Reposting of Informal Map

It has come to our attention that our map became inaccessible on our webhost. We have created an account so it doesn't get deleted. Here is the website for downloading the Informal Location Map.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mbyhdxwytmy

Presentation Informal Map

Because of the dark screen for the powerpoint, we had to change the color of the boundaries. This is the modified map for that

http://www.mediafire.com/?j3em3e2wjzv

Revised: Informal Location Map

The location map previously posted has been revised into smaller locations so that the data is represented in a better way. The informal activity is represented by the following colors:

Beggars: Teal

Bag Sellers: Red

Other Vendors: Yellow

Flower Sellers: Purple

Within this map, each location has a count on how many of each activity is located there. One big difference is that the Beggars are represented a little differently. The beggars do not roam around in the sited location, but stay still. Therefore, they are represented as a single pin per beggar. All other informal activities are represented by area with a pin. There exactly location at the time of observation is indicated by a polygonal shape.

This map can be downloaded at the following address (updated filed added Dec. 15, 2009):

http://www.mediafire.com/?ddmy1wm1dw0

Keep in mind that you still need GoogleEarth in order to open this map. The address for this download is located in the previous post.

Informal Activity Location Map

Since the main focus of our project shifted towards the formal economy moreso than the informal, the informal data we have collected systematically while doing the formal field work is being displayed next year in a map for future projects. This map is broken up into the 6 sestieri, then into sections of the sestieri depending how heavy the data we found was. On each division, there is a pin for Beggars, Bag Sellers, Other Vendors (which included the cornstarch toys sellers, magicians, umbrella sellers, wallet sellers, belt sellers, etc.), and Flower Sellers. By clicking each pin, a summary stating the location (street, bridge) and the number of informal activity will appear off of GoogleEarth. There are colored polygons in those respective categories placed on the map in the proper location. This file has been uploaded to MediaFire.com and can be found at the following website to download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?j3cdf2m32hj

As a note, to view this file on your computer, you need to have Google Earth installed. It's a free program and can be downloaded here:

http://earth.google.com/intl/en/download-earth.html

May it provide help to future groups for their in depth search on how these informal activities effect the Venetian formal economy.

Shift in Project Objectives

It's been recently decided that we need to shift our project mission and objectives. Because we spent the vast majority of our efforts working on the formal economy (three weeks of store data collection), we didn't gather enough information on the informal sector or flooding to justify making full-fledged objectives out of the data we do have. As such, here is our new project outline.

Mission Statement:
The main goal of this project is to document the evolution and current state of Venice's formal economy, as well as explore contributing factors such as tourism and the environment.

Objectives and Methodology:
1. To document Venice's current formal economy, focusing on the retail, restaurant, and hotel sectors.
1.1 Investigating the current retail sector of Venice
1.2 Investigating the current hotel sector
1.3 Investigating the current restaurant sector

2. To compile information about and display the evolution of the Venetian formal economy and lay a foundation for future projects.
2.1 Compile information from past projects into one source of data
2.2 Standardize data collection and entry for future projects

3. To establish a platform from which future analysis and documentation of the informal sector and the effect of floods on the formal economy can take place.
3.1 Locating and quantifying the informal activities
3.2 Assessing the impact of losses accrued by flooding during high tides

With these new objectives in mind, we have started creating our deliverables. The full list of everyone's project deliverables can be found on Venipedia, but since the server is currently down, here is what we plan to present:
A paper report on our project findings
A Powerpoint presentation to be delivered next Thursday (invite only, sorry!)
A standardized field collection form that future projects will be able to use to collect their data
An updated 2009 store database
A standard database compiling data from the 2004-2007 surveys with the 2009 database
MapInfo layers marking the locations of all stores, restaurants, and hotels in San Marco and Cannaregio
A sliding map made of the layers detailing the stores at each location throughout the years
A checkbox map allowing users to select which type of store is displayed
Suggested maps and graphical displays for future projects regarding the informal economy and flooding

Right now, we are waiting on files from the VPC so we can send them to Venice 4.0, who is creating our maps. We've started work on our final paper and are finalizing our Powerpoint today and tomorrow. It looks like we're going to work over the weekend in hopes of finishing a little early. Only one week until presentation day!

Done with field work!

We're done with all of our field work now and are coming into the home stretch. Our database is being finished up today and soon we will have our maps all done. Now to write that final report.

Also, we were given two books about Migropolis, which was a project going on when we got here that had information regarding everyone's project. There are maps on there that have exactly what we need, so we'll be scanning those and getting the maps off of them to use with our final results.

Additionally, we are using The Venice Report (downloadable here) for some information that will be used in our final report.

Deliverables

We have been planning out the deliverables for our project. You can view a PowerPoint of our proposed deliverables here.

Additionally, we have a photo album on the bottom of this page that shows some of the store photos we took. Try to count just how many stores sold glass, masks, and trinkets. Souvenir shops abound here, especially by Piazza San Marco.

Off for Thanksgiving

We just finished our last day of work until after Thanksgiving. Cannaregio is entirely done, and San Marco is finishing up the stores that were temporarily closed the first time around. After that, we are done with field work and just need to get our deliverables in working order.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Project Changes

As is inevitable with any major undertaking, we have reached a few snags and have had to change our plans somewhat.

Whereas we had previously hoped to go through the entire city in the first month, that is clearly going to be impossible. We are still plugging away in the same two sestieri (San Marco is giving us particular trouble because it is so densely populated with tourists and thus stores) and it seems like that is all we will be able to do. Apparently, none of the preceding groups were able to map the entire city, so we don't feel all too bad about it.

The flooding is not as regular as we thought. We were informed that it occurred every other week, with the full and new moon, but the flooding really only becomes a problem at the full moon. Since we only have two major periods of flooding to work with instead of four, we are going to dig more heavily into researching newspapers instead of data collection.

We originally planned to track flower sellers at night using our cameras, but most of them won't take good night photos. Because they are almost always dark-skinned, it makes the problem even worse. We won't be doing this until after Thanksgiving, though, so we will have to test it out, maybe go at twilight for as long as we can, though the sun is setting earlier and earlier.

Apart from that, things are pretty much on track. We have people on the databases and maps, and the data collection and entry is continuing at a steady rate. We hope to finish entirely by Thanksgiving.

Out at work

We started going out in the street last week. If you look at our first presentation (previous post) you can see a picture of the form we're using. For a bigger version, go here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/atSLLvZDgaPZxaeMfRKRqg?authkey=Gv1sRgCKGhkqHu6PL7qQE&feat=directlink

You'll notice that there are fields for recording information about informal vendors and beggars. We decided to add that in to make things more comprehensive. We will be looking at where they are, at what time, how many items they have (if any) and what those items are. That way, we can start determining if there are any patterns or network behavior among them. So far, there seems to definitely be communication between them, and a few have preferred spots, so we'll hopefully get some good data.

Going through the streets can be difficult. Some store owners are very touchy about people taking pictures of their store and writing things, thinking that we are spies from other stores trying to steal prices. Hopefully, this won't end up being a major hindrance.

Check out our progress in Venice!

First Presentation

In Venice!

We've arrived in Venice and are beginning our work. We've decided after our first meeting that it will probably best if we split up into, not have everyone alone or all in one group. The next thing we need to do is create a form that we can all agree on. It needs to contain data regarding retail stores, restaurants, and hotels. Here are the categories we have decided on:

All
Address
Name
Picture Number
Status
# Employees (visible)

Retail
Depth
Merchandise
Lowest Merchandise Type
Lowest Merchandise Height

Restaurants
# Chairs Inside
# Chairs Outside

Hotels
Checkbox if a hotel

We will be going out and starting our data collection on Monday. Chelsey and Yoshi will do Cannaregio and Rhiannon and Shanna will do San Marco.

To Venice!

Well, the last off us are going to be getting on planes soon to go to Italy. We've finished our proposal and it can be seen here.

Un'Economia Sommersa, Final Proposal

To everyone in Venice, see you there, and to the rest of you, arrivederci!

First Draft!

After many hours of hard work and research, we've finally got a working first draft of our project proposal! Feel free to peruse, just realize this is still a work in progress.

Un'Economia Sommersa: V 1.0

The City of Falling Angels

The following link is to John Berendt's The City of Falling Angels. This is a source that is frequently cited in the 2007 IQP, Pressing Issues. This book includes information about the economy, licenses, taxes, and retail stores and would be a great resource for the economy part of our project as well as touching upon tourism.

The City of Falling Angels
This book was not available through the WPI library, but parts of it can be found at the link above through Google books. Many of the pages cited in the 2007 IQP are not included in this online preview. I will contact the research librarian to see if she can locate the full text for us.

Day-Tripper Bans, A Step Forward or Well-Intentioned Folly?

I just came across this article and felt that it would be a great discussion point for this blog. Overcrowded Venice may ban day-trippers

Apparently, Venice is considering the exclusion of 70% of its tourists: the day-trippers. A proposal to only allow those with pre-booked hotel stays is being backed by Enrico Mingardi, Venice's head of Public Transportation. I think I sense a collaboration coming on.

Anyway, please leave a comment about this. What do you think? Is this a good turn-around to help Venice reclaim their economy or will it only drive away mainland Italians and steepen the slope to turning the city into Disney Italia? I'm going to put up a poll as well, so please vote!

The Tourist Maze e-book

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/wpi/docDetail.action?docID=10068558

This is the electronic book version of Venice: The Tourist Maze. Just for further references.

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/327

This is the English version of the City of Venice site Yoshi found (the second post in this blog). I just came across it.

'Theme Park Venice'

"'Themepark Venice' to Charge for Entry." The Independent (London) NEWS
Peter Popham

This article contains the interesting proposal that the city of Venice charge tourists upon entry. A journalist for The Independent, a news column from London, Peter Popham is the first to coin this popular phrase quoted in numerous other short articles and critiques across the web. It makes a comparison to the 50 euro charge of entrance into Disney Land and shows brief figures on how that might help pay for the MOSE flood gate project. For an interesting albeit negative viewpoint on Venice's economic future, the writer had no respect or regard for Venetian pride or culture. See the link below for the New York Times version of the same information. It is a little more recent and contains more information that may be viable for presenting a possible negative outcome if Venice is unable to balance tourism and keep its residents.


The Independent:'Themepark Venice' to Charge for Entry


Times Online: Welcome to Venice, the Themepark

World Tourism Highlights 2008

Tourism Highlights: 2008 Edition. United Nations World Tourism Organization, 2008. Web.

This online document contains the highlights of world tourism statistics from 1950-2007.
In addition to the amount of raw data it provides, it also contains numerous graphics and an assessment of globalization, issues that face world tourism today, and how these rising trends may transfer over into the world tomorrow. The layout of this online document is surprisingly similar to that of an IQP, and may prove helpful in creating unique, creative, and informative graphics of our own for the Veninomics B09 project.

UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2008 Edition

Venice, A Tourist Maze

Venice, the Tourist Maze a Cultural Critique of the World's most Touristed City
Robert C. Davis and Garry R. Marvin

Although this name of this book is Venice, A Tourist Maze, it also contains economic information about Venice. The afterward touches upon the problem due to the increase of larger businesses taking over smaller vendors. Not only does the book display information about the industrialization of Venice, but it explores the change from an economy catering to the residents to one catering to tourists. This book will help us write the background as well as part of the introduction.

European Cities

"The Trajectories of European Cities, 1960–2005." Cities 24.3
Ivan Turok and Vlad Mykhnenko

This article addresses the economic and social problems facing European cities. Venice is experiencing many of the issues touched upon and this article can help us understand the causes of some of these problems. For example, the city is plagued with social issues caused by the economy, such as the economy’s shift towards tourism. Knowing the reasons behind this would be useful for comparing Venice’s economy and problems to those of European cities in general. In our introduction, this information can be utilized to first explain the broad aspect of the European economy and then take a more detailed look at the Venetian economy.

The Decline of Italy

"The Decline of Italy: The Case of a Fully Matured Economy." The Economic History Review 5.2
Carlo M. Cipolla

This is a good source for information about Italy as a whole, which can be used for our project report's introduction. This mainly shows that not only is Venice’s economy declining, but Italy’s economy as well. This gives us a broad picture of the country’s economy as well as a lead into Venice’s situation.

Evaluating Tourist Flows in Historic Cities: The Case of Venice

"Tourist Flows in Historic Cities: The Case of Venice." Journal of Economic and Social Geography (Volume 86 Issue 1, p.80-87)
Armando Montanari and Calogero Muscara

This most recent 2008 case study would be very useful to us if we can obtain one through the Wiley InterScience website. I have yet to ask the school librarian for help on this issue but we could definitely stand to benefit from the article as it claims to contain a "nine fold classification of tourists" highlighting important differences in perceptiveness, receptiveness, spatial behavior, and spending power. It contains a thorough analysis of the different types of tourists that visit Venice, their socioeconomic impact, and their preferred mode(s) of transportation. It also provides clues as to which neighboring areas profit off of providing transportation to Venice and how foreign agencies control where money is spent and may not necessarily benefit Venice the city itself. Our group will have to follow up on this lead, however, as it is not the main premise of this journal.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120147156/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Update: We did end up getting a pdf of the file thanks to Laura Hanlan at the WPI library. You can access it here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?vjojwyzzvqm

Meet the Head of Venice Tourism (2008)

John Alwyn-Jones chats with the head of Venice Tourism:



November 16, 2008
This interview with the head Venice Tourism Board holds some interesting statistics and information which haven't been listed in other sources, particularly pertaining to the number of tourists staying in Venice and what's being done to balance tourism with preserving the environment and city.

Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices in Italy

Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices in Italy
V.G. Venturini

Past laws and legislature are important topics to look into when exploring the economy of Venice. Laws could have been implemented after World War II that are still implemented today and affect the stability or the growth of the economy. This online statement provides some insight into such issues and will be helpful when writing the background of our project.

The economic history of Italy, 1860-1990

The economic history of Italy, 1860 - 1990: Recovery after Decline
Vera Zamagni

This is a book that could potentially provide our team with important knowledge about the economic trends of Venice after World War II. With these trends, we can investigate whether or not there are similarities between the past and the present that will help us indicate not only the impact on tourism, but the steady growth of tourism that has occurred. It is a little outdated for recent information and focuses on Italy instead of Venice itself, but can still be beneficial in our research. Whether or not to purchase this book will be decided at our next meeting.

A Masked Time of the Year

The Great Book of Italy
Annie Sacerdoti and Maria Laura Della Croce

This is a book that explores the history, culture, and social institutions of Italy as a whole. Specifically for Venice, it describes one of the more popular tourists attractions – Carnivals.

Social events have a huge effect on the Venetian economy, as they bring in tourists from all over the world to witness the beauty of the city in its time of festival. Several cities in Italy hold what is known as Carnivali, or Carnivals. The most well-known hosts of these festivals are Venice and Viareggio. Every year, the Carnival brings massive crowds into Venice for an entire week. Dating back to Roman lupercali (an ancient springtime fertility holiday), Carnivals are spiritual celebrations that transform the city into a stage of fancy dresses and masked people wishing to hide their true identity. Traditionally, those who wore masks wished to hide all forms of identification of themselves so that they could escape social classes for the time being. These Carnivals combined together celebrations o f pagan rights, Christian spirituality, magic, history, and the life/death dichotomy.

The importance of exploring the social aspects of Venice, like these Carnivals, is important in investigating Venetian economy because these kinds of events bring in even more tourists than are already coming to Venice to explore the city. It showcases some Venetian culture and history, while at the same time stimulating the economy. A more prominent impact on the economy from these Carnivals will be further explored in the weeks to come.

Some more useful resources

We've been posting various articles, books, and other sources of information on Venice, tourism, and the economy. The following three resources are useful for studying up on Venice, especially the acqua alta and its impact on the society and economy of Venice.

The Science of Saving Venice
By Caroline J. Fletcher and Jane Da Mosto

This book is an excellent resource of information on the current situation in the Venetian lagoon. Focusing on modern issues, such as flood barriers and local policy, it seeks to explain the urgent need to find a useful solution within the next hundred years. They predict that the city's flooding situation will continue to worsen, as was exemplified by the Great Flood of 1966, and that action must be taken immediately to save the city from its surroundings.

New Approaches to Sustainable Hazard Management in Venice
By Edmund Penning-Rowsell, Peter Winchester, and John Gardiner
(Note: Clicking on the link will connect you to JSTOR. You will need to log in to view the complete file.)

This 1998 article is a selection from The Geographical Journal. Its main focus is a proposed two-phase project that would be implemented over the next 50 years. According to the authors, the plan of mobile barriers is insufficient to save Venice from flooding. Instead, a long-term plan of surveys and analysis, along with short-term temporary flood-proofing systems is the most sustainable method of saving the city.

Lonely Planet: Venice
By Damon Simonis

This book is at first glance a tourist guide. While it does in fact contain in-depth listings of restaurants, tours, events, and attractions, the first few sections provide concise information on the city. Touching on culture, history, economy, and politics, Simonis provides editorial insight on some of the social issues facing Venetians today. This is a good read for someone looking for good tidbits of information about the city, without getting too in-depth or lost in professional jargon.

Past Interactive Qualifying Projects (IQPs)

Many projects have already been completed in Venice pertaining to the Venetian economy and tourism. If you are able to access the WPI network, you can view these past projects by following the links:

Pressing Issues -- A Venetian Socioeconomic Overview
2007
This past IQP in particular happens to be one of the most relevant and recent projects pertaining to our current project goals. It covers an analysis of the retail sector, tourism, and "day trippers" and provides leads in its references to other possible sources of more recent relevance.


The evolution of stores and decline of residential comfort -- the availability of necessary goods in the historical center of Venice.
2005
This project is one of the first comprehensive looks into the retail sector. Creating an early version of the database we intend to make, it will prove invaluable when we need to compile old data.

Residential comfort level -- an analysis of the Venetian retail sector.
2005
Along with the previous project, this IQP took a look at the changes in the Venetian economy and the sentiments of residents who felt their city changing before their eyes.


An assessment of the state of tourism in Venice -- a quantitative estimate and characterization of excursionist tourists.
2000
Estimation of excursionist tourists in the city of Venice.
1999
Although these last two of projects are from 2000 and earlier, they still provide a decent background for this year's project. These projects contain information about the Venetian retail sector, stores, and economy.

Citta di Venezia

Citta di Venezia Statistiche in Pillole
http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/1176

This website links to various statistical data on the city of Venice organized into easily understandable graphics and excel files. The entire site is in Italian but it is kept relatively up to date and contains data on various key topics in the Veninomics project, like tourism and population, as well as data on miscellaneous subjects such as sports, music, and municipal police in Venice.

Welcome to the Veninomics Blog!

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!