Milan is divided into nine municipalities ( or zone; known as , "decentralization zones" from 1999 until 2016). They are numbered from 1 to 9. The organization was established in 1997, implemented in 1999 and reformed in 2016; prior to that the city was divided into 20 administrative zones.
History Since early 1960s in Milan operated many spontaneous citizens' committees in different areas of the city. In 1968 the City Council divided for the first time the territory of the comune into 20 administrative areas, called zone (singular: zona) for administrative purposes and to increase decentralization. Each zona had a directly-elected council with a merely consultative role.Il Decentramento Milanese
In 1977 the City Council increased the role of zones' councils, providing them decision-making powers and transforming them into real administrative bodies, equipped with their own staffs and offices. Those new councils were elected for the first time on 8 June 1980.
On 13 March 1997 the City Council reformed again the "decentralization zones", planning to give each borough council several functions. On 19 January 1999 the city executive chaired by the Mayor Gabriele Albertini decided to merge some of the zones, reducing their number to 9 and giving them a new numeration. This proposal was ultimately approved by the City Council on 3 March 1999.
Borough Councils Each Municipality has a local government called (Borough Council). Every Council is composed of a President and 40 members for boroughs exceeding 100,000 inhabitants or 30 members for smaller ones.Regolamento del decentramento territoriale, approvato dal Consiglio comunale con deliberazione n. 26 del 1997; art. 3
While the 1997 plan was intended to ascribe several rights and functions to borough councils, this has been largely unattended, so that borough councils have, in practice, little power and few duties.Regolamento del decentramento territoriale, approvato dal Consiglio comunale con deliberazione n. 26 del 1997; Titolo V Some of the actual functions of borough councils are:
expressing opinions on urbanistic and social issues such as public works, town planning, maintenance of green spaces, regulamentation of street markets. These opinions are not binding for the higher level city government. managing funds (if any) provided by the city government for specific purposes, such as those intended to guarantee the right to education for poorer families.
After the 2016 administrative reform, the Borough Councils are also responsible for most local services, such as schools, social services, waste collection, roads, parks, libraries and local commerce.Municipality of Milan - Municipalities Moreover, the Presidents are no longer elected by the Councils members but directly by the voters; for the current legislature (2021–26) the Presidents are: Municipality PresidentParty Votes %Mayoral majority 1 Mattia Abdu PD 23,017 62.5 2 Simone Locatelli PD 26,427 55.7 3 Caterina Antola PD 32,477 58.2 4 Stefano Bianco Ind 30,262 54.9 5 Natale Carapellese PD 22,938 54.7 6 Santo Minniti PD 30,311 58.5 7 Silvia Fossati Ind 31,747 53.5 8 Giulia Pelucchi PD 36,140 57.0 9 Anita Pirovano Ind 31,661 53.8 Notes
The nine boroughs With the exception of Municipio 1, which corresponds to the historical city centre (defined as the part of the city that used to be surrounded by the old Spanish walls, now mostly demolished), the boroughs are organized in a sunburst pattern, and numbered from the north-east zone clockwise (see picture above). While boroughs are mostly referred to by number, each borough also has an official name, usually a list of its main districts or areas.
Current boroughs are described in the table below, along with their names, area and population (as of 1 January 2024), as well as a list of the main districts comprising each zone. Note that districts (quartieri) are informal (they are not administrative divisions).Statistiche dal sito del Comune di Milano Municipality Map Name Logo Area(km2) Population(2024) Population density(inhabitants/km2) Quartieri (districts)1 Centro storico 9.67 99,317 11,074 Brera, Centro Storico, Conca del Naviglio, Guastalla, Porta Sempione, Porta Tenaglia2 Stazione Centrale, Gorla, Turro, Greco, Crescenzago 12.58 163,731 13,031 Adriano, Crescenzago, Gorla, Greco, Loreto, Maggiolina, Mandello, Mirabello, Ponte Seveso, Porta Nuova, Precotto, Stazione Centrale, Turro, Villaggio dei Giornalisti3 Città Studi, Lambrate, Porta Venezia 14.23 145,345 10,785 Casoretto, Cimiano, Città Studi, Dosso, Lambrate, Ortica, Porta Monforte, Porta Venezia, Quartiere Feltre, Rottole4 Porta Vittoria, Forlanini 20.95 165,393 8,069 Acquabella, Calvairate, Castagnedo, Cavriano, Forlanini, Gamboloita, La Trecca, Monluè, Morsenchio, Nosedo, Omero, Ponte Lambro, Porta Vittoria, Porta Romana, Rogoredo, San Luigi, Santa Giulia, Taliedo, Triulzo Superiore5 Vigentino, Chiaravalle, Gratosoglio 29.87 126,837 4,487 Basmetto, Cantalupa, Case Nuove, Chiaravalle, Chiesa Rossa, Conca Fallata, Fatima, Gratosoglio, Le Terrazze, Macconago, Missaglia, Morivione, Porta Lodovica, Porta Vigentina, Quintosole, Ronchetto delle Rane, San Gottardo, Selvanesco, Stadera, Torretta, Vaiano Valle, Vigentino6 Barona, Lorenteggio 18.28 152,942 8,998 Arzaga, Barona, Boffalora, Cascina Bianca, Conchetta, Creta, Foppette, Giambellino-Lorenteggio, Lodovico il Moro, Moncucco, Porta Genova, Porta Ticinese, Ronchetto sul Naviglio, San Cristoforo, Sant'Ambrogio, Teramo, Villa Magentino, Villaggio dei Fiori7 Baggio, De Angeli, San Siro 31.34 176,814 6,093 Assiano, Baggio, Figino, Fopponino, Forze Armate, Harar, La Maddalena, Muggiano, Porta Magenta, Quartiere degli Olmi, Quarto Cagnino, Quinto Romano, San Siro, Valsesia, Vercellese8 Fiera, Gallaratese, Quarto Oggiaro 23.72 196,562 8,326 Boldinasco, Bullona, Cagnola, Campo dei Fiori, Cascina Triulza, Chinatown, Comina, Fiera, Gallaratese, Garegnano, Ghisolfa, Lampugnano, Musocco, Porta Volta, Portello, Quarto Oggiaro, QT8, Roserio, San Leonardo, Trenno, Varesina, Vialba, Villapizzone9 Porta Garibaldi, Niguarda 21.12 190,656 9,204 Affori, Bicocca, Bovisa, Bovisasca, Bruzzano, Ca' Granda, Centro Direzionale, Comasina, Dergano, Fulvio Testi, Isola, La Fontana, Montalbino, Niguarda, Porta Garibaldi, Porta Nuova, Prato Centenaro, Segnano 181.76 1,386,285 8,164
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