The "Porta Palazzo Project" Committee was established in January 1998. Promoted by the City of Torino, the Committee is a non-profit initiative that foresees mixed participation by both public institutions and private companies as promoters and local partners. Its main task is to manage and implement the Porta Palazzo requalification project "The Gate". It aims to be a true "Local Development Agency", taking example from successful European experiences that have contributed in the requalification of difficult neighbourhoods. Among the promoting members, as well as the City of Torino, there are representatives from: the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture of Torino, the Compagnia di San Paolo and the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino (Bank Foundations), Confesercenti and Ascom (Traders' Associations), Coldiretti (Farmers' Association), the Ordine Mauriziano, Sermig and Cottolengo (local non-profit social institutions). The members have the task of guaranteeing the correct management of the project, a correct use of resources and the diffusion of the project results at a local, national and international level. They are also represented on the Board of Administration. The local partners are representatives of the local community and guarantee the involvement and the knowledge of the project within the area. The Committee has a President, a Director and a technical staff, who are responsible for the technical and executive implementation of the different phases of the programme and the planned initiatives. Within the structure there is also a unit dealing with social support and a territorial consulting unit. The Committee works in close contact with the city structures in order to co-ordinate the planned interventions in the best possible way.

In 1996 the City of Torino presented the project "The Gate-living not leaving" to the European Union, an Urban Pilot Project aimed at improving the conditions of life and work in the neighbourhood of Porta Palazzo. Using an innovative methodology and approach, which can be used as an example for other experiences in Europe, the project aimed to involve various public and private partners and to unleash a multiplicator effect in investments in the area. For the project the City of Torino received co-funding for 2.582.300 euros from the European Union within the framework of Innovative Actions of the European Regional Development Fund (Art. 10 Reg. CE 2081/92 FESR). The same amount was allocated to the project by the City of Torino from its own resources and 1.032.913 euros was allocated by the Ministry of Public Works.
The "Fondazione CRT", the "Compagnia di San Paolo" (bank foundations) and the Chamber of Commerce contributed 258.288 euros to specific initiatives regarding employment.
The Porta Palazzo Project Committee was thus established in 1998, a non-profit body with mixed participation of both public institutions and private companies with the task of managing and implementing "The Gate" project.
In fact, the Board of Administration has representatives from: the City of Torino with 5 members (3 Councillors and 2 Presidents of neighbourhood councils), the "Fondazione Compagnia di SanPaolo", the "Fondazione CRT" (both bank Foundations), the Chamber of Commerce of Torino, ASCOM, CONFESERCENTI (traders' associations), COLDIRETTI provincial federation of Torino (farmers' association), SerMig, the "Ordine Mauriziano" and Cottolengo (local non-profit social institution`s) - each with one member.
The Committee is composed of a director, an executive staff and three project units that make available the necessary skills for the implementation, the communication and evaluation of the project (methodological unit, communication unit, data collection unit). There are also two further units that deal with the economic and the social perspectives.

The proposed project is a complex programme of interventions that favours economic development and environmental improvement, social and cultural initiatives, promotion of the physical transformation of buildings, of the market, of meeting places and public spaces.
The project initiatives foresee concertation with the interested parties and various sessions involving the participation of citizens and people who work in the neighbourhood according to the methodology laid down by the action planning approach. In particular, nineteen initiatives are foreseen, sub-divided into five areas of intervention that are evocatively called:

• Business incubator (economic development and work opportunities)
• Safety net (social initiatives)
• Sustain-Ability (environmental protection)
• A good place to live (construction, built environment)
• Link-Ability (mobility/transport, physical and social relations within the neighbourhood and with the rest of the world).
  

During the life of the project (which was extended by the European Union from three to four years following the flood of October 2000), the nineteen initiatives have proceeded with various`developments (see page "Porta Palazzo, a renewing district" illustrative information highlighted in red).
Besides the 6.197.482 euros of the European project, investments within the area by the public sector, in the three years of the projects duration amount in total to at least 51.646.000 euros.
To cite just a few of the most significant interventions, we can highlight the underpass in Piazza della Repubblica, the multi-storey carpark in the ex-fire department barracks in Corso Regina Margherita, the restructuring of the Santa Croce block and the "Mercato III" (covered clothing market hall) - with funding from the Urban Requalification Programme of the Ministry of Public Works, the reorganisation of the market areas (some of which have already been completed like the renovation of the Liberty style roof canopy of the household goods market and the area for the farmers' market), the creation of an artisan enterprise incubator in the area of the ex-military Arsenal in Borgo Dora etc On 31 December 2001 The Gate Project - Living not Leaving finished the phase related to the European project, a total of 18 initiatives were completed and the project spent 97% of the available resources. The requalification process seems to have been triggered, however more time will be requires for the results to be visible.

In December 2001 the Committee deliberated a technical extension of four months to allow time for the development of a concept that would lead to the elaboration of a proposal for the Public Administration. In June 2002 the proposal was presented to the Mayor of Torino which foresaw the transformation of The Gate from Urban Pilot Project to a Local Development Agency, a tool for the Public Administration to be used within the framework of the most complex development projects in the Suburb Sector. The Project has been updated with a series of continuing innovative initiatives compared to the experience matured in the neighbourhood. By visiting the website you can examine in depth the areas (economic, social, cultural, built environment and sustainable environment) in which the project intends to operate and the services that it will offer (Social Support Unit and Territorial Consulting.