MILAN: Thousands of people were expected to march through Milan on Saturday in a protest over housing costs and urban affordability on the first full day of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
The march, organized by grassroots unions, housing-rights groups and social center community activists, is set to highlight what activists call an increasingly unsustainable city model marked by soaring rents and deepening inequality.
The Olympics cap a decade in which Milan has seen a property boom following the 2015 World Expo, with locals squeezed by soaring living costs as Italy’s tax scheme for wealthy new residents, alongside Brexit, drew professionals to the financial capital.
According to police estimates, more than 3,000 people are expected to join the march.
It will set off at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) from the Medaglie d’Oro central square and cover nearly four kilometers (2.5 miles) before ending in Milan’s south-eastern quadrant of Corvetto, a historically working-class district.
