Urbanities,
Vol. 3
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No 1
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May 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
27
The Challenge for Naples
How competitive can Naples be among global cities? For about twenty years many
commentators have dwelled upon the policies that could address the revitalization of vast
areas of the city and help overcoming its many shortcomings (the closure of industries,
poverty, unemployment, criminality and so on; Cavola and Vicari 2000, Leonardi and Nanetti
2008). One expression of this political and cultural debate is the variety of proposals that
have been put forward, ranging from the definition of new models of strategic planning to the
reorganization of the political and administrative functions and competences of the city via
the reform of the municipality; from the idea of reviewing Naples’ links with its metropolitan
area to idea of reconsidering Naples’ relationship with the other cities in the Campania
region.
The efforts of the local government have not engendered the promised development
(De Vivo 2007). Opposite forces seem at work: one pushing for the advancement of the city,
the other for bringing the city backward. As a consequence, the city is in a marginal position
both in the international and the national ranking of large cities, while holding a predominant
position in relation to the other cities in the Campania region. The predominance of Naples in
the region depends on its supremacy both in terms of size – Naples is by far the most
populous city of the region – and in terms of services and administrative functions. As it is,
the city has to face a growing tension between the overall demands by the citizens and the
poor quality of its urban infrastructures and services.
One main reason for the persistence of the opposition that I have described lies in the
fact that Naples (like others southern cities) is completely cut off the network which at the
national level link together the most strategic large Italian cities (Cafiero 2009). Cities like
Milan, Turin and Rome are driving the national economic development and they have found
– or seem determined to find – a specific cultural and economic identity in the current stage
of Italian and global capitalistic development. Naples has difficulties in entering this network.
The city appears unable to express a definite identity, nor does it have any specific economic
characteristics. Due to the sea and its impressive historical heritage, Naples is often
considered a tourist city; but at times it is also seen either as a post-industrial city or as a city
still in search of industrialization. In the end, Naples appears to be a city with a big
unexploited potential. As a consequence, Naples seems like running without having a precise
destination in the ongoing challenge with other cities.
