Urbanities,
Vol. 3
·
No 1
·
May 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
37
In the case of the Urban Free Zone, it is also important to consider the role played by
the national government, which used this project as a tool to divert attention from weak
public intervention in the South. In Italy, the central government has pledged to make
available financial public resources to address the social and financial hardship that
characterize the southern cities, with a focus on their slum areas. But an effective overall plan
is still lacking.
As in the French case, the Urban Free Zone could have a positive impact on the
revitalization of public and private investment in Naples. However, since it was conceived as
a possible solution to the problems of a limited part of the city, it cannot serve to overcome
the overall shortcomings that besiege Naples. The socio-economic problems besetting the city
are deeply entrenched in its past and recent history: organized and widespread crime, de-
skilling and impoverishment of human resources, lack of private investment, low interest of
banks to finance private development projects and to participate in the financing of public
infrastructures. Furthermore, in an over-populated city with an urgent need for an overall
urban restructuring, it is difficult to find suitable space for new industrial plants. The zoning
restrictions imposed by the regulatory plan — as well as those pertaining the preservation of
the historical and environmental heritage and those stemming from a web of bureaucratic
licensing and permits — are formally so strict that the possibility of finding rapidly a suitable
space for new economic enterprises is practically nil. In France, a ‘consensual urbanism’ was
promoted in order to avoid these predictable obstacles. This practice consists in an ongoing
consultation between public and private entities involved in the programme of urban renewal
which has allowed to reach agreements with maximum flexibility and to use the planning
instruments in order to respond effectively to the demands of the community. Finally, the
interest raised by this tool is explained mainly with the success it has had in France; in
Naples, however, due also to regulatory uncertainties generated at the national level, it never
took off. It became, instead, part of an intense political communication strategy. For several
months a public debate — involving politicians, scholars and citizens — went on,
highlighting the relevance of this initiative for the international revival of Naples. To date, it
is not yet clear whether and how the Urban Free Zone will become effective. Meanwhile,
Naples continues to be excluded from the international trade exchanges among global cities,
and its citizens continue to be deluded that the change occurred in France could happen in
their city.
