Speaker
Description
In 1997, Amin and Graham reported "a veritable deluge of newspaper and magazine reports now addresses urban crises and 'regeneration' processes", whose descriptions oscillate between gloomy predictions of “urban doom and optimistic portrayals of an urban renaissance” (p. 411), often with the aim of obscuring complexities. These insights continue to resonate, reflecting a persistent but simplistic dichotomy of urban decay and renewal, fueled by neoliberal agendas (Pinson, 2022).
Urban regeneration, criticized for lacking a theoretical base (Leary and McCarthy, 2013), uses descriptive metaphors that reinforce socio-spatial inequalities (Marcuse, 2005). "Abject" areas become the targets of redevelopment efforts that profoundly alter existing social networks (Sibley, 1998; Porter and Shaw, 2009). Described in dystopian terms, 'urban rebirth' initiatives are touted as necessary to correct perceived dysfunctions (Furbey, 1999), fostering 'hypochondriac geographies' (Baeten, 2002). The term "regeneration" is reminiscent of a medical metaphor that compares the city to a sick organism that needs to be healed. This implies a natural healing cycle that benefits the whole "urban body" (Vicari, 2009) and presents urban planning as a treatment for physical and social "illnesses'." However, the distinction between normality and pathology is blurred and questions the implications of these representations that could perpetuate stigmatisation. Furthermore, the descriptive approach in the literature on urban regeneration should be complemented by a socio-theoretical approach that goes beyond conservative views that press the discourse into rigid categories or homogenising economic doctrines (Lovering, 2007). Feminist geographers argue that urban theory has often overlooked the transformative and ethical potential of care in redefining a just city (de la Bellacasa, 2017; Williams, 2017; Power and Hall, 2018). Defined as “everything we do to maintain, continue and repair our ‘world’ so that we can live in it as well as possible” (Tronto and Fisher, 1990, p.40), urban care could provide a new critical framework for rethinking urban regeneration processes. Finally, analysing metaphors makes it possible to deconstruct theoretical frameworks, but the implementation of these representations in practise remains an open question. In Italy, the multiple experiences of urban regeneration require a focus on political, academic and public discourse beyond formalities, actively seeking real change. Supported by initiatives such as the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Italy has seen a significant surge in investment, signalling a potential shift in urban policy.
Building on the critical insights of Porter and Shaw (2009), this study explores the multi-layered concept of "regeneration", focussing on Italy, where fragmented urban agendas have received less attention compared to British and American contexts. It draws on relational and new institutionalist perspectives (Healey, 1999; Rydin, 2021) to critically examine urban regeneration along three axes: metaphorical, discursive and socio-spatial. The study focuses on the south-eastern coast of Palermo, which is characterised by a contested policy of expansion: from a bustling industrial zone of brick factories in the early 20th century to a site of uncontrolled urban sprawl and decay. The so-called “Sacco di Palermo” in the 1970s led to massive urban changes that resulted in the abandonment and construction of huge social housing buildings and further disfigured the coastline with rubble, known as mammelloni. As part of the PNRR, the city has now initiated four controversial “eco-sustainable redevelopment projects" to tackle environmental and social problems. The research aims to introduce the ethics of care as a relational and spatially informed lens into urban studies, to examine the discursive impact of PNRR initiatives on urban imaginaries that can move away from pathologising approaches, and to assess how the issue unfolds on the ground in Palermo and enables different forms of agency. Methodologically, critical discourse analysis and ethnographic fieldwork will be combined.
References
Amin, A., Graham, S., 1997. The Ordinary City. Trans. Inst. Br. Geogr. 22, 411–429.
Baeten, G., 2002. Hypochondriac geographies of the city and the new urban dystopia. City 6
de la Bellacasa, M.P.D.L., 2017. Matters of Care: Speculative Ethics in More Than Human Worlds. Univ of Minnesota Pr, Minneapolis (Minn.).
Furbey, R., 1999. Urban ‘regeneration’: reflections on a metaphor. Crit. Soc. Policy 19, 419–445.
Leary, M.E., McCarthy, J., 2013. Introduction: urban regeneration, a global phenomenon, in: The Routledge Companion to Urban Regeneration. Routledge.
Lovering, J., 2007. The Relationship Between Urban Regeneration and Neoliberalism: Two Presumptuous Theories and a Research Agenda. Int. Plan. Stud. 12, 343–366.
Marcuse, P., 2005. ‘The city’ as perverse metaphor. City 9, 247–254. Pinson, G., 2022. La città neoliberale. Mimesis.
Porter, L., Shaw, K. (Eds.), 2009. Whose urban renaissance? an international comparison of urban regeneration strategies, Routledge studies in human geography.
Power, A., Hall, E., 2018. Placing care in times of austerity. Soc. Cult. Geogr. 19, 303–313.
Tronto, J.C., Fisher, B., 1990. Toward a Feminist Theory of Caring, in: Abel, E., Nelson, M. (Eds.), Circles of Care. SUNY Press, Albany, NY, pp. 36–54.
Williams, M.J., 2017. Care-full justice in the city. Antipode 49, 821–839.
| Keywords | urban regeneration; urban care; discourses; PNRR; Palermo's southeast coast |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
