenged city:

“New Orleans is this nation’s most immediate laboratory for innovation

and democracy that this country has seen in a very long time, because we’re
the only ones that were completely destroyed, so we’re having to rebuild
the fabric of our lives. We can test new ideas to see if they work, and they can
be scaled to success in other cities across every sector of government.”34

34 Glove, Lloyd. “Mitch Landrieu’s Tough Challenges.” The Daily Beast, first
published Agust 16, 2010. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-08-16/
new-orleans-mayor-mitch-landrieu-on-rebuilding-his-city/

27
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

Where do they locate?

Fig. 13. Locations of knowledge firms in 2) Where do knowledge firms locate?

• Distributed
relationship to preferred routes through
Venice. (Open circles represent production
Knowledge firms are distributed throughout the historic
• Near major routes
facilities or related businesses.)
center. I expected that the firms profiled in this study might all locate in the
• Convenient to transportation Dorsoduro
needs neighborhood; it is home to a number of university departments,
Source: Routes overlay map sourced from
the Venice Report, p. 40; generated by COSES.
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
Base map generated by author from multiple offers close proximity to the train station and car park and has a vibrant
data sources. character that often described as “less touristy” than the neighborhood of San
Marco or the more central parts of the Cannaregio neighborhood. Instead,
I found that the physical distribution of the case studies is not limited to any
particular neighborhood, suggesting that all neighborhoods are potentially
suitable for these firms (see Figure 13).

There appears to be a correlation between the locations of firms and primary

circulation pathways / major circulation nodes. Five of the seven firms are
located within areas of high tourist activity, but can be described as “once
removed” from a primary route, either in a location on a side street with
little or no visible presence from the street, or on the second floor of a
building. This is especially the case for firms that draw information/data (or
customers) from the flow of tourists, an indication of the symbiotic nature of
the relationship between these firms and tourist activity within the city.

The location choice of knowledge-transferring firms is more

directly based on proximity to physical resources (used in
the input process). The activities that take place at the Ski Stradivarius
production facility on Giudecca and Vento di Venezia on La Certosa are based
on proximity to pre- existing physical resources (harbor, wood stockpile) and

28
require larger areas of space for work. And yet, these locations are still easily
reachable from the most central part of the historic city by private boat or
by water bus. I Tre Mercanti and, to a lesser degree, Studio Bressanello, are
the only two firms whose locations are (partially) explained by a desire to
be exposed to heavy foot traffic and to assert a strong visual and physical
presence for the purpose of attracting customers.

Studio Camuffo’s location is a result of the firm’s participation in the Venice

District for Innovation business incubator program, which makes reduced rent
office space available in the Ex Cnomv building. 35

Density and transit create options for knowledge workers,

allowing location choice to be determined by other factors.
Firms that have even less of a need for production space or reliance upon
inventory, such as those in the “information-driven category” appear to be
relying even more heavily on other factors, including lease cost and the desire
to be in a mixed-use area in making their location selections.

Most of the individuals I interviewed cited the need to be located convenient

to transportation, including Marco Polo airport, reachable from the historic
center by water taxi and public transit. These findings demonstrate that what
defines “convenient” is an extremely relative concept. Locating in a walkable,
small dense urban environment that offers a variety of transportation options
means that no location is ever very far from primary circulation paths and
transit nodes. This partially explains why firms are not clustered around the
train station or car park, or even close to major water bus stops. Because
of the combination of density and relatively predictable transit options, it is
possible to reach almost any location in the historic center from any other
location (or from Mestre), within a half an hour. Though events of high water
infrequently require persons to seek alternate routes, the near car-free nature
of Venice means that within-city commuters do not suffer from automobile
traffic delays as they do in other cities. Fabio Bressanello explained that he
knows reliably, within a few minutes, how long it takes to get anywhere in the
city, making Venice a very easy city to work from.36

Firm locations show little direct competition with tourist-

oriented commercial businesses for storefront space.

Rather, many firms showed a preference for conversion of store rooms

commonly found on the ground floor of Venetian buildings or modest

35 The rehabilitation of the Cnomv building was sponsored by the City of Venice
as part of the Venice District for Innovation business incubator program. It was funded
through money from the European Fund for Regional Development and the Special Law
for Venice. The project was realized through the Development Plan for the Venice City
Center, approved in 1999. Source: Comune di Venezia, Venice District for Innovation
project profiles.
36 Interview with Fabio Bressanello, January 20, 2010.
29
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

Where do they locate?

Fig. 14. Mr. Bressanello, standing next to storefronts, thereby avoiding competition with tourist-oriented business and
• On the ground floor (5/7) in former storageforspaces
cost premiums
his primary piece of production equipment, (4/7)spaces.
high demand
a large format digital printer (left); the
• High water not a significant deterrent
rehabilitated storefront (right).
I Tre Mercanti, located in a storefront in the San Marco neighborhood, is
• Live-work proximity
Source: photos by author.
the only case that occupies what might be considered prime real estate for
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
tourist-oriented stores, such as glass or mask shops. This location choice
makes sense, given that I Tre Mercanti is a direct participant in the tourism
economy.

The location of Bressanello Art Studio provides an interesting example of

building use conversion (see Figure 14). Originally located on a side street
off of Campo San Barnaba in the Dorsoduro neighborhood, Bressanello Art
Studio now occupies a more prominent ground floor location along Rio de
San Barnaba just a few steps from Campo San Barnaba. The space, a modest
commercial storefront, is owned by and was last used as a storeroom for
produce by the family of fruit and vegetable vendors who operate a market
barge on Rio de San Barnaba. With minimal improvement to the space –
mostly in the form of lighting – Mr. Bressanello converted the space into one
that functions for digital photo editing, digital printing, framing, and display of
his work. The improvements and creative use of space may mean that it is
now seen as desirable for more tourist-oriented commerce, but this was not
the case before Mr. Bressanello occupied the space.

Knowledge firms require little physical space.

The physical space used by these firms varied; most were between 200 and
400 square feet. Their requirements are modest for a number of reasons. For
one, firms can rely more heavily on “the real estate” available to them in the
30
virtual realm as well as the speed of communication through virtual networks.

In the case of I Tre Mercanti, Studio Bressanello and Ski Stradivarius, each
has found a way to carry only a small or reduced inventory; in the case of
Forma Urbis (as well as Relactions and Studio Camuffo – both of which are
on the second floor), reduction in size and increasing portability of computer
equipment increases options for space utilization. This conditions in turn
decrease the need to transport physical goods (raw materials, merchandise,
equipment and supplies) to or from the firm’s location. Mr. Bressanello
explained that he orders frames from a framer in Venice. (The making of
picture frames is another of Venice’s still active, recognized historic industries.)
When he runs out of his limited supply, he simply calls the framer, who
delivers the frames by boat, directly to his door, usually within a day’s time.

Knowledge firms are a good fit for Venice’s ground floor

spaces, even those susceptible to high water. In no case was the
threat of high water a factor in choosing not to locate on the ground floor.
The use of ground floor space by these firms is particularly important in
reference to the findings of the 1969 UNESCO report as well as subsequent
policy proposals, some of which have in fact suggested that ground floor
spaces be abandoned.

In 1995, the city resumed a systematic schedule of canal dredging, a practice

first initiated under the Venetian Republic, but undertaken only intermittently
over the last two centuries. This maintenance practice allows for access to
building foundations for repair; removal of silt and debris ensures efficient
flow of water in and out of canals, critical not only for boat access within
the city but also for managing the tidal flow, especially when high water
occurs. Although the canal dredging is critical, this physical improvement to
infrastructure does not, alone, explain why it has been possible to reclaim
some ground floor space. In fact, concurrent with improvements within the
historic center, other factors within the lagoon and the broader environment
have actually resulted in an increase in the frequency and intensity of high
water in recent decades. Yet, the threat of high water is not keeping firms
from locating in ground floor spaces, in part because digital communication
technology is now allowing people to be more prepared for high water events.

In 1980 the city created the Centro Previsioni e Segnalazioni Maree (CPSM)
as a clearinghouse for preparedness information and notification about
high water.37 The CPSM, in coordination with other research entities, has
developed increasingly reliable high water forecasting. Since December 2007,
this data has been used as the basis for a tonal warning system (replacing a
more traditional warning siren), which sounds approximately six hours in
advance of a high water event; a sequence of tonal levels indicate the water
rise anticipated within four defined ranges. Through a website maintained by

37 P. Canestrelli and L. Zampato in Fletcher and Spencer, p. 87-88

31

Fig. 15. Screen shot of the animation
explaining tonal warning system on the CPSM
web site.
32
PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES
the CPSM, citizens can watch an explanatory animation about the warning
system, sign up for text alerts about forecasted high water events, review data
for past high water events and seek answers to frequently asked questions
(see Figure 15).38
In Venice, as in other historic cities affected by tides, dealing with high water
is a learned practice based upon accrued knowledge and experience; a
“reasonable amount” of maintenance
is accepted as part of living in a tidal
environment; individuals have adapted
responses that are both economical and
strategic. Common measures include
using stainless steel door barriers to
block water from entry. (Home owners
along the Potomac River in Old Town
Alexandria,Virginia, use the same type
of custom dams to block water entry
into low lying buildings.) Aside from the
installation of these barriers, practices
may include the use of a sump pump and
raising any sensitive materials. Alberto
Gallo explained that the extent of his
preparation was to put anything at floor
level on higher shelves, just out of the
water’s reach.39
Following a high water event, if water
penetrates the interior of a building,
excess water is mopped out; sometimes
industrials fans are used to expedite the drying process. In spaces susceptible
to high water, it is not uncommon to find terrazzo or stone tile floors (and
wainscoting), such that the water can be easily mopped out of the space.
Particularly if there is exposed brick, property owners may wash out the space
with fresh water to prevent the build up of salt in the building material, which
can cause damage over time.
Changes in work practices as a result of digital technology mitigate the risk of
damage from high water in two other ways. Maintaining less inventory is that
far more material has to be moved. The ability to storage files electronically,
to rely on backup files and cloud storage far diminishes the threat of
information loss due to high water. In contrast, tourist-oriented shops that
have proliferated in response to the mass tourism market tend to keep large
inventories of relatively low priced goods, such as paper, masks, leather and
often low quality, small glass souvenirs. For these shops, dealing with high
water is a much more labor-intensive process.
38 Web site address: http://www.comune.venezia.it/maree/
39 Interview with Alberto Gallo, January 21, 2010
The CPSM preparedness system, itself a formalization and refinement of
accrued knowledge, is an example of how digital technology is being used to
make it easier for people to respond to high water events and thus, to live
and work in the historic center. Once the MOSE project is complete, the city
will have the capability to block the actual inflow of high water, which would
greatly reduce the associated inconveniences and potential damage that can
result from these events.40

The final finding in regarding to firm location that is especially interesting to

consider is that individuals cited a strong preference for working close to
where they live, or choosing to live close to where they work. The potential
trend of strong live-work proximity is not surprising, as it is has become more
common in many, especially after workers in many cities experience the stress
as well as the monetary and time costs of long commutes.

While the cost of renting or owning a home in the historic center can be
higher than the mainland, some cost can be offset by the fact that living in
the historic center does not require owning or maintaining an automobile, or
other indirect costs associated with suburban, auto-based lifestyles that can
result in cumulative costs of living equal to our higher than inner city living.41

3) How do they work? (How do they use space?)

Individuals associated with these firms are creative and tech-

savy. Many of these firms can be described as taking an artesian approach
and working in a way that directly draws upon practices from the historic
economy of Venice. A defining characteristic of each is the extent to which
processes focus on creative problem solving and digital technology is integral
to the work process. In fact, all of the individuals interviewed could be
described as “early adopters” of new digital technology.

There is no observable conflict between the idea of craft and the use of digital
technology to achieve it, though the work of these firms focuses on effective
and customized problem-solving rather than mass production. All of the
individuals interviewed shared a rather entrepreneurial character, which seems
to influence not only what work they do, but also an openness to how work
is done, making them both versatile and adaptable. These would be valuable
traits for knowledge workers establishing firms in a city that many people
have written off as “merely” a tourist destination and leisure environment.

40 Current projections by Consorzio Venezia Nuova, the consortium responsible

for the engineering and construction of the MOSE project, are that the inflatable dams
will be raised four to five times a year to limit the impact of the most severe high water
events, though the actual schedule of use will depend upon real, rather than anticipated,
environmental conditions. Source: http://www.consorziovenezianuova.com
41 Urban Land Institute, 2010
33
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

Firms use digital communication technology strategically.

How do they work? How do they use space?
As documented by Castells, Cairncross and Duffy, digital technology is
transforming almost every aspect of work, but especially communication.
Firms in the historic center of Venice are using digital communication
technology to coordinate the work of team members who are based in
multiple distinct physical locations. Firms are also using this technology to
provide some services to clients without being located near, or traveling to,
the client site. That being said, individuals discussed the fact that certain tasks,
are far more effective when conducted face to face, in which case they travel
to the client site or meet with the client at a convenient location. Another
notable aspect is that the combination of mobile technology, sole proprietors

Fig. 16. Alberto Gallo at work with colleague

• Tech savvy; concerned with and
visual output tasks means that many of these workers do not follow
design-oriented
Andrea Mancuso (left); the very unassuming
• Office as design / productiona space,
traditional
entry to Forma Urbis (top right); image of
a hermit crab, an appropriate metaphor for
notschedule or workday.
client meeting Rather their self-defined work schedules
space
and flexible/multiple work location practices (in which work and leisure
• Adaptable
how some knowledge firms occupy ground
are entwined) resemble what Dalton Conley describes as “weisure”42 and
floor space (bottom right).
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
Sources: photo by author; photo from Forma has many implications for the way these workers use and value the urban
Urbis; photo from web. environment.

While firms are highly concerned with the visual quality of

their output, many appear “less concerned” with the visual
presence of the interiors of their offices. In the experience of a
historic city like Venice, visitors often do not see what is going on behind the
walls or the doors of the city, making it difficult to gauge the spectrum of
productive activity that is taking place. Instead the casual passerby sees what

42 Conley..
34
 How do they work? How do they use space?

•
S
T
D

is presented at the street level – what’s just on the surface. This experience, Fig. 17. Mid-day activity in Campo San Luca
• Sophisticated
in fact, likely contributesuse of public
to the narrativespace
that the historic center of Venice is (left). The green box indicates the location
only •engaged of two primary palazzos occupied by the
Small-scale, dense,
in tourism mixed-use
activities. The workand caroffree
spaces many=ofasset
these firms
municipality of Venice, including the mayor’s
(five of the seven) is not visible from the street. The use of these space most
• Place value on sensory experience
often focus on design and production tasks; like hermit crabs, they have little
office. The orange boxes at bottom shows
Campo San Luca, while the top shows
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
concern for configuration, often preferring under-utilized, ground floor space Campo San Bartolomeo, a larger open space
closer to the Rialto Bridge and Rialto Market.
within the city, as previously discussed. When they grow, they expand and
(right).
move out to another space. Sources: photo by author; Google Earth.

In particular, these small spaces have limited programmatic use as places

to meet with clients or associates. Instead, workers often use the
existing historic fabric of the city, including bars, cafes and
open space, as their meeting spaces. This practice, which is common
in many historic cities, is now greatly facilitated by digital communication
technology, most notably the near ubiquitous use of smart phones for calls,
emails and specifically, texting.

Though the historic center has few corporate office buildings similar to those
constructed in other cities, the functional programs of such buildings is still
fulfilled, at least partially, by the public space and other public venues within
the city (see Figure 17).

Alberto Gallo explained that if he has a meeting with a city official or a

business colleague, a common practice would be to go to Campo San Luca
for a coffee or spritz in one of the four bars/cafés located along the campo.43
In the daytime, the activity in Campo San Luca resembles what might be
43 Interview with Alberto Gallo, January 21, 2010
35
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

found in a corporate office building lobby, though at night, it becomes one of

several preferred meeting places for young people. Campo San Bartolomeo,
much more bustling and crowded, is often used for other reasons – such as
when meeting up with a group. These nuanced practices demonstrate both
the pragmatic versatility as well as the continued relevance of an urban form
which has evolved over time to support social interaction.

These relatively flexible uses of buildings and public space by knowledge

workers should be interpreted positively for those interested in preserving
the historic fabric of the city. To a large extent, the changes these firms make
to buildings focus on maintenance or minimal improvements, such as lighting.
While they may not be instigators of complete restorations (at least in their
work spaces) they are keeping buildings viable, paying rents and generating a
tax base while introducing little negative physical impact to the historic city.

4) When have these activities emerged?

It may come as no surprise that the emergence of these firms

tracks with changes to digital technology44. The one firm that
predates the arrival of World Wide Web is Studio Camuffo, founded in 1990.
This firm however, has been highly responsive to change in digital technology,
expanding from a focus on graphic design to broader media production.

For the most part, these firms have emerged after the
approval of the new master plan for Venice in 199545.
The degree to which firm emergence bears direct relationships to that
planning effort, however, varies. As a tenant in office space developed by
the Venice District for Innovation, Studio Camuffo (as a successor to Mr.
Camuffo’s earlier firm) is the only firm to participate directly in an economic
development initiative spelled out by the master plan. The rehabilitation of
the island of La Certosa would not have been possible without the political
and financial support of Mr. Cacciari’s administration, yet the multi-facet
program is largely a result of private partnerships and not directly prescribed
by the master plan. Many of the projects undertaken by Forma Urbis have
their genesis in the master plan, but neither the founding of the firm nor
the building it occupies benefitted from special financing or development
designation. The same can be said for the other three case studies. Thus, it
appears that knowledge firms are emerging both as a result of specific urban
planning initiatives, but also entirely independent of such initiatives. In the
latter case, perceived market opportunity, technological advancement and
lifestyle conditions appear to be strong enough to attract new firms, such as
Relactions to the historic center or to encourage the emergence of firms
from within, such as in the case of I Tre Mercanti.

44 Going forward, it will be interesting to monitor the impact of the freely available
wireless internet throughout the city, launched in October 2009.
45 See Appendix One for the founding years of all firms.
36
Much of the creative production of these firms is generated
in response to 20th century impacts on the city. As an example,
media produced by Studio Camuffo and relating to the mayoral election
generates creative content while also engaging the public, encouraging
discourse about and participation in local politics, particularly among the
youth of the city. Almost every project of Forma Urbis, whether it relates to
infrastructure or public art, has an objective to enhance the urban experience.
Studio Bressanello, I Tre Mercanti, Relactions and Vento di Venezia all play
a role in shaping the tourist experience and the tourism market in Venice
through the products and services they deliver to the market. While some
activities are geared toward the luxury market, their common objective, more
specifically, is to generate quality and authentic products and experiences. By
focusing on these two traits, these firms contribute to Venice’s position within
an increasingly competitive market of tourist destinations. They also promote
a more positive vision of the urban experiences now possible in Venice, for
residents and visitors alike.

5) Who do they involve?

The question of who this activity involves is particularly interesting in light

of what is known about the depopulation of the historic center of Venice,
specifically the largely middle class exodus to the mainland that began after
World War II.46 Do participants have family ties to the city? If so, are they
representative of resilient Venetians who have never left the historic center,
or, are they perhaps individuals with ties to Venice who are choosing to return
to the historic center? If they are not Venetians, then can these individuals
be understood as a form of “replacement group” (akin to “replacement
species” in ecology) who view the conditions of the historic center as more
favorable than the previous residents who chose to vacate the city? If so,
does this activity resemble urban gentrification such as that which has been
documented in other historic urban environments or can it be understood
differently? The case studies reveal a number of interesting characteristics:

Firms were started by Venetians and well as Italians; a

common denominator is work experience outside the historic
center. With the exception Studio Camuffo, at least one partner within
all the firms had some international work experience prior to starting the
firm. Almost all firms were founded by what could be described as mature
entrepreneurs; the two exceptions would be Studio Camuffo, originally
founded by Giorgio Camuffo while in his twenties and Forma Urbis, also
founded by partners in their twenties. In those two cases, at least one partner
was a native Venetians residing in the historic center at the time of the
founding of the firm. Among those interviewed, Annalisa Ballaria relocated to
Venice from Milan and has no family ties to the city; Fabio Bressanello’s return
to Venice coincided with his decision to open Bressanello Art Studio.

46 Mario Rinaldo, “Italy: the Other Venice” in the Conservation of Cities, Chapter 9.
37
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

No firm depends solely upon Venice for its client base, though
interaction in Venice may play an important role in initiating
and forging client relationships. Work experience outside Venice
plays a critical factor in extending the client base, as well as business partner
relationships, beyond the historic center.

Individuals rely heavily upon virtual social networks to

strengthen business networks and professional relationships.
Many individuals actively use social networking sites, such as Facebook and
LinkedIn, as well as their own web sites, blogs and twitter accounts to build
and support these relationships.47 What can be observed is that these
tools are effective at reinforcing interaction taking place not only over long
distances, but also within the dense urban fabric of the historic city. Examples
include using these social networking tools to distribute information about
community groups events, political rallies, and cultural events such as exhibit
openings.

One example of the creation of a social network is Mr. Del Carlo’s role
as a founder in the social networking site and community organization,
“40xVenice.” This site, which became one of most active community-based
social networking sites in Europe48, was created with the mission to galvanize a
community of thirty and forty-year-olds in a non-political capacity, to advocate
for improvements in services to enhance quality of life for the residents of
Venice. Notable initiatives include the campaign for daycare facilities (a critical
resource for working parents) in the historic center, which included a “stand
in” of families with young children at a city council meeting.49 In this case,
digital communication technology is galvanizing communities of working
professionals who share common objectives as residents of the historic
center, while simultaneously connecting and reinforcing professional networks,
especially among small firms and sole proprietors. Ultimately both contribute
to the productive capacity of the historic center.

Many firms had one, two or three partners with few if any
other full time staff members. Several individuals with firms engaged
in consulting or design projects commented that they partner frequently, often
assembling a team to respond to requests for proposals or to interview for a
particular job, rather than maintaining a large and diverse full time staff; they
rely on social/professional networks to assemble the right team members. The
ability to “scale up,” particularly for information-intensive activities and large

47 Although Facebook is a social networking site to link “friends” and LinkedIn

is geared toward cultivating professional relationships, these individuals, similar to users
in other cities, make little distinction about utilizing one networking tool for personal
relationships and the other for professional relationships, though some expressed a
preference for one tool over the other.
48 Interview with Emanuele Dal Carlo, January 19, 2010.
49 This event is cleverly profiled in the documentary film, “The Venetian
Dilemma.”
38
projects, explains how these relatively small firms can compete effectively
without taking on the overhead costs of additional personnel, and in turn,
additional office space.

Firms rely heavily on ideas of partnership; some involve

multiple family members. While the entrepreneurial nature of these
firms may seem at odds with some attributes of Italy’s relatively conservative
work culture, this is not necessarily the case. Many small manufacturing
firms in the Veneto region are family-owned and often employ family
members of multiple generations. Two of the firms included in this study,
Ski Stradivarius and Forma Urbis, began as two-family member partnerships.
The prominent emphasis on working corroboratively in partnership may also
draw from practices of Venice’s historic guilds, in which acute specialization
and innovation was possible because of the sophistication of idea sharing
through trade and social networks.50 Finally, as Italian labor laws make it
relatively difficult to fire an employee once hired, it may be in the best interest
of knowledge workers who run firms to work in partnership or to hire
employees on contract, rather than full-time basis.

Students and the concept of education play an important role

the activity of knowledge firms. Examples include Vento di Venezia’s
partnership with EID and Les Glénans as well as the relationship between
Forma Urbis and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Venice Project Center.
Studio Camuffo employs recent graduate on a full time and contract basis,
providing coveted opportunities for students from Ca Foscari, IUAV and other
university programs, many of whom desire to stay in the city but often cannot
afford to live there.51

As younger generations tend to be more skilled in putting digital tools to

work than their elder counterparts, these more digitally driven jobs may be
a natural attraction for young workers. Design-oriented tasks and extensive
fieldwork may also provide natural project-based learning opportunities for
such workers. As Russo and Sans point out, students attending university
in the historic center of Venice also play an important a role in forging a
“landscape of creativity” attractive to what they term “new cultural tourists,”
a limited but economically and culturally important group of tourists who
seek out the contemporary culture of the city. If the city can find an effective
way to address the cost of living it may find that retaining these young
workers, not only serves to counter the effects of the increasing average age
of residents (and possibly the declining birth rate), but also secures a subset of
residents who elevate its cultural offerings for residents and visitors alike.

6) Why do they locate in the historic center?

The range of responses to the question of why firms locate in the historic
50 For more on the achievements of the guilds and scuole of Venice, see Lane.
51 The Venice Report, p.18 and Russo and Sans, p. 170.
39
 PART FOUR: RESEARCH METHOD AND CASE STUDIES

center is quite broad, but can be grouped in to four key, interrelated ideas.
These do not explain, in entirety, why knowledge workers are locating in the
historic center, but they provide much insight into how these workers see the
opportunities that the historic center affords them:

The concept of identity is an important factor in the choice to

locate in the historic center. Beginning with the statement “Because
this is my city,” Giorgio Camuffo provided a detailed response from which it
was clear that proximity to family was an important factor, as well as the more
general concepts of civic / community association and pride of place.52

Individuals cited personal objectives to live more sustainably

and articulated the relationship between this concept and
productivity. As discussed above, workers make the connection that
live-work proximity is an extremely critical measure by which both their
productivity as well as their quality of life is increased. Many articulated
specific ways in personal measures to live “more sustainably” (such as living
car-free) in turn positively benefitted their productivity. Fabio Bressanello
who is from Venice, but had previously operated a restaurant abroad, explained
that living in Venice and walking to work provided a healthy routine, made
him more engaged socially (being able to return home to have lunch with
his family, and seeing people in route to and from work) and allowed him to
draw inspiration from the visual and spatial experience of the city. Similar
explanations by other individuals suggest that these workers are quite
cognizant of the fact that emotional satisfaction, physical health and creative/
intellectual engagement all play an important role in sustained productivity.

Other lifestyle focused answers included: an appreciation of the relaxed pace

of city (Ballaria), easy access to recreation such as skiing and sailing (Gallo,
Sonzogno), and proximity to high quality food products (Bressanello).

Workers value the historic center as an environment of

human creativity, suggesting that both the opportunity for
interaction within a community (and to gain exposure to
different ideas) as well as the visceral experience of the city
contribute to its value. This affirms the role of cities in fostering
tolerance as a way to attract human capital and the vital role of cities as places
of innovation. Giorgio Camuffo described that he enjoys the opportunity to
do a wide variety of projects for interesting clients in Venice, stating that he
doubted he would have had a similar opportunity had he located in Milan.
Annalisa Ballaria pointed out that she works in a way where she could work
from anywhere, but that she chose to locate in Venice because of the city
offers an appealing quality of life, exposure to interesting people and because
its beautiful. She pointed out, however, that there are two main challenges:
services for residents and the challenge of building up her firm when the cost

52 Interview with Giorgio Camuffo, January 18, 2010.

40
 When have these activities emerged?
of living for young people are prohibitive and they do not wanted to be faced
with a daily commute into the city.53 This statement exposes important limits
that may keep other knowledge workers from staying in, or relocating to, the
historic center.

Knowledge workers describe the decision to locate in the

historic center as based upon the presence of a number of
conditions contributing to competitive advantage. While no
individual directly responded that profit potential was a driving force in
locating in the historic center, several described realizing that locating in the
historic center provided specific opportunities and exposure that would
• After the be Plan Fig. 18. The Studio Camuffo team
1996 Master
• After 1
• In relationship to changes in digital technology
difficult to find elsewhere, particularly in the immediate area of• Asthe mainland,
a by-product of 20th Centuryat work;
impacts on theacity
screen shot of interviews As a “by
Digital A
even if it would be cheaper to locate there. with mayoral candidates; the exterior
Zapalac | Copy not for publication

of the building where Studio Camuffo

In regard to collaborating from and in Venice, Giorgio Camuffo responded: offices.
Sources: photos by author and clips
“ ... we have a network of people. We work a lot with people in America and from the se io fossi sindacco web site
we work with London. We have many part time collaborators ... If we have
need of a design, we work with, for example, John Jarvis in London. If we
need a graphic concept, we might work with someone else. ForVenice, this
is the beautiful thing. [Being located] at the center of the world -- or at the
“semi-center” of the world. It could be the center of the world ... but it’s a
little off ...We don’t want to be presumptuous ... we’re a little off-center.”54

53 Interview with Annalisa Ballaria, January 26, 2010.

54 Interview with Giorgio Camuffo, January 18, 2010.
41
 PART FIVE: CONCLUSIONS

Although many questions remain about the relationship between knowledge

workers and the historic center of Venice, particularly in regard to the
economic impact of these activities in specific monetary value, the following
key points can be made:

1) The historic center is already attracting knowledge workers.

Knowledge industry firms have been started with support from business
development/incubation initiatives, such as the Venice District for Innovation,
as well as public-private partnerships, but, importantly, also independent of
these programs.

As digital technology redefines business culture and makes business districts

and corporate office buildings increasingly obsolete, the mixed-use historic
center, the offer proximity between home, individual work space and versatile
public space is responsive to the needs of knowledge workers.

The dense and highly ritualized physical environment of the historic center is
a complement to the virtual social interaction that many knowledge workers
participate in. As these multiple modes of interaction (physical and virtual)
develop, they reenforce one another, producing networks that serve both
personal and professional purposes.

2) “Place Knowledge” that is present in the historic center

offers a competitive advantage for certain types of knowledge
industries.

Whether it is embedded knowledge revealing strategies for maintaining

buildings in flood-prone environments or accrued knowledge about the
process of collective invention55, the ability to tap place knowledge benefits
a wide variety of activities. Place knowledge also provides a frame (or filter)
through which additional information, including information collected and
processed in real time, can be used to produce high value products.

The historic center is also supporting knowledge industry activities that link
design with physical production. These activities result in new, but related
used for historic production areas, transferring the knowledge accrued about
production sites, materials and processes for new purposes. The case of
Ski Stradivarius using boat-building knowledge (and materials) to producing
skis instead of gondolas is a prime example. The adaptive use of the island
of La Certosa, in which historic boat repair is taking place next to the
design of contemporary yachts and other products, is also representative
of the application of accrued and embedded knowledge (and the benefit of
synergistic programming).

55 Merges.
42
Knowledge firms formalize the collection of feedback in the work process as
a way to make improvement in their products. The historic center provides
ample opportunities for feedback collection, especially in regard to describing
how people interact within particular environments. In the case of firms such
as Relactions and Forma Urbis, both have found ways to use the feedback
collection processes to provide analytical services that also have direct value
in the sectors in which they work.

City management as well as tourism can be thought of as a massive, constantly

changing delivery of products (and experiences). There is not only an
enormous need for collection of feedback as a means to manage and improve
this activity, but also profit potential, if analytical tools and services developed
for Venice can be brought to the larger global market. The 21st century is
expected to be a period of unprecedented urban growth; thus the demand for
knowledge and tools to guide the systemic management of cities can also be
expected to grow exponentially.

In tandem, tourism rapidly growing global industry. In 2008, 922 million people
traveled and the industry generated $944 billion in receipts.56 By 2020, it is
projected that 1.6 billion people will be traveling internationally57 This means
not only more people traveling, but also more investment among competitive
and up-and-coming destinations. It will become even more important
for cities such as Venice to manage strategically, sustaining the underlying
resources that generate their competitive value in the first place.

3) Physical density, mixed use neighborhoods and high

daytime presences (visitor rates) are understood as assets by
knowledge workers.

The preferences expressed by the case study firms mirror the observations
established by Glaeser, Florida and others that dense urban environments are
valuable as places that connect people and promote the exchange of ideas. In
Venice, we see it is not just the density itself that provides the potential for
exchange, but also the quality of experience and the pattern of activities that
the density can foster. More than just alleviating stress and safety concerns,
the near car-free environment of Venice allows for verbal and physical
interaction between users of the same space.

The mixed-use nature of Venice similarly multiple benefits: it provides the

conveniences that knowledge workers desire and, by promoting multiple, but
shorter trips within a defined area, it promotes “path crossing” among the
users, in turn fostering both social and professional relationships. With this
direct engagement also come certain challenges, particular related to crowd
management. In regard to the congestion and inconveniences that can result
56 World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO), Joint Communique, December 11, 2009
57 United National World Tourism Organization. Dec 3, 2008
43
 PART FIVE: CONCLUSIONS

during peak tourist times, most people interviewed criticized the strategies
of management, not the tourists themselves. As described by Camuffo, “The
problem is not with the tourists; it’s with the way we’re hosting them and
the expectations we’re setting for them.“58 One can surmise that this view
also reflect the difference in the relationship that knowledge workers have
with tourists compared to the relationship service industry workers have
with tourists. For knowledge workers, direct interaction with tourists is a
matter of choice; for service workers, there is far less of a choice -- it is a
matter of livelihood. When tourism is ill-managed, it results in confusion,
miscommunication and all too often, bad manners on the part of the tourist,
the service provider, or both parties.

4) The historic center offers lifestyle conditions (urban

amenities) preferred by knowledge workers.

Because of the strong preference for live-work proximity expressed though

the case studies (matching broader trends about knowledge workers), the
availability of affordable housing is an imperative for attracting knowledge
firms.

5) The scale of available space, particularly under-utilized

ground floor spaces, in the historic city center is well matched
to the needs of sole proprietors and emerging firms.

From a redevelopment standpoint, there are a number of compelling reasons

why this space should be focus on, including affordability and the potential for
the city to grow its tax base. The completion of the MOSE project should
mean that spaces are even less at risk.

6) Locating in the historic center offers brand value, allowing

firms to communicate their identity as part of one of the most
recognized cities in the world.

For small knowledge firms, city association, virtual presence on the internet,
and product quality are more important vehicles for conveying firm identity
than exterior and interior building appearance. A good example of this is
Relactions, for whom locating in Venice provides a cache within the tourism
industry. While the firm’s office meeting space is limited and multifunctional
(see fig. 19), the firm’s web site is extensive, including actual products
and services delivered for clients. Brand value and place association are
particularly important in a global marketplace, allowing people to recognize
and associate a brand, even if most of how they experience it is through the
virtual realm.

58 Interview with Giorgio Camuffo, January 18, 2010.

44
 Why locate in the historic center?

IN SUMMARY Fig. 19. Photo showing the office location of

With• the
Proximity
arrival oftodigital
inputtechnology,
resources wireless communication, the expansion Relactions; Annalisa Ballaria in her workspace;
of the• Worker satisfaction and performance: identity / lifestyle / socialthe
virtual environment and an increasingly “information-intensive” global
Group
web site developed for Baglioni Hotels
needs
economy, our relationship to the built environment is changing.
• Branding value; proximity to point-of-sale is less relevant
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
We are on the cusp of a new understanding of the productive potential
of historic cities and a new capacity to realize direct economic value from
cultural heritage, especially place knowledge.

The diverse range of activities of the knowledge workers in these case studies
speak to the competitive advantage that the historic center can offer, as well
as to its potential to deliver lifestyle conditions valued in the 21st century. It
is not, however, a forgone conclusion that these will be realized on a broad
scale.

First and foremost, it will require reorienting views on the value of the
historic city, recognizing the it is far more valuable as a places to exchange
ideas and develop solution to 21st century problems than merely as a
setting for mass tourism. Second, it will require believing that tourism can
be managed in such a way that residents and visitors alike can thrive in the
historic city.

Much, this research suggests, depends upon regenerating the historic city as a
place to live, now more an economic and social challenge than a physical one.
If that can be realized, then it is likely that knowledge workers, and others, will
emerge not only as a source of regeneration, but also economic productivity
and stewardship, to write the next chapter of this unique and resilient city.
45
 PART FIVE: CONCLUSIONS

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
While the case studies are too few in number to generate findings that
are statistically significant, they identify specific trends that can now be
tested through additional, expanded research. Preliminarily, three policy
recommendations can be made:

1) In addition to working to attract major employers, the city should continue

to expand its focus on developing the conditions that entice sole proprietors
and small firms to locate in the historic center. Venice will likely be more
successful in competing against other cities for these individuals than for large
or mid-sized firms that often expect larger, more aggregated facilities.

It appears firm emergence is taking place largely in the absence of venture

capital investment, tax incentives or other major financial incentives to
encourage businesses to locate in the historic center.59 It is possible that the
historic center will continue to attract other firms and that existing firms
will grow, but there is much work to be done to create an infrastructure of
innovation in Venice in this century, in which ideas generated can find the
capital investment needed to take them to the next level. Venture capital,
which is network dependent, is often critical to supporting innovation.60
Through tourism as well as corporate and private cultural philanthropy, Venice
probably has more exposure to potential investors than many cities. Efforts
should be made to connect these “visiting investors” with established Venice-
based knowledge firms and with knowledge workers considering Venice as a
location. This could even be organized through programs tied to events such
as the Architecture Biennale or the Venice Film Festival.61 The city should also
consider tax incentives for rehabilitation of buildings -- particularly ground
floor space -- for use by knowledge firms, whether initiated by property
owners, investors, or occupying firms.

2) The strong live-work proximity preferences exhibited by knowledge

workers suggests it is possible to reverse the pattern of depopulation to
one of new residential growth. The city should evaluate past initiatives
such as its housing program for newly married couples and expand or alter
these in ways that specifically targets knowledge workers who are, or would
choose to be based in the historic center. Venice may want to look to the
ideas from Vancouver’s “Living First” initiative, which focused on increasing
housing development and services for residents, even in the midst of heavy
competition with commercial real estate interests, somewhat analogous to
the competitive forces of tourism. Any potential investment that promotes

59 Some case study firms confirmed that they had received financing, but none
received venture capital funding. (Vento di Venezia has non-institutional limited partners,
but these are direct investors; majority of funds have come from the primary developers,
Alberto Sonino.)
60 Castilla.
61 Another model would be Austin’s South By Southwest Conference which
introduces independent musicians, filmmakers and media developers with investors.
46
 Why locate in the historic center?

commuting rather than live-work proximity, should be evaluated for its Fig. 20. Nature refrigeration: low-tech
• Digital
potential technology
impacts facilitates
on residential new
occupation of ways of working.
the historic center. sustainability in Venice (left); the Naval
• The boundaries between work and leisure are diminishing. Shipyard (center); technology marches
forward (top right);Venice as a model: a plan
3) These case studies demonstrate that cultural heritage and innovation
• The historic center fosters systems / network thinking.
are not disparate concepts. City leadership as well as private developers
for Masdar (bottom right).
Sources: Photo on left by author; center
Zapalac | Copy not for publication
should rethink the current segmentation in marketing of the historic center photo from photo publication by a Venetian
and adjacent mainland areas. The VEGA project, which is located between photographer; top right image collage by
author based on web photos; bottom right
the Port of Marghera and Mestre, can play an extremely important role as a image from the web site of Norman Foster.
science and technology park and does offer physical development possibilities
that may not be found in the historic center, but marketing it as a zone of
innovation and technology at the gateway to a historic city diminishes the
potential of both the mainland area and its lagoon counterpart.

The redevelopment strategy for the Arsenale, the naval shipyard in Venice,
provides another an extraordinary opportunity for the city. The complex,
which now includes the operation center for Consorzio Venezia Nuova,
Thetis (a multi-disciplinary engineering firm), ACTV (the Venice public
transportation company), and the Venice Water Authority has the potential
to be on the cutting edge of environmental and urban management. The city
should continue to encourage the clustering of related activities, including
small knowledge firms, to create a knowledge aggregate that will, over time,
be difficult for related companies to resist joining. Achieving this, however, will
not be possible without improving Venice as a city first and foremost, for its
residents. In that way, other knowledge-workers, especially those who emerge
from within the Venetian community, will see the historic center as a vibrant
place in which the 21st century goals of working productivity, living sustainably
and living well, can be met.
47
 APPENDIX ONE: ADDITIONAL CASE STUDY FINDINGS

# FIRM NAME Contact / Email Interview Address Web Site PRIMARY SECONDARY
Date SERVICES SERVICES

1 Vento Di Federico Bosisio Jan 29, Isola della Certosa http://www. Harbor + boat Hotel, sailing school,
Venezia f.bosisio@ied.it 2010 (adj to Castello) ventodivenezia.it/ restoration multidisciplinary
/ Istituto + design program
Europeo di http://www.ied.edu/
Design - Scuola venice/home
EID
2 Ski Stradivarius Franco + Angela Jan 28, Santa Croce, 2143 http://www. Ski Design & Related product
Sonzogno 2010 Giudecca 211 clubstradivarius.org; Fabrication (Bindings, jewelry
info@ (Dorsoduro) http://www.ski- etc.)
stradivariusvenezia.it stradavarius.com
3 I Tre Mercanti Emanuele Dal Carlo Jan 19, Castello, 5364 http://www. Curated None within the
emanuele@dna-italia. 2010 itremerchanti.com Italian Products firm, but Dal Carlo
com is part of with
multiple companies
4 Bressanello Art Fabio Bressanello Jan 20, Dorsoduro 2835/A http://www. Digital Interior design /
Studio info@ 2010 bressanelloartstudio. Photography installation related
bressanelloartstudio. com services
com
5 Studio Camuffo Giorgio Camuffo Jan 18, Giudecca 212 http://www. Graphic Design, Media and
giorgio@ 2010 (Dorsoduro) studiocamuffo.com // Exhibit Design Publishing
studiocamuffo.com http://www.
veniceisnotsinking.
com
6 Relactions Annalisa Ballaria Jan 16, San Marco 5547 http://www. Web marketing Consulting /
annalisa.ballaira@ 2010 (at edge of relactions.com for tourism and analytical services
relactions.com Cannaregio, hospitality
towards Rialto)

7 Forma Urbis Alberto Gallo / Jan 21, Cannaregio, 4400 http://www. Urban Gallo: architectural
Fabio Carrera 2010 (toward Rialto) formaurbis.com Information design; Carrera:
Services professor + space
is used as flex office
space

48
YR. No. of TIES TO HIST. TECHNICAL & KNOWLEDGE / INFO Social Media Use
FOUNDED EMPLOYEES KNOWLEDGE DIGITAL TECH ACQUISITION (beyond main web site)
BASE EXPERTISE RESOURCES
2004 3 primary Maritime: boat Industrial design Accrued: boat building and design; VdiV: none
partners + of 30 Construction; sailing EID: none
staff (seasonal) Sailing
Embedded: traditional Venetian
watercraft; lagoon alteration
(navigation)
2003 2 primary Boat Industrial design Accrued: boat building and Self-designed web site
partners + 4 staff Construction materials testing carpentry practices
Embedded: traditional Venetian
watercraft
2007 3 primary Commerce Web site design Accrued: merchant practices, trade, Twitter,YouTube
partners + staff Agricultural Database shipping (Developer of external
Shipping social networking site -
Branding 40xVenezia)
2004 1 Photography Software: photo Accrued: urban / lagoon geography Smart phone application
management, Embedded: building exteriors and but does not like indirect
editing and material details social networking
production (prefers face to face)
1983 Camuffo + 3 FT, (4 Printing Web site design Accrued: local politics and culture Additional web sites
(started); total) and multiple Graphic Design Digital film / audio Embedded: architectural design and
1990 (Studio part time (10 editing urban conditions
Camuffo) presently)

1997 3 partners; 9 staff Hospitality / Marketing Accrued: hospitality industry Blog

+ contract Tourism Software Embedded: hotel design, etc.
Marketing customization Real time: tourist experience and
Graphic design / including web web data
design,
IT management,
analytics

1998 2 + contract Map Making Information Accrued: multiple sectors Additional web sites
(offshoot of collaborators + Architecture / technology, Embedded: architecture, urban form Blog
VPC) students construction including GIS, Real time: urban use / activity Twitter
Database (crowds, transportation, etc.) Doppler
Management
Autocad, 3-D
modeling

49
 APPENDIX ONE: ADDITIONAL CASE STUDY FINDINGS

# FIRM NAME BUILDING FLOOR PRIOR / BUILDING AREA Client Base Partner Work
TYPE LEVEL SPACE ALTERATION ( SQ FT) Experience Outside
FUNCTION approx Venice
1 Vento Di Military / new Ground Military Rehabilitation NA / Local and Bosisio: Barcelona
Venezia / Venice construction (Unoccupied) and new multiple International, but in
EID construction buildings Venice; students =
international

2 Ski Stradivarius Residential Ground Storeroom Maintenance 400 sf + International; Rome, Milan
(storage ground; fabrication primarily European
residential facility
above)

3 I Tre Mercanti Mixed Use Ground Commercial Finishes and 600 sf International (but England
(commercial / store lighting most sales originate
residential) in Venice)

4 Bressanello Art Mixed Use Ground Commercial Lighting 400 sf International (but Paris
Studio (commercial store used as most sales originate
ground; storeroom in Venice)
residential
above)
5 Studio Camuffo Institutional 1st Was (None) 2000 sf “80% in Venice,” the Always from Venice
(now all office) Floor constructed as Rehabilitation remaining in Milan, but with clients in
(2nd a convent. by VDI Rome, London and Milan, London, etc.
level) other large cities.

6 Relactions Mixed Use 1st Office Mentioned 900 sf 90% in Italy Ballaria: Milan;
(Retail ground; Floor installation of (5% in Venice; (educated in Turin)
office above) (2nd WIFI, cabling 15-20 % in Veneto;
level) remaining other
parts of Italy)
10% rest of Europe
= International;
Majority are not in
Venice

7 Forma Urbis Residential Ground Storeroom Maintenance 300 sf “95%” of work is Boston
(Storage for public sector
ground; based in Venice,
residential but also Boston +
above) Cambridge, UK

COMMENTS: = (variety of building types) 5 of 7 = 3 of 7 store None are Knowledge = some strongly 6 of 7 = yes
ground room; 5 of 7 “restoration” transferring local, but
unoccupied = more
floor
prior to current
only rehab or
physically
international
use maintenance based and component in all
larger
50
Tourism Relationship Family ties Other Comments: WHY LOCATED IN Affiliated companies
(direct = sell TO to Venice? HISTORIC CENTER or programs
tourist)
Indirect (harbor) + Yes Noted strength of community tied to contemporary 1) Tradition / Multiple within the
direct (hotel) culture (citing new events associated with Carnivale, knowledge base core project
etc.) 2) Site availability
3) Cultural community

Indirect; not closely Yes Sonzogno points out that surplus wood is available 1) Identity / family None
related because number of gondolas being constructed per 2) Proximity to
year has decreased. resources

Direct Yes I Tre Mercanti was conceived to provide products of 1) Proximity to client Firm founders plan /
quality which the founders perceived were lacking in base (to initiate hope to open other
the (mass tourism) market. Dal Carlo points out that relationships) I Tre Mercanti stores
firms benefit from the fact that Venice, though small, is 2) Other companies outside of Italy
very well known. already established (capitalizing on the
there strength of the Made
Note: DNA Italia, Dal Carlo’s other venture, was in Italy concept
originally located in the historic center, but the firm
was moved to Mestre to take advantage of proximity DNA Italia +
to a N-East Italian base of private sector clients base Social Networking
and because it was cheaper. Venture (Vistors and
Residents): “Toots”.
Direct + Yes To encourage business: 1) Identity None
Indirect 1) “refocus on quality”, especially in tourism 2) Visibility / Client
2) get away from “Venice is a museum” mentality Base
3) be less “provincial” 3) Quality of life

Indirect + Yes Camuffo points out that it’s a “pleasure” to come to 1) Identity None. But firm
Direct Venice for clients from Udine, Milan, etc. 2) Culture has strong informal
“everything we do is 3) Client Base relationships with
directly or indirectly Issues most important for the city: cultural institutions
related to tourism” 1) Improvements in housing, especially for youth and organizations
2) Tourism management (some pro-bono
3) A modern system for transportation work).

Indirect (to tourists), No Technology is central to their work, including for 1) Quality of life for None. (No informal
but direct to the communication. Tools include video conferencing, self and employees relationships
tourism industry skye, smart phone, etc. (but on average travels 2 days 2) Unique culture of with institutions
a week out of the historic center) city mentioned.)
Sees challenges of working in the historic center as: 3) Live-work proximity
1) lack of services (general) for residents
2) cost of living particularly for young workers;
challenge to compete for them when the Veneto
Region is a relatively strong region (offering jobs)
3) physical conflicts with tourism
Indirect, some Yes “Technology is fundamental.” Gallos point out that 1) Identity WPI Project Center
projects more closely the concept of sustainability is central to their work 2) Community Gallo: Architectural
related than others in contributing to the management of Venice and 3) Proximity to data Practice
improving the city. Some projects are specifically (related to the historic
about energy efficiency and resource management. city and lagoon)

= only 1 (I Tre 6 of 7 = yes Reoccurring themes: product quality, technology, Comments suggest 3 of 7 (Some are
Mercanti) is near sustainable urban management, personal sustainability a strong “grow from highly collaborative)
fully dependent upon / lifestyle, housing cost, attracting youth, tourism within” potential, as
DIRECT SALES to management, importance of contemporary / living identity, community
tourists; most are culture. and quality of life are all
indirectly dependent important.
51
 APPENDIX TWO: RESEARCH DESCRIPTION & INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
This research is essentially a qualitative investigation through which I have
attempted to identify potential trends about knowledge workers.

I began by reviewing documentation of planning initiatives, especially in regard

to their geographic scope and economic intent, other published material
(newspaper articles, reports, organizational web sites). I spoke with a number
of other individuals currently conducting or supporting research on different
aspects of the city of Venice, including Fabio Carrera, Lisa Ackerman and John
Stubbs of World Monuments Fund and X of the Delmas Foundation.

At MIT, Professor Dennis Frenchman has served as the advisor for this paper;
Dr. Karen Poleske and Dr. Frank Levy have provided helpful feedback in
the early stages of its development. Also providing helpful insight regarding
research were Dr. Fabio Carrera (WPI), Jan da Mosto (Venice in Peril), Arch.
Barbara Foscari, Dr. Paolo Mezzanotte-Rizzoli (MIT) and Selina Angelini (VIU).

ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS
In Venice, in addition to interviewing knowledge workers, I also completed
semi-structured interviews with individuals who hold particular knowledge
regarding economic development in the historic center. These include:
• Dr. Margarita Turvani, a political economist and professor at IUAV
• Roberto d’Agostino, Ex-assessor of urban planning / now Arsenale spa
research consortium)
• COSES: Isabella Scaramuzzi (Director), Giuseppina Di Monte,
Pierpaolo Favaretto and Giovanni Santoro

NEXT STEPS: RELATED DATA ANALYSIS

The next step will be to test out these preliminary findings by obtaining
quantities of data (through surveys and through data obtained from existing
databases) that will offer statistically significant findings. Available data sets
include:

1) The Chamber of Commerce database of firms providing details on firms

(but not sole proprietors) in the Province of Italy, started in 1996 or later.

2) The Comune di Venezia’s database of companies and list of business

incubator participants, which provides information on firms as well as sole
proprietors.

3) A number of searchable, oriented web-based business directories provide

an additional source of data regarding firms. In cases where firm name and/
or fiscal codes are listed, this data can be cross-referenced with the other two
data sets.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software will be used to test the

52
 Hypothesis Testing
PROXIMITY COSTS
ty Input proximity Rental costs
Production Housing costs
ity
Client proximity Planning initiatives

AGGLOMERATION RESIDENTIAL
All firms Population
Knowledge firms Amenity proximity
By sector / tourism Housing proximity

CIRCULATION CONDITION
Pedestrian Building type / age
Transportation (out) Building condition
Canal transport (w/in) Acqua alta

potential trends identified in this study among the larger data set. GIS can be used to test preliminary findings
and potential correlations among attributes of
firms locations.
In Italy, firms are categorized by the ATECO code, a 9 digit coding system
defining types of labor activities. Similar to the North American Industry
Classification System, this code provides a starting point data analysis. Zapalac | Copy not for publication

Richard Florida’s hierarchy of Creative Class Occupations offers one possible

means for converting the ATECO codes into “knowledge firms typologies”
that can be examined spatially. In applying a single typology per firm, the
analysis would lack the fine grained detail that would be available if it were
When have these activities emerged?
possible to code by firm employee. The ATECO code also
places emphasis on what type of work is done over how it is
undertaken; thus it is not very instructive for understanding
how technology has transformed certain traditional activities.
On the positive side, it offers a way to work with a large set of
readily available data to examine the labor picture.

To address the question of whether location preferences

of firms are correlated with planning initiatives undertaken
by the Comune of Venice, I will assemble a map showing
Map showing location of all medium and
boundaries for individual initiatives, such as the locations of large firms in the Province of Venice
A preliminary map documenting firm
facilities associated with the Venice District for Innovation. A distribution
• While population has within the province of Venice.
been declining
“tourism correlation map” can be generated to combine data mapped• Inbyabsence of venture capital
• 1991-2001: “employment in professional activities in the historic center almost doubled”
other researchers with the firm data to show the relationship between firm Zapalac | Copy not for publi

locations and high intensity tourist areas.

53
 APPENDIX TWO: RESEARCH DESCRIPTION & INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Questions for Semi-Structured Interview - Venice Knowledge Economy Research

Version #1: Business Owner or Representative (English Version. Italian also used.)

1. Interview #
2. Year Founded:
3. Number of Employees (Presently):
4. Business Category (Ateco 2007 code):
5. Corporation, partnership or sole practitioner?
6. Chamber of Commerce Member?
7. Other Business Memberships?
8. Please describe that your business, including all services that you provide.
9. Please describe the areas of expertise used for this work.
10. In your opinion, does this expertise relate to historic business activity in Venice?
11. Why did you decide to locate in the centro storico? (Please describe in detail)
12. What do you perceive to be the biggest challenges to working in the centro storico?
13. Is your business activity related directly, or indirectly to tourism? If so, please describe.
14. Any involved in any activities that relate to the documentation and management of tourism?
15. Are you involved in any activities that related to enhancing the experience of the city?
16. In what ways (if any) is the idea of sustainability important to your business activity?

TECHNOLOGY
1. What role does technology play in the operation and management of your work?
2. What tech tools do you use?
3. How important is wireless internet service?
4. Smart phone?
5. Can you work remotely if you choose (from home for instance?)
6. How often do you do this? (If at all)?
7. How often do you travel out of the centro storico for work?

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

1. Have you participated in any business development programs?
2. If so, what which ones? Please describe your participation in each.
3. Did you locate in a targeted redevelopment zone?
4. Were you provided financial incentives?
5. Did you receive any non-financial business development support?
6. What factors were most important in selecting the location for your business?
7. Was this business formed as an offshoot of another Venetian company active or other business activity in Venice? (If
so, please describe)? (Is it a family business?)

CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS
1. What percentage of your clients is in the centrol storico?
2. Veneto Region?
3. Italy (beyond Veneto)
4. Beyond Italy?
5. How often do clients come to your place of work?
6. Are you aware of clients combing work and vacation during their trip? (If they come from outside Venice?)

INSTITUTIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

1. Does your business maintain a relationship with any institution located in the centro storico?
2. If so, describe:
3. Does your business maintain a relationship with any organization located in the centro storico?

54
4. If so, describe:
5. Did you attend a university in Venice?

NEIGHBORHOOD / LOCATION SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

1. What factors impacted your decision to locate in this general area of the centro storico?
2. How important is it be have close access to Piazzale Roma and the Train Station?
3. Airport?
4. What are the best assets of the general area in which you are located?
5. What are the drawbacks?
6. How important was it to be close other business activity? What types and why?
7. In selecting this location, describe any concerns about the way tourism impacts the ability for you (and others) to
travel to and from your office.
8. Was it your objective to be in close proximity to tourism activity or far from it? (or did you have an opinion about
this)? Why?
9. How important, if at all, was it to located in an area that is “mixed-use”?

BUILDING SPECIFIC
1. Are you renting or do you own this space?
2. How much space do you have?
3. On what floors are you located?
4. How difficult was it to find a space that you perceived to be affordable for this venture? (1 not-10 very difficult)

5. (Is this the first place the business has been located?)
6. Do you know the age of the building?
7. Do you know how this building was being used prior to this activity?
8. What, if any work have you performed to make this space suitable to your needs?
9. Did this work require a change in zoning (use permit) change?
10. What is the building currently zoned as? (If known)
11. Have you undertaken specific improvements to limit the impact of acqua alta?
12. How many times, if at all, did you experience acqua alta in 2009 in your work space?
13. Is your work space wheelchair accessible?

FINANCING / FINANCIAL INFO

1. Have you received financing from a Venetian company?
2. What, approximately, was your 2008 net revenues?

WORK-LIVE RELATIONSHIP
1. Where do you live?
2. How long does it take you to get to work? (How do you arrive?)
3. How important was it for you to live close to where you work? (If at all)

OTHER FACTORS
1. Were there other important factors in deciding to start this business in the centro storico? If so, what were they
(and how important)?
2. Where did you work (and in what capacity) prior to this venture?
3. In your opinion, what else should be done to encourage business development in the centro storico? (and by
whom?) (tech, housing, financing, etc.?)
4. What are your feelings about your decisions to locate here?
5. How confident are you about opportunities for business success in the future (based in the centro storico)?
6. Do you wish to share anything else that may be helpful to this research?

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