Why have many residents moved from central Venice to Mestre and Marghera?

Many residents have moved from the historic core of Venice to the mainland boroughs of Mestre and Marghera primarily due to the challenges of contemporary life in the city center.1

The exodus is driven by several key factors:

• Housing and Cost of Living: Residents face old, damp, and decaying buildings that are expensive to maintain. Furthermore, rental prices have been significantly inflated by the demands of the tourist industry and the presence of wealthy, often absent, foreign property owners.12
• Lack of Amenities: The city center suffers from a shortage of modern social amenities, such as playgrounds, parks, and modern school facilities, making it difficult for families to sustain a traditional urban life.1
• Tourism Impact: The economy is heavily oriented toward mass tourism, which has led to high prices for goods and services and a decline in the availability of local community infrastructure.2

As a result, many Venetians have chosen to relocate to modern apartments on the mainland, a trend that threatens to transform the historic city into a "museum city" rather than a living community.12