If you are reading this, you are probably a WPI student, professor, project center member, or very confused person. Because this would be a very short post otherwise, I'll assume you are part of this last category.
Un'Economia Sommersa is the Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) for four WPI students in Worcester, Massachusetts. Chelsey Anderson, Rhiannon Chiacchiaro, Shanna Infantino, and Yoshitaka Shiotsu, all Class of 2011, are Team Veninomics. First, a bit of background.
Venice, Italy, is an extremely popular tourist location. Its lagoon locale, diverse art and architecture, and local glass and lace artisans are among the many featurers that draw millions of visitors there each year. However, the local population of Venice is only around 65,000 people, which means that on almost any given day, especially during the tourist season, there can be just as many if not more tourists than residents in the city.
Because of this, the Venetian economy is mainly tourist based. Since WWII the number of tourists in Venice has steadily increased to approximately 2o million annual visitors. The local economy has had to evolve to accommodate these changes, adopting a large hotel and restaurant-based retail sector. In addition, there are many vendors on the street, both legitimate and illicit. Beggars, knock-off retailers, and foreign merchants also make their living on the streets of Venice, offering fake brand-name merchandise to tourists for lower prices than the cart and store owners.
Another factor affecting the Venetian economy is the acqua alta, the high tides that flood Venice periodically. Though there has not been a major catastrophe since the Great Flood of 1966, regular overflow of the lagoon causes many of the squares and stores to become filled with water, making travel and business during these times difficult.
Our project will help identify these problems and their effects on the Venetian economy. We will create an online database of information on the retail sector. Our goal is to make it possible for future IQP groups to help the economy in whatever way possible. Whether the best solution is to reduce tourism, improve local businesses, discourage illegal vendors, or simply observe for the next few years, we hope that Team Veninomics will help lead the way to improving the lives and livelihoods of Venetian residents.
For more information, visit the Venice 2.0 blog created by our advisor, Fabio Carrera or go to the Venice 2.0 homepage.
Until next time, ciao!
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