The city (or rather society) of the future: analysis, prospects, governability

The radical changes brought by the most recent phase of urbanisation have raised the question of how to manage in social, economic and political terms the sprawling metropolitan areas that are being created. Traditional policies and institutions - both central and local - are proving not up to the task of governing these new entities, which are increasingly dependent on an integrated global economy and increasingly subject to decisions taken by individuals and organisations capable of operating independently in transnational spheres. In Italy an understanding of these changes has been hampered by obsolete definitions of administrative boundaries - municipal, provincial, regional - that reflect a centuries-old organisation of the territory that is no longer applicable in many places. Introduced by an enlightening essay by the editor, this book presents basic texts for an understanding of the modern-day urban phenomenon, followed by a number of empirical analyses of the Italian situation, and finally a specific and challenging contribution on the institutional reform of governance for metropolitan areas of the country.