Petra Dvořáková: The Winter Olympics are accelerating gentrification and privatisation in Milan. Italian media remain silent on the issue

Monday, Dec 8, 2025

Milan’s Olympics face protests over gentrification, corporate profit, and lack of affordable housing for residents.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Residents and activists are protesting the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, arguing that investors are exploiting the event to benefit corporations rather than the public. The article describes Milan’s gentrification, where affordable working-class and migrant neighborhoods have been replaced by upscale establishments following events like Expo 2015. Concerns are raised over rising housing costs, with rents in shared apartments reaching eight hundred to one thousand euros. Critics view projects like the Scalo di Porta Romana Olympic Village as a privatization of former public land, despite claims of sustainability, noting that affordable student housing will be a minority compared to commercial spaces. Furthermore, the construction of new facilities, such as the Santa Giulia stadium, is seen as using public funds for private gain. Activists contend that while some argue the Olympics improve connectivity in neglected areas, they also point out the rapid socio-economic transformation and the lack of genuine affordable housing solutions, suggesting the event accelerates existing trends where only the wealthy can afford to live downtown.


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