1,721,077 research outputs found
Religion and the city: A review on Muslim spatiality in Italian cities
No full textThis paper focuses on the spatial impacts and characteristics of the Muslim presence in Italy. The centrality of religion for many migrants has significant consequences on the morphology of the Italian cities. This is especially the case of Islam, which is now the second most important religion in Italy - and the prevalent religion among immigrants.After examining facts and figures about the Muslim presence in Italy, the paper focuses on two aspects of the Muslim urban presence. First, it analyses the residential patterns of Muslims, with reference to the case of Milan. The tendency towards a sprawled pattern is highlighted. The paper then analyses the four main 'landmarks' of the urban presence of Muslims in Italy: places of worship, halal butcheries, burial-places, and forms of public life. A discussion of the evolutionary prospects of Muslim spatiality in Italian cities over the next few decades follows these analyses
Equal Treatment in Land Use Planning: Investigating the Ethics of the Transfer of Development Rights
No full text
The Dark Side of Urban Informality in the Global North: Housing Illegality and Organized Crime in Northern Italy
No full textThis article deals with housing illegality/informality in Italy, where it represents an established aspect of urban development. It presents a case study focused on Desio, a town close to Milan in northern Italy. Here housing illegality occurs by virtue of the well-established presence of a mafia-type criminal organization (the ‘Ndrangheta). Three examples of illegal construction in Desio are analysed, forming the basis for a discussion on the distinctive features of illegal house-building in Italy. In particular, institutional incentives encouraging illegal housing are investigated, with reference to both formal institutions (e.g. planning laws, rules preventing unauthorized housing and building amnesties) and informal institutions (e.g. organized crime). The case of illegal housing in Italy contributes significantly to the wider international debate on urban informality, highlighting the critical need for research along avenues as yet only partially explored (e.g. informal housing in Western countries and the role of criminal activities and actors in the spread of informality) and challenging some common assumptions such as the geographical dualism (‘global North’ versus ‘global South’) which, implicitly, results from the international literature
The illicit side of urban development: Corruption and organised crime in the field of urban planning
No full textThe paper deals with issues of corruption in the planning domain. It centres on thorough analysis of the case of Desio (Milan, Italy), where a recent judicial inquiry discovered several instances of corruption related to the drafting of the local master plan, in an environment characterised by the rooted presence of a mafia-type organisation known as the ’Ndrangheta. The study sheds light on the various types of corrupt practices that prevail in the field of urban planning, the main issues at stake, and the key public agents involved. General hypotheses about the main internal and external factors fostering corruption in the planning domain are presented and discussed.</jats:p
Planning and urban citizenship: Suggestions from the thoughts of Henri Lefebvre
No full textThe paper focuses on Henri Lefebvre's reflections on the city; it is argued that from these reflections it is possible to derive a particular notion of citizenship that is relevant for urban planning and design (theory and practice). In the first part of the paper, several of Lefebvre's key topics are analysed (in particular the concept of city-oeuvre). In the second part of the paper, the characteristics of Lefebvre's notion of citizenship are clarified and their implications for urban planning and design are discussed. © 2013 Taylor and Francis
What is really different between cohousing and gated communities?
No full textThe paper focuses on differences and similarities between two types of intentional private residential communities: cohousing and gated communities. The academic debate is dominated by the view that cohousing and gated communities are completely different phenomena in terms of aims, goals, nature and characteristics. However, I do not find these opinions entirely convincing: hence, in this paper, I shall discuss some of their weaknesses with regard to the (alleged) differences between cohousing and gated communities in terms of the reasons guiding the choice of the community, openness of communal spaces and the speculative nature of the projects. Some critical perspectives in terms of public policy are introduced in the last part of the paper
International Housing Policy for the Urban Poor and the Informal City in the Global South: A Non‐diachronic Review
No full textThis paper conducts a review of the main housing policies for informal settlements and the poor in the so-called Global South promoted by the main international agencies (such as the World Bank and UN-Habitat) since the 1950s. The international literature on the topic usually recognises successive ‘seasons’ of these policies (aided self-help and enablement). While this periodisation is certainly useful, a more comprehensive analysis can be provided by complementing it with an in-depth, non-diachronic scrutiny of the ingredients that compose the different policies proposed and implemented in these ‘seasons’. In this paper, these policies are therefore dissected according to substantive components (physical goods, regulations, financing), procedural features (top-down versus bottom-up approach; project-by-project versus comprehensive approach) and beneficiaries (tenants versus homeowners; existing settlements versus new settlements). On the basis of this analysis, we can identify the main evolutionary trajectories of these policies over six decades. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Re-shaping Jerusalem: The transformation of Jerusalem’s metropolitan area by the Israeli barrier
No full textThe paper analyses the territorial implications of the Israeli barrier/wall with reference to the metropolitan area of Jerusalem. The thesis argued is that the barrier continues both the 'Judaisation' and 'de-Arabisation' process of the city implemented by the Israeli authorities since 1967 and mainly practiced through urban policies. However, unlike these latter, it does not primarily affect the demographic composition of the city, but the spatial conformation of the metropolitan area; its political aim is to create a 'Greater Jewish Jerusalem' composed of the city and the three main blocks of Israeli settlements close to the municipal borders. In pursuit of (and in order to pursue) this aim, the barrier breaks down the Arab metropolitan system, which closely combines East Jerusalem and the West Bank suburbs. The consequence will be the probable atrophy of Arab Jerusalem, which will be reduced to a series of residential enclaves in an alien space. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd
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