Abstract
The paper focuses on the challenges faced by planners committed to quality of life in ‘inner areas’ (i.e. distant from major urban poles and often affected by the decline of population, public services, economic performances, and/or ecological integrity). It presents research findings developed by a long-term action-research partnership between planning researchers at the University of Catania and the ‘Simeto Valley’ community, in Sicily (Italy). These findings show that an important developmental role can be played by formalized collaborative relationships between Institutions and the active part of their constituency, but only under the condition of a clear ‘enabling’ strategy not only targeting citizens but also institutions.
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Notes
- 1.
The process began with an open conflict between Simeto activists and administrators caused by the proposal of building a mafia-owned incinerator in the Valley, which eventually evolved into a large social mobilization that led to a large community coalition committed to sustainable development (Saija 2014).
- 2.
In Sicily, from 2012 to 2017, the % of emigrant young graduates - 25/39 years old - grew dramatically from 21% to 28.2% (source: ISTAT-BES 2018).
- 3.
The most relevant ecological distress is connected to hydrological risks. For instance, 5% of Centuripe’s land (900 ha) is classified as hydro-geologically unstable by the Sicilian Region (source PAI 2014).
- 4.
For instance, the growing population of migrants (+281,8% between 2001 and 2011; ISTAT 2011) is largely subjected to illegal exploitation by the rural organized crime called caporalato (see the documentary called Terra Nera, produced by the “Catania CGIL Flai CGIL Union” in 2015).
- 5.
While Regions were supposed to select pilot areas, the SNAI national committee had the option to select a small number of ‘areas’ characterized by collaborative administrators and constituencies where they wanted to experiment the SNAI through a highly participatory approach. In this perspective, the shared governance structure embedded in the SRA made the Simeto Valley a good fit (Saija 2015; Carrosio and Moro 2018; Pappalardo 2019)
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Saija, L., Pappalardo, G. (2021). From Enabling People to Enabling Institutions. A National Policy Suggestion for Inner Areas Coming from an Action-Research Experience. In: Bevilacqua, C., Calabrò, F., Della Spina, L. (eds) New Metropolitan Perspectives. NMP 2020. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 178. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48279-4_12
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