Milan's Moment
The fashion capital is bucking national trends, getting a makeover and becoming a hub for entrepreneurship, investment, and innovation
Amid an aging population and low birth rates that have plagued Italy, Milan is reinventing itself through visionary urban planning and strategic investments, which has attracted talent and investment from around the world. This region continues to grow, both in terms of population and economic power.
MILAN—Porta Venezia, a neighborhood just outside of the central business district of Milan, is a historical dumping ground, of sorts, for the city’s rejects and newcomers, for the creatives and the queers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is also an area brimming with the energy that comes with a diverse population: the young men and women who have migrated here from poorer, rural locales in the South, the immigrant families from the African Continent, primarily Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia, and the creatives — working for the major fashion houses and startup brands — who traverse the district at all hours of the day and night.
The last of the plague houses, built in response to the plague of 1629–1631, also known as the Great Plague of Milan, still stands here. At the time, an entire district of buildings was a refuge for the sick and was considered a revolutionary model of modern public health management. Today, it is home to a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a sanctuary for those fleeing the war-torn country; it symbolizes the city’s connection to the past, adaptive reuse and urban resilience.
“The draw of this place is amazing,” shared Giacomo Abrusci, an Italian-American who emigrated here during the pandemic, over aperitivo at the famed Bar Basso, home of the Negroni sbagliato. “Milan pulls from everywhere. Even lower-paying jobs, like those in restaurants and cafes, can lure young people from smaller cities and rural areas. It’s a better life.” In just my first 48 hours on the ground, I met a doctor from Poland, a photographer from Bulgaria, and a television host from Veneto, all of whom came here for economic opportunity.
Milan’s prosperity and its vision for the future are visible just a stone’s throw away in Porta Nuova, a gleaming district of modern glass skyscrapers built by some of the world’s leading architects — Stefano Boeri, Cesar Pelli, Piuarch, Cino Zucchi, Kohn Pederson Fox, Michele De Lucchi and Mario Cucinella. It sits on the foundation of a former industrial site that had long fallen into disrepair — Alfa Romeo, Pirelli and Techint, all Fortune 500 companies, have their global headquarters here. The Bosco Verticale, a pair of residential towers by Boeri and, perhaps the most famous of the structures, stands out with its vertical forest design, with over 900 trees and thousands of plants integrated into the building's facade, creating a unique and sustainable urban ecosystem.
Milan’s success didn’t happen overnight, and it's not without its challenges. It has been over a decade in the making, starting with the idea for the 2015 Milan Expo, and driven by civic leaders with a vision for the city and global investors who have made and continue to make key investments in the city’s future.
Resisting the Demographic Drag
Milan is not immune from the population challenges facing Italy, including a steep decline in birth rates and an aging population that has slowed or reversed growth in some places. However, its growing economic prosperity and position as one of the largest urban economies in Europe have helped it buttress against the worst impacts of those persnickety demographic trends of population aging and depopulation that have dogged the nation.
Why? It has become a “superstar city,” one of a handful of major metropolitan areas worldwide that rely less on births to fuel population growth. These places exhibit exceptional economic performance, often characterized by higher income levels, property values, and employment opportunities, particularly in knowledge-intensive industries such as finance, technology, and media. These cities attract a disproportionately high share of talent, capital, and business activity, leading to growth in wealth and population. However, they often face challenges with housing affordability, which has hampered population growth.
Since the pandemic, Milan has lost some of its population due to a lack of affordable housing—house prices and rents here have soared by more than 40 percent over the past decade. However, its metropolitan area, home to approximately 3.16 million people, continues to grow, albeit modestly, as people seek more affordable housing options in the region.
Despite its overall growth, Milan has a low fertility rate, just like the rest of Italy. As of the most recent data, the total fertility rate in Milan is estimated to be around 1.24 children per woman, which is consistent with Italy's national average. It also faces the challenges of an aging population wreaking havoc on some cities, primarily in rural areas, a subject New Rules Media covered earlier this year.
As the city's median age continues to rise and the proportion of its residents over 65 grows — it's 23 percent of the total population today — civic leaders are grappling with the challenges an older population can bring. The implications are far-reaching, particularly in areas such as healthcare, housing, and social services, where the city will need to adapt to meet the needs of an older population.
Investing in the Future
When I first came to Milan in the early 2000s, I swore I wouldn’t return. The city was plagued with decrepit buildings, pollution, and crime. It was a place holding onto its past rather than looking toward its future. That’s all changed.
Today, civic leaders are investing in a concept known as the “15-minute city,” a somewhat radical approach to urban planning conceived by Carlos Moreno, Franco-Colombian researcher, scientist, and professor at the Sorbonne University and author of The 15-Minute City: A Solution to Saving Our Time and Our Planet (Wiley). The first of these communities is the Loreto Open Community project. This urban regeneration project will transform the traffic hub of Piazzale Loreto into a public space at the “service of citizens.”
“A new approach to urban planning must be at the heart of our roadmap for the years to come,” said Moreno. “We need to be creative and imagine, propose, and build new rhythms of life, other ways of occupying the urban space so as to transform the way we use it to access essential social functions.”
Another area is the longer-term planning around the city transportation network in the lead-up to the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, investing in pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, bike lanes and a new metro line. The new metro line will be fully automated, allowing for safer and more efficient driverless trains. It will cross Milan's historic center, allowing faster travel and significantly reducing road traffic, a key environmental objective for the city.
Milan is also making capital investments in affordable housing. The Olympic Village, for example, forms part of the wider master plan for the regeneration of the Porta Romana neighborhood and includes affordable housing and residential for sale and rent. Another is L’INNESTO, the first zero-carbon social housing project in Italy.
Reaping the Benefits
In many ways, Milan's transformation serves as a blueprint for other cities grappling with the challenges of urbanization, demographic shifts, and sustainability. In its evolution from an industrial powerhouse to its current status as a global city, Milan has shown a remarkable ability to adapt, innovate and thrive.
While it faces some of the same demographic hurdles that plague much of Italy, its economic vitality, driven by strategic investments and visionary urban planning, offers a path forward for other cities. It’s evident here that the long-term investments in the future it has made are paying off with economic growth across all key sectors, including real estate, tourism, and foreign direct investment, which have seen double-digit growth over the past decade.
As Milan continues to transform, blending its rich history with cutting-edge developments and an eye toward the future, it shows that resilience is essential in an ever-changing world. The city’s ongoing commitment to inclusivity, sustainability and pragmatic future-focused growth positions it to flourish in the years to come.