What was the idea behind Milan's vertical forest? It was meant to be horizontal. The original plan called for two beams instead of two towers.

As Brieland councillors prepare to reorganize housing policy, reclassify slabs as single-unit structures and reduce the preferential use of parks, the story of how the Bluestone construction company exploited ambiguities in regulations to turn few two-story buildings into two 80-meter skyscrapers takes on a new urgency. The legal battle between the prosecutor's office and the municipality ofMilan only exacerbates the situation, for it has raised a number of questions about the registration procedure and the approval process for renovation plans.

There are serious concerns that about 150 construction projects inMilan are based on misinterpretations of the law, so the commune has decided to backtrack. The main problem lies in the interpretation of the Scia (Certified Notice to Proceed), which in many cases inMilan has become a kind of "superScia". According to Mayor Giuseppe Sala, the unacceptable regulation can be traced in 150 projects built in Lombardy. Scia allows construction by bypassing the official authorization procedure, which is causing excitement in the prosecutor's office.

The approach of the planners Bosco Verticale and the construction company Bluestone to legal liability is different: the issues that have arisen between the Public Prosecutor's Office and the commune concern different interpretations of the Scia (Certified Notice to Proceed) function. While Scia offers the possibility to circumvent the classic building permit process, involving lower construction volumes, longer execution times and a qualifying program, Bosco Verticale faced the more complex and ramified procedure of the Integrated Intervention Plan. This process includes the preparation of a qualifying program, as stated by Guido Inzaghi, an attorney and authority in theMilan construction community.

It should be noted that Bosco Verticale was originally conceived as a horizontal structure, as part of the reconstruction (or "regeneration" as they say nowadays) of the Stecca degli Artigiani area. However, the construction company decided to place the buildings in a vertical form, as it was justified by environmental considerations and the aim of leaving more space for green spaces in the park. These regulatory changes are possible thanks to a certain flexibility provided by Law 12/2005, which fulfills the functions of the 1984 law. Thus, as long as the quantity, purpose and equipment (parking lots, green spaces, roads, services) are not changed, it is allowed to change the chosen construction method from horizontal to vertical, as happened in Bosco Verticale.

The situation with Bosco Verticale goes beyond just technical problems, because the professionals are excellent at what they do. But it is rather the fault of politicians who sign laws that allow, even in the case of a request to build a bench, to build a supermarket. Due to contradictions between regional legislation and local interpretations, a situation has arisen inMilan in which it is considered that rules of national importance have been violated. The truth will only be established once the legal process is complete, but the political and journalistic issue of how to build inMilan remains open. As Edward R. Murrow said in Good Night and Good Luck, it is a matter of endless controversy.