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This paper examines the problem of evictions in Italy, focusing on their quantitative dimension on a national and regional level, from the 1980s to the present. In line with many western European countries, particularly those in southern Europe, Italy has historically emphasised homeownership as the central pillar of its housing policy, relegating tenants' housing problems to the background. In an attempt to shed light on tenants' housing hardship, the analysis addresses evictions as one of their most pressing problems, according to the following research questions: Why is the phenomenon of evictions under-investigated in Italy? What is the current scenario of evictions in Italy and what public policies are in place to tackle them? The paper points out the high rate of evictions in Italy compared to other European countries, the increase in evictions for arrears and the inadequate use of public resources allocated to answer the problem. The proposed analysis advocate for reframing evictions as a pressing social issue with far-reaching political implications. This study is a first contribution to a broader research agenda on evictions in Italy. • The lack of macro-level analysis of evictions is a serious gap in the understanding of the housing problem in Italy; • The paper argues that macro-analysis is essential to frame evictions as a social and political issue, rather than an individual failure; • The analysis shows that evictions for arrears have increased throughout Italy and that support for tenants is needed; • It highlights the need to counterbalance the policy bias towards home ownership by reshaping the rental market; [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy retrofitting of residential buildings is considered a challenge to be tackled not only at building level, but also at urban scale, to give a stronger impulse for a concrete transition towards climate neutrality. This paper presents an easy-to-use analysis method based on the elaboration and scaling-up of data collected through the energy performance certificates (EPCs) to identify different urban energy zones distinguished by their energy performance index. This method is therefore conceived for better informing urban planning decisions, thus boosting more effective energy-sensitive urban planning strategies and eventually to foresee dedicated financial instruments to act in the more energy demanding areas of the city, establishing priorities for integrated strategies. This analytical method has been applied and tested in one municipality in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy, where the recent urban planning law is pushing municipalities towards the development of urban planning strategies oriented to drastically improve the energy efficiency of the existing building stock. Results show that only a small number of areas manage to reach a good performance with fairly low levels of energy performance index, with the most critical situation found in the most central areas of the capital and in the hamlets. • Easy-to-use method for assessing energy performance of residential building at urban scale is proposed • Method based on data easily available for local authorities, like energy performance certificates (EPCs) and urban morphology • The method supports urban planners in municipalities in taking more targeted decisions for improving energy efficiency • The main output of the method is the definition of an energy performance index (EPI) for different urban contexts • EPI allows to wisely balance economic incentives, identifying areas where multi-purpose interventions are recommended [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European countries are facing rising demand for affordable housing by a widespread and differentiated audience. Both in Italy and in the Netherlands policy-makers and practitioners address this emerging need by implementing new social housing projects targeting diverse social groups – such as students, young households, welfare dependents, and refugees – which results in a fine-grained social mix. This paper discusses the development of these initiatives within wider trends in housing policies and in relation to the domestic debate on social mix in the two countries. Drawing on Magic Mix and Housing Sociale projects as case studies, respectively in the Netherlands and in Italy, we aim to explore and unfold the contemporary meanings and the practices attached to the idea of social mix. In so doing, this paper paves the way for a new conceptualization of social mix in the current post-crisis and hyper-diversified European scenario. We discuss traces of continuity and discontinuity between these forms of social mix and the mainstream idea of tenure mix, which has been a cornerstone of area-based urban renewal policy in many European countries. This paper contributes to the existing literature by offering insights into new practices of social mix in housing sphere. • Societal and historical contexts influence policy approaches, discourses, and values attached to the idea of social mix. • Recent forms of social mix in social housing projects in Italy and the Netherlands target a variety of low-income groups. • Social mix is reframed along five domains: discourses, target groups, practices, institutional frame, urban downscaling. • New role models are defined according to tenants' resourcefulness, rather than economic capital (i.e. middle-classes). • Mechanisms of conditionality require tenants to take part in community-oriented activities in return to affordable rents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the presence of urban wildlife has increased in many cities around the world, with the consequent increase of human-animal relations. The city of Genoa (NW Italy) is a particularly complex case study where such phenomena are associated with rural depopulation of the surrounding countryside and spontaneous rewilding processes that have led several animal species to approach urban areas in search of new spaces. This paper deals with human-wildlife interactions in Genoa in relation to the geography of the city by way of a survey circulated throughout Genoa. Drawing from survey data, the research investigates residents' perceptions and understanding of urban wildlife in relation to their area of residency with a focus on wild boars. People's responses show that some areas of the city have a higher level of interaction with wildlife, and this partly affects the way in which such phenomena are perceived and tolerated by the population. In addition, the results show that there is no clear opposition towards urban wildlife and that people are concerned about sustainable forms of urban planning to the benefit of both residents and wildlife. • Rewilding processes involve both rural and urban areas of Liguria (NW Italy). • In recent times city of Genoa (NW Italy) has seen a progressive increase of wildlife. • Intensity of human-animal interactions varies in relation to people's area of residency. • People are concerned about public safety and good quality of urban environments but also animal welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides the physical and mental health problems it brought, the COVID-19 pandemic impinged on economic and social aspects of people's lives, threatening economic security and interpersonal relationships, aspects that are major determinants of perceived subjective well-being. We investigate the relationship between individual life satisfaction, and relational and material goods under the exceptional circumstance of the pandemic and lockdown in Italy. Unlike other studies, this paper examined whether COVID-19 infection and deterioration of economic and relational circumstances caused by COVID-19 can predict changes in individual life satisfaction, controlling for other contextual factors. The results suggest that the pandemic threatened the life satisfaction of respondents and the main predictor of this deterioration was related to the effect of the pandemic and lockdown on social relations. Aspects like gender, type of city and dwelling also emerged to be important predictors of LS. These findings have implications for social policies and urban planning, and offer additional insight in the research on LS. • It studies the link between changes LS, and relational and material goods under COVID-19. • The goal was to detect what factors best explain changes in LS in two Italian cities. • It records the changes in LS and in peoples' income and social relations caused by COVID-19. • It runs an Ordered Logit regression model. • It shows that the decay on social relations best predict variation in LS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to ground gentrification processes within a broader urban transformation pattern and within a deeper historical account, taking an ordinary city into consideration: Turin, in the North West of Italy. The paper elaborates on qualitative data collected along a twenty year span, allowing reflection on different phases and dynamics of capital extraction across time. We will show that, problematically, gentrification was considered as a positive model by local authorities and that it was adopted as a reference by both private and public actors to generate local growth and to react to economic crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines food provisioning initiatives that were implemented to reduce food insecurity during the period of the spread of Covid-19. Food insecurity increased sharply during this time, particularly among those who contracted the virus and had to remain in quarantine, and those who suddenly lost their jobs. As a possible solution to alleviate the problem, voluntary organisations collected food from stores with surplus produce (such as restaurants that were forced to close, supermarkets, etc.) and redistributed it to people in need. This redistribution occurred in several Italian cities, including Cremona, which was one of the first towns in Italy to be dramatically affected by the pandemic. Looking through the lens of social innovation theory, this paper analyses redistribution initiatives in this town and assesses their capacity to enhance their impact on social wellbeing and to involve local society in response to social challenges. Thanks to desk research and interviews with several volunteers, it demonstrates that these initiatives are good examples of social innovation, as they address emerging social challenges and generate benefits for the entire society (not just food aid recipients), reconfigure previous aid models, actively involve local population, and assume educational and social assistance purposes. • Food insecurity increased a lot at the time of the restrictions imposed to counteract Covid-19 • To alleviate it, some local voluntary organisations collected food from local stores with surplus (such as restaurants forced to close) or supermarkets and redistributed it to people in difficulty. • These initiatives are good examples of social innovation • They address emerging social challenges, and generate benefits which extend to the whole society beyond the confines of the volunteering associations and food aid recipients who are directly involved. • They reconfigure the previous aid models, involve actively more human and financial resources and assume educational and social assistance purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper reflects on ways of updating tools for engagement and enhancing citizens' participation in local urban planning, and aims to reshape them according to theories that have emerged in recent decades on the conceptualization of such participation and on interdisciplinary methodologies. It does so in the context of a project investigating how local institutions try to produce new forms of engagement. The project was carried out in the Municipality of Peccioli, an ancient medieval village in Tuscany, Italy. We have revisited and combined some classical tools, such as documentary investigation, participant observation, focus groups and interviews, and proposed changes for capturing unexplored features, dimensions, and living experiences in the social body. The updating of classical methods aims to overcome existing power structures and to reshape the relationship between citizens and their local institutions, generating a more inclusive decision-making process. Highlights • Many traditional participatory methods need to be updated and reshaped. • Need of tools able to effectively capture the contributions of all citizens. • Improved methodological tools foster the awareness and inclusion of public policies. • Updated tools can make participation more responsible, informed, inclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the results of long and extensive research based on Italian cases-studies that argued the need for a systematic investigation of the relationship between urban planning and criminal powers in the control of space and in local governmental processes. The research assumption was the general condition of knowledge it would be profitable to explore and develop in order to understand and redirect a relationship that has been generally underestimated in our field, both theoretically and practically, in order to highlight specific implications for and responsibilities of urban planners. The awareness and knowledge which emerged from the research was considered relevant to improving urban planning practices and underscoring full commitment as both practitioners and educators in those areas of urban planning where strong and illicit powers are present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest of scholars in the temporal dimension of post-disaster housing has grown in the past decade, but the analytic focus has primarily been around the design and delivery of more sustainable Temporary Housing solutions. However, addressing temporality and promoting Building Back Better in disaster recovery and reconstruction also requires a better understanding of the regulatory and organisational process which produces the post-disaster transitional city. Since strategic planning grows in popularity as a Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) paradigm, an analysis of its application and outcomes helps capture lessons to inform future housing assistance practices. To this end, the paper reconstructs and analyses the Central Italy temporary housing supply and delivery process. It combines a meta-analysis of published documents and business process modelling to uncover links between policy, society, and space. The results suggest that gaps in strategic planning (related to multi-level governance, process and resource management) are significant explanatory factors for the technical and social clashes highlighted by the analysis. It is emphasised the importance to produce well-informed strategic plans to achieve DRR goals and the potential benefit of adopting the proposed approach to this end, leveraging its capacity to model and simulate the temporary housing supply and delivery process. • Strategic planning by itself does not ensure the success of temporary housing plans. • Technical and social clashes are linked to multi-level gaps in strategic planning. • Process modelling can support a better urban emergency management and governance. • Intermediate mitigation strategies can enhance the resilience of strategic plans. • Strategic planning ought to consider local factors and community needs and roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City-marketing and place-branding strategies today often stress ideas and stereotypes of culture and creativity to promote attractive urban images. The aim of this paper is to empirically analyze how the creative city is celebrated and displayed in the case of Turin (Torino), Italy. This case study represents a typical example of an industrial town, trying to promote new urban representations at an international level, and celebrating ideas of a cultural, post-industrial economy through campaigns of urban branding. This paper presents some reflections on the branding policies of the Italian city and, through the review of a sample of promotional materials and policy documents, it tries to determine to what degree Turin’s branding represents ideas of creativity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper deals with the challenging issue of illegal building in Italy with a view to clearing up the picture on this subject matter. This phenomenon is scarcely treated from an analytical/scientific point of view, especially in international literature. However, it is very present in the social and journalistic debate. Our research highlights the objective lack of data needed to gauge this offence, which is less endemic than is believed. Furthermore, it proves that existing data are insufficient to produce results, which often range between reality and prejudice, depicting some areas of the country in an extremely negative way. The first part of this paper describes the extreme complexity in acquiring "real" data and the total nation-wide lack of technical-administrative structures and methods capable of producing acceptably reliable information. In the second part, an emblematic case study is presented and its history traced back. We show that the multiform phenomena associated with illegal building create an enormous and rhetorical stratification of actions that ultimately do not lead to any appreciable result. This underscores the powerlessness of the administrative, regulatory and technical apparatus towards this particular infringement of territorial law. • This paper deals with the challenging issue of illegal building in Italy with a view to clearing up the picture on this subject matter; • Our research highlights the objective lack of data needed to gauge this offence, which is less endemic than is believed; • The paper describes the extreme complexity in acquiring "real" data and the total nation-wide lack of technical-administrative structures and methods capable of producing acceptably reliable information; • The paper shows that the multiform phenomena associated with illegal building create an enormous and rhetorical stratification of actions that ultimately do not lead to any appreciable result. • All of this shows that Italy is still at "year zero" in its approach to the effective detection of illegal building; [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, city officials in Cagliari (Italy) have shown a particular interest in policies and strategies that promote sustainable urban mobility. The Urban Mobility Plan ( Piano Urbano della Mobilità ), drafted in 2009, provides an important tool, transforming Cagliari's mobility in a smart direction by promoting alternative means of transport to the private vehicle. This paper describes a quantitative methodology for evaluating urban mobility in Cagliari, using a synthetic indicator, and suggests steps that Cagliari could take to meet international best practices for transportation. The data needed to analyse Cagliari's urban mobility are gathered, and the findings are compared to those from other comparable international cities. This intercity comparison allows the authors to consider how best to orient Cagliari's mobility towards international best practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an empirical study aimed at evaluating the cost efficiency of 108 Italian major municipalities, and investigating to what extent the municipality efficiency is also associated to the effectiveness of public expenditure, and consequently to quality of services offered to citizens. The study implements Data Envelopment Analysis to calculate the efficiency score and understand if it is influenced by scale economies and determine the type of these economies. For this purpose, every municipality was modeled as a production function using 6 cost item inputs and 2 outputs. Finally, the study implemented a truncated regression equation using the bootstrapped efficiency estimate as the dependent variable, and a selection of indicators measuring the quality of public services offered in the context as the independent variables. Results reveal that there exist important scale inefficiencies in a number of municipalities, but unexpectedly a great amount of inefficiencies are caused by decreasing returns to scale. Additionally, the study suggests that a trade-off between expenditure efficiency and effectiveness, i.e. the quality of public service, seems to exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the role of cities in enhancing intergenerational social mobility. Cities, where children grew up, can provide resources and opportunities able to increase the chance of employment and status attainment. We assess intergenerational mobility in Italy, the most immobile country in Europe together with Greece and Portugal. We use a data survey providing information on the individual-level track of Italian students' life path from high school to occupation. We merge the data survey with city-level information on socio-economic conditions. We distinguish between students who attended university in the same city where they grew up and those who migrated to another city for higher education. Upward mobility turns out to be higher in: (i) larger cities by population size; (ii) more accessible cities; (iii) cities with low income inequality and high education levels. Also social values and cultural traits play a role in enhancing upward mobility. More generally, if we look at the bundle of factors identifying the urban context, we find that the effect of factors with a positive impact on upward mobility prevails in the Northern cities while the opposite occurs in the Southern cities. • The paper studies the role of cities in enhancing intergenerational social mobility in Italy. • The theoretical model includes a comprehensive variable representing the urban context. • In the empirical application, the urban context is considered in its different aspects. • Upward mobility turns out to be higher in cities with better socio-economic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the critical literature that links greening initiatives with the risk of gentrification. As urban areas become greener and provide high quality amenities, they attract wealthier residents, thus channelling the benefits of greening to a few. Most existing research has analysed the results of greening initiatives once they have been completed. This article explores green gentrification as a form of strategic action, by analysing the emerging Green Tree Strategy (GTS) for Porto Marghera, Italy. This area has undergone historical greening initiatives, beginning with the "garden city" of Enebezeer Howard (1902). The GTS is the newest green regeneration initiative in Porto Marghera. The data were collected via semi-structured interviews and through an online social network survey. The results show that the GTS has a clear ideological core – built around a new strategy of perception – but also that its appeal can be challenged in terms of industrial and employment displacement. The support for the GTS is fragmented and lacks consensus in Porto Marghera. However, if local actors are to successfully resist further attempts at green gentrification, they likely need to build an alternative vision, organized around a balanced development between green infrastructures and social inclusiveness. • Sustainability and greening initiatives in cities often lead to gentrification. • The Green Tree Strategy (GTS) is an early stage greening initiative proposed for Porto Marghera, Italy. • We explore the GTS as a form of strategic action, developing in a social movement like fashion. • Green gentrification is avoidable but resisting it requires an alternative conception of equitable greening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to quantify the impact of urban expansion on soil quality in a sprawling Mediterranean region (Rome, Italy). The study verifies, at regional scale, if urban growth has consumed high-quality soil types at the expense of agricultural and forested land. At local scale, it tests if the recent urban diffusion has consumed more high-quality soil types than compact urban development. To verify these hypotheses, two high-resolution land-use maps for 1949 and 2008 were analyzed together with a 1:50,000 map of soil characteristics. Over an investigated area of 1500km2, urban fabric increased by 5.9% per year (from 8.2% in 1949 to 36.6% in 2008). In that period, urban areas consumed high-quality soil types in larger proportion than low-quality soil types while croplands and forests progressively occupied low quality and partly degraded soil types. Moreover, dispersed peri-urban settlements have been developed in Rome on high-quality soil types more frequently than dense urban settlements, suggesting that the recent low-density expansion impacts largely soil quality and land resources. This confirms that sprawl consumes high-quality land at higher rate than compact growth, possibly influencing the environmental quality of neighboring areas. Finally, the role of soil quality as a target for policies mitigating land consumption in ‘shrinking’ Mediterranean cities is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recently practitioners are approaching spatial and environmental planning by adopting methods and tools drawn from Complexity Science. The strength of these methods is not only apparent in their systemic coherence but also in their capacity to consider a variety of components as a whole system. Given this background, the aim of this paper is to apply a methodology, tested for the Italian insular region of Sardinia, to an analysis of commuter accessibility in the United States through an indicator-based strategy. Spatial measures are applied to study the level of accessibility for commuters at the county level. The analysis provides us with an assessment of the accessibility for U.S. commuters and allows for the consideration of spatial planning objectives for U.S. counties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Cities are responsible for a large part of primary energy demand and emissions worldwide. Hence, the use of renewable energy sources (RES) is becoming a key issue in the international debate on the sustainability of urban development models. Most of the literature addresses this issue by focusing on metropolitan areas, disregarding analyses that can support urban design at smaller scales. This paper presents and applies a method to estimate and compare the potential supply of RES and the energy demand of buildings (EDB) at local scale by: (a) performing a spatial estimation of the potential exploitation of RES; (b) performing a spatial estimation of EDB, by considering their characteristics and location, as well as the urban morphology and the settlement design; (c) assessing the spatial congruence between supply and demand patterns. Four RES were analyzed: solar irradiation, ground-source heat, wood biomass and hydropower from existing drinking water supply systems. Suitability maps for each energy source were first developed, and then combined to obtain a composite map, which was eventually compared with the EDB map. The method is based on spatial and statistical analyses conducted in a geographical information system (GIS), using data layers coming from a range of different sources. The case application is represented by an alpine municipality in Trentino, northern Italy. Even though the proposed approach is affected by uncertainties and data scarcity, it showed how datasets and tools available today can be used to provide spatial estimates of RES suitability for exploitation, supporting the selection of areas that are intrinsically suitable for the design of low-carbon settlements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The transformation of single family home settlements is a central issue in the search for a more sustainable city. This residential model remains very popular among middle class households, in spite of the relevant costs and impacts related to its functioning. Local authorities are increasingly concerned with its associated impacts, even when they do not have clear planning strategies. The case study presented is about a municipality that is part of the Catania Metropolitan Area, in Italy. Built up areas cover more than 50% of the municipality’s total land and the prevailing development type is the detached single family home. The existing settlement pattern is essentially an “automobile city” for about 20.000 inhabitants with a very limited presence of services. The analyses conducted show that this settlement is unsustainable, not in terms of insufficient green areas, or permeable soils but because it lacks any urban quality. The resulting impact on the environment is considerable both in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and the contribution to urban water runoff. The paper presents the first results of a consulting activity for the local municipality that is revising its General Master Plan. This activity, conducted by the University of Catania, includes a set of analyses based on land use data and the definition of general planning criteria. The aim is develop a proposal, based on principles of sustainable urban planning, that can effect a change towards a new pattern of urban development characterised by densification, mixed use planning and reduced private car dependence by concentrating new services in pedestrian oriented areas. The challenge of the proposal presented is to define a set of specific rules that can limit the uncontrolled sprawl by contextualising these general and widely accepted principles to local conditions. The work is part of GRaBS (Green and Blue Space Adaptation for Urban Areas and Eco Towns), a project funded by the EU Interreg IV C programme). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Access to homeownership for young adults is becoming more and more difficult. Italy – where homeownership rates for young adults are steadily decreasing – is a case in point. In the recent past, becoming homeowner was an obvious housing pathway for Italian young adults, even from lower-middle class families. If your parents were homeowner, you became homeowner as well, often with the help of intergenerational transfers. However, the Italian reproduction of homeownership is under severe pressure, as a result of the economic crisis and the subsequent austerity measures. Through in-depth interviews with young adults and their parents, this paper shows how deeply ingrained social expectations and aspirations surrounding homeownership – together with an objective lack of rental options – result in young adults staying longer in their parental home and becoming independent at a later age. This may have a negative impact on the social and economic dynamics within Italian society. • Homeownership reproduction is threatened for lower-middle class households in Rome. • Decreased levels of intergenerational help after crisis and austerity. • Prolonged co-residence is more common than intergenerational wealth transfers. • Owner-occupation still perceived as best tenure; lack of rental options. • Inaccessible homeownership affects class identity for lower-middle class young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding a new use for abandoned buildings provides an opportunity for urban and rural regeneration as reconversion policies arrest decay processes and re-establish continuity in the territorial system, using existing buildings and thus limiting the consumption of new soil. This study combines quantitative stakeholders' analysis with Decision Aiding tools to design and evaluate alternative strategies for the regeneration of an abandoned military barrack in Italy. In particular, the paper details how the collaborative decision support process developed from the initial map of the local needs to the final assessment of five different regeneration projects. The main objective of the study is to develop a transferable framework able to support collaborative planning and decision-making processes related to urban regeneration transformations. The contribution brought by the study is twofold and refers to: (i) the development of an inclusive final recommendation based on the innovative integration of Multi Attribute Value Theory with quantitative stakeholders' analysis and (ii) the provision of a replicable working tool for policy makers and urban regeneration specialists. The study has thus an innovative value and may stimulate a cross-disciplinary use of behavioral decision analysis to support a value-based generation and evaluation of alternative solutions in complex multi-actor decision making settings. • The study bridges urban planning, decisions science and behavioral science. • The proposed method supports both the divergent and the convergent thinking phases. • The integrated approach is exemplified with a urban regeneration intervention. • Decision aiding tools are used to innovatively design alternative solutions. • Quantitative stakeholders' analysis successfully complements decision aiding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]