Urban Regionalisation Processes: Governance of Post-Urban Phenomena in Sicily (UNIPA Springer Series)

This book explores the issues of transformation phenomena of the urban dimension (regionalization processes) that traditional scientific literature fails to describe appropriately. So far, scholars have adopted a widespread dominant perspective that proved unable to grasp the essence of post-modern complexities that urban spaces imply. The book provides a taxonomy, in order to describe the rules of these new and peculiar cities, by using the living dimension as a device for the epistemological breaking down of traditional socio-spatial analyses. After a thorough theoretical introduction, it describes two Sicilian case studies that prove particularly relevant to the construction of a new, alternative urban regionalization theory. These two areas, Palermo and South-Eastern Sicily, are described through several aspects, such as the role of migrants and migrations in defining urban regionalization, the power of fiction and the new urban forms that are slowly emerging in Sicily. Overall, this book provides a refreshing view of what Sicily has been and is becoming, by deconstructing most of its clichés and suggesting theoretical perspectives grounded in both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Acknowledgments Contents Abbreviations Urban Regionalisation Processes in Sicily: From the Theoretical Framework to the Local Dynamics 1 For a Critical Theory on Urban Regionalisation Processes 2 The Dimensions of Space in the Urban Regionalisation Processes 3 Globalisation and Fragmentation of Urban Space 4 Conclusions References Spatial Phenomena From the Metropolitan Areas to the Post-metropolitan Dimension 1 Approaching the Post-metropolitan Dimension in Sicily 2 Socio-economic Trends: Time for a Change? 2.1 Population Trends 2.2 Housing Dispersion 2.3 Dependency Ratio 2.4 Economic Outlook 2.5 Foreign Citizens 2.6 Towards an Unusual Post-metropolitan Region? 3 Spatial Patterns 3.1 Urban Sprawl vs. Polycentric Patterns 3.2 Land Use 3.3 Number of Houses 3.4 Accommodation Capacity and Tourism 3.5 Real Estate Market 3.6 Confiscated Buildings 3.7 Post-metropolitan Sicilian Trends 4 Planning a Post-metropolitan Sicily 4.1 The Creation of a Metropolitan City 4.2 A Fragmented Territory, with Strong Connections 4.3 Two Different Ways of Being Post-metropolitan 5 Conclusions References Forms and Processes of Settlement Pressure on Natural Systems 1 Introduction 2 Soil Consumption and Urbanisation Phenomena 3 Fragmentation Forms and Sprawl Processes on the Sicilian Territory 3.1 Settlement Phenomena 3.2 Infrastructural Phenomena Related to Mobility 3.3 Productive Phenomena 4 Comparing Metropolitan Areas: Palermo and Catania 4.1 The Metropolitan Area of Palermo 4.2 The Metropolitan Area of Catania 5 From a Critical Viewpoint to Plan Orientation References An Analysis of the Residential Segregation of Foreigners in the Municipality of Palermo 1 Introduction 2 Data and Methods 2.1 Data 2.2 Measures of Segregation and Localisation Quotient 3 Results 3.1 The Presence of Foreigners Within the City 3.2 Results of the Application of Measures of Segregation 3.3 Results of the Application of Location Quotients 4 Brief Concluding Remarks References Informal Practices Housing Issue and Right to Housing in Palermo 1 Introduction 2 Public Policies Vs. Squatting Practices for the Right to Housing in Palermo 2.1 Policy Responses to the Housing Emergency 2.2 Squatting Practices to Right to Housing 3 Critical Issues in the Negotiation Strategies of Housing Programmes in Palermo 3.1 Conflict and Negotiation Over Public Space in the ERP Districts 4 Conclusion References New Inhabitants for the Re-use of Historical Territories in South-Eastern Sicily 1 Introduction 2 The Territory’s Identity Traits 3 Current Trends 4 Conclusions References Landscape of Exception as Spatial and Social Interaction Between High-Quality Agricultural Production and Immigrant Labour Exploitation 1 Global North, Rural Regions and Immigration 2 Migratory Flows and Local Economy 3 The Case of South-Eastern Sicily 4 Landscape of Exception: The Spatial and Social Dimension 5 Conclusions References The Power of Fiction in Creating a Territory’s Image 1 Media Image in the Creation of the New Urban Dimension 2 Economic Crisis and Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Sicily 3 Cultural Heritage Development Policies in South-Eastern Sicily 4 The “Montalbano Effect” 5 Cinema Tourism and Cultural Heritage Enhancement Policies in Sicily 6 Conclusions References Institutional Policies In Search of the Metropolitan Dimension 1 New Settlement Layouts in Italy 2 Administrative Re-organisation of the Vast Areas in Sicily 3 Contemporary Cities and Renewed Boundary Issues 4 Identification and Establishment of the Metropolitan City of Palermo 5 Metropolitan Territory Management Prospects 6 Planning Tools for the Metropolitan City of Palermo References Urbanisation and Urban Regionalisation Processes in the Metropolitan Area of Palermo 1 Introduction 2 The Formation of Post-Metropolitan Palermo Amidst Irregular Urban Regionalisation Processes and Lack of Policies 2.1 On Urbanisation Processes 2.2 On the Lack of Policies 3 Conclusions References Housing Affordability for Urban Regions 1 Urban Regions and Housing Tensions 2 The Concept of Housing Affordability 3 Methodology 4 Case Study: The Two Urban Regions 4.1 The Urban Region of Palermo 4.2 The Urban Region of Syracuse and Ragusa 4.3 Territorial Distribution of Income 4.4 Average Incomes and a Focus on ATA Municipalities 4.5 The Threshold Income in the Two Urban Regions 5 Conclusions References This book explores the issues of transformation phenomena of the urban dimension (regionalization processes) that traditional scientific literature fails to describe appropriately. So far, scholars have adopted a widespread dominant perspective that proved unable to grasp the essence of post-modern complexities that urban spaces imply. The book provides a taxonomy, in order to describe the rules of these new and peculiar cities, by using the living dimension as a device for the epistemological breaking down of traditional socio-spatial analyses. After a thorough theoretical introduction, it describes two Sicilian case studies that prove particularly relevant to the construction of a new, alternative urban regionalization theory. These two areas, Palermo and South-Eastern Sicily, are described through several aspects, such as the role of migrants and migrations in defining urban regionalization, the power of fiction and the new urban forms that are slowly emerging in Sicily. Overall, this book provides a refreshing view of what Sicily has been and is becoming, by deconstructing most of its cliches and suggesting theoretical perspectives grounded in both quantitative and qualitative analyses