​ Genoa is known for the steep hills which cascade precipitously into the tenuous plain bordering the sea. The neighborhood of Sampierdarena follows this pattern along the sloping course of the Pulcevera River. Separated from the historic center of Genoa by a steep promontory, Sampieradarena was once home to patrician villas which disappeared after the Second World War in a process of densification caused by the construction of an entirely new district of low-income building blocks. After the 1980s the neighborhood witnessed gradual population loss and a decline in commercial and service activities. In the same period, the foreign population increased, today representing 21% of residents as compared to 8% for the city as a whole. The Albero della Vita Foundation operates in an area known as Campasso, a ribbon of urban artefacts defining the south-eastern edge of Sampierdarena.