Data di Pubblicazione:
2008
Abstract:
Despite its diffusion in urban studies and its importance for urban policies, “urban fragmentation” has
yet to be fully conceptualized. The only aspect on which there is fairly broad consensus among both
researchers and policy makers concerns the anatomy of the phenomenon. It is seen as the result of two
(not necessarily related) dynamics. On the one hand, there would be a process of social segmentation,
which appears to be irreversible due to a supposed lack of any mechanism of social integration, even of
a conflictive nature. On the other hand, this process should take a spatial form, as each social segment
tends to place in (or be confined to) a definite portion of the urban space. There is, however, little
agreement about the ultimate cause (or causes) of the phenomenon. Moreover, the difficulty of integrating
interpretations referring to Developing Countries with those concerning (post)Industrialized Countries
contributes considerably to the weakness of the related concept.
This paper aims at providing an analytical foundation for urban fragmentation, which holds for both
Developing and Industrialized Countries. To this purpose, its material cause is distinguished from its
formal cause. While the first one lies in grinding discontinuity in the conditions of vulnerability to which
different groups of urban dwellers are exposed, the second one belongs to the institutional domain, and is
consequent to the fact that those groups are induced to adopt dualistic institutional arrangements. Urban
fragmentation just forms at the intersection of these two occurrences.
Taking this interpretative framework as our term of reference, two case studies are examined. While
confirming the role exerted by the institutional component in shaping urban fragmentation, they show
the importance of intermediate institutions in determining the integration-oriented or the disintegration-
oriented character of the phenomenon. Normative indications are then furnished, regarding both the
theoretical and the practical domains
yet to be fully conceptualized. The only aspect on which there is fairly broad consensus among both
researchers and policy makers concerns the anatomy of the phenomenon. It is seen as the result of two
(not necessarily related) dynamics. On the one hand, there would be a process of social segmentation,
which appears to be irreversible due to a supposed lack of any mechanism of social integration, even of
a conflictive nature. On the other hand, this process should take a spatial form, as each social segment
tends to place in (or be confined to) a definite portion of the urban space. There is, however, little
agreement about the ultimate cause (or causes) of the phenomenon. Moreover, the difficulty of integrating
interpretations referring to Developing Countries with those concerning (post)Industrialized Countries
contributes considerably to the weakness of the related concept.
This paper aims at providing an analytical foundation for urban fragmentation, which holds for both
Developing and Industrialized Countries. To this purpose, its material cause is distinguished from its
formal cause. While the first one lies in grinding discontinuity in the conditions of vulnerability to which
different groups of urban dwellers are exposed, the second one belongs to the institutional domain, and is
consequent to the fact that those groups are induced to adopt dualistic institutional arrangements. Urban
fragmentation just forms at the intersection of these two occurrences.
Taking this interpretative framework as our term of reference, two case studies are examined. While
confirming the role exerted by the institutional component in shaping urban fragmentation, they show
the importance of intermediate institutions in determining the integration-oriented or the disintegration-
oriented character of the phenomenon. Normative indications are then furnished, regarding both the
theoretical and the practical domains
Tipologia CRIS:
2.1 Contributo in Volume(Capitolo,Saggio)
Keywords:
Urban fragmentation; Institutions.
Elenco autori:
Cusinato, Augusto; Michelutti, E.
Link alla scheda completa:
Titolo del libro:
Étalement urbain et ville fragmentée à travers le monde