“Reinforced concrete. The politics of illegality in Italian cities.” This is the title chosen by Francesco Chiodelli for his latest editorial work. The signs of illegality engraved on Italian territory are many and complex. If illegal construction represents a striking part of it, there is no shortage of less dramatic manifestations in urban areas, such as corruption, the infiltration of organized crime, the occupation of public housing or the informal reuse of abandoned buildings. Starting from the story of concrete cases, the author identifies and analyzes the various declinations of the phenomenon, to restore the diversified dimension of a precise policy of illegality, which represents one of the distinctive urban traits of Italy from the post-war period to the present day.
In these cities, regardless of their latitude, stories of fixers, property developers and unscrupulous politicians, but also of social movements, migrants and the most fragile sections of the population are intertwined. Chiodelli, former associate professor in economic-political geography at the University of Turin and director of OMERO – Interdepartmental research center in urban studies, as well as numerous international essays on housing issues and informal and illegal spaces, has published “Jerusalem contention. Urban dimensions of a conflict.” and “Shaping Jerusalem. Spatial Planning, Politics and the Conflict.”
Chiodelli will be present in Asti on May 16th to present his latest volume published for Bollati Boringhieri, at the Foyer delle Famiglie in via Milliavacca, 5 at 6.30 pm. The presentation, organized by the Asti LAB Association, will be moderated by the journalist Paolo Viarengo. For information you can contact the Association at this address: [email protected]
