Ascensori in città

The lift (or elevator) is a vertical means of transportation that moves people (or goods) in a building or structure. The lift facilitates people movement and improves travel comfort, guaranteeing accessibility both inside and outside public and private buildings. Since most of the world’s population (about 75%) lives in urban areas, the lift has become one of the most widely used transport modes in the world after the car: 11 million lifts have been built around the world, and Italy is the second country in the world for the number of lifts installed (more than 900,000). Historically, the elevator was invented in 1743 in Versailles (France). This transport mode has been constantly innovated from a technological point of view. After World War II, the lift was still considered to be a useful transport system only in specific types of building (skyscrapers). In recent years, the elevator has risen to the rank of other popular transport systems: a vehicle similar to a funicular, that can carry a number of persons from one point in a city to another. Recent developments include a horizontal lift that allows people to cover short distances within cities. Since the world population will continue to grow in coming years, it is necessary to plan new cities in terms of infrastructure and transport systems: lifts will become decisive in the case of cities that tend to develop in height. The history of this transport system and how it works will be examined briefly, while vertical and inclined lifts will be listed, describing the most significant case studies with a special focus on Italy.