Reimagining the Urban Commons in Italy

Reform, Social Innovation, and Transformation

Charmain Levy, Marco Alberio

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781836626077
• eBook ISBN: 9781836626084
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: City Planning & Urban Development
• Index: Social Sciences

Building and expanding on the literature of case studies of urban commons that have emerged which question the development of urban commons theories and concepts and identify results and contradictions, this edited collection progresses our understanding of the different aspects, characteristics, challenges, contradictions and potential of the urban commons in Italy.

Presenting different case studies of urban commons and socially innovative and democratic practices in Italian cities, the chapters analyse the different contexts and specific political and socio-economic needs that are being addressed. Uncovering the motivations, discourse and actions of the different actors involved as well as the dynamics among them, the authors investigate negotiating with commons actors and the state involving conflict, negotiation and collaboration, as well as the relationship with the surrounding urban environment and local institutions and how they intertwine. In which ways do the urban commons and their socially innovative governance challenge the urban development model? In which manners do urban commons initiatives advance the right to the city? How do territorial and local communities contribute to the creation and diffusion of social innovation, recognising its structuring effect?

With chapters written by scholars with expertise in urban studies, sociology and political science, this collection is a multidisciplinary effort needed to fully understand an evolving phenomenon in social sciences. It is an important contribution to theoretic debates on the urban commons in Italy, wider Europe, and beyond.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Editor
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Editors
• About the Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 The ‘Expressive’ Function of Urban Commons
• Chapter 2 Unveiling ‘Oppositional and Territorial Commoning’: Insights from the Self-Managed Places of Rome
• Chapter 3 Commons as Utopias of Care: The Case of the Social Centre Lucha
• Chapter 4 The Commons as a Form of Urban Citizenship: From Post-Capitalist Resistance to Community Cohesion in Bologna
• Chapter 5 A Fleeting Utopia: Artistic Imagination and the Ephemerality of the Commons in Turin
• Chapter 6 A School as a Common: How Community Participation Can Improve a Public Service and Transform It Into a Common
• Chapter 7 Communities and Common Consciousness: Exploring Commonalities for Pionta Park
• Chapter 8 Shared Administration of the Commons and the Challenge of Urban Nature: The Case Study of Bologna
• Chapter 9 Rethinking Top-Down Approaches in the Ethics of Co-Design: The Case of Reggio Emilia Collaborative Governance Model
• Chapter 10 Regeneration of Urban Commons and the Role of Culture: Bologna as a Case Study
• Chapter 11 Renewable Energy Communities: What Transformative Potential for Local Areas?