Urbanities,
Vol. 3
·
No 1
·
May 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
34
first is a programme aimed at redeveloping a specific area, the Spanish Quarters,
3
with the
aim of improving the overall housing, social and health conditions. In 2002, the City Council
started the consortium Si.Re.Na,
4
a large project for the restoration of private housing, based
on concerted actions between citizens and construction companies. The programme was
supposed to give an impetus to reclaiming the historical and cultural heritage through
triggering a sort of spontaneous regeneration based on the self-organization of local private
actors. The Naples Integrated Programme operates along similar lines focusing on ‘Great
Cultural Attractions’ financed by the European Union structural funds through the Regional
Operational Plan. This programme includes many projects which also affect places of
worship
.
A public servant working for the Campania Region remarked,
‘the Naples Integrated
Programme “Great Cultural Attractions” isn’t simply a document; it is an agreement between
the actors involved in it. At this time, I believe that there isn’t a correct perception of what
they have to do all together. Where is the sharing? Each actor is isolated and doesn’t want to
work with the others. The actors don’t trust each other’. A dealer in religious goods stated,
‘private actors don’t risk their own financial resources…They wait and wait, without taking
any kind of initiative. They always want public money. We need private actors to change
their mind-set’.
Also in this case bitter conflicts arose among different public institutions, which was
compounded by the fact that the requirements for the conservation of historical monuments
collide with those for modernization. In the end, the measures undertaken by the City
administration fell short of the expectations that it had fostered. This was also due to the lack
of an effective communication policy on the part of the administration, as well as to its
inability to mobilize the residents in taking an active role in carrying out the project.
The story of the redevelopment of the historical centre and the difficulties inherent in
the process of change that it implies provides clear evidence of how the thrust toward change
can be thwarted by entrenched social ties and connections. The map of these relationships
that comes to light gives a good idea of the local order they produce, and of the influence that
this order exercises on what happens in the area. Formally, employers, trade unions, local
parties, local government, environmental groups and individual citizens are all part of the
3
This area is known for its high presence of organized crime.
4
Company for recovery initiatives of Naples established in 2001 by the City of Naples and by the
Association of Builders of the Province of Naples.
