Bologna : città storia e pace sociale

The thesis concerns Bologna, a northern Italian city of approximately half a million people situated in the Po valley. Bologna, along with most other smaller towns in the region of Emilia-Romagna, has been administered by a communist-socialist alliance since April 1945. The thesis aims to show that the policies of citizen participation, decentralisation and urban conservation, for which Bologna has received world-wide attention, have links with the city's past. The present left-wing government and its policies are therefore a continuation of an historical process. The policy of local government decentralisation of service management with a consequent devolution of centralised power to the neighbourhood structures will be described. This has been placed within te socio-political and economic context of the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's and the changes in direction the administration will have to make if the 'social harmony' of the city is to be maintained. National crises such as growing youth unemployment and terrorism and the student/state struggles in Bologna have led, despite continuing electoral success, to a questioning of the coalition and a demand for change from the Left and the Right. The public housing policies and conservation programmes have been explored, particularly within the context of the implications of citizens competing for scarce resources and a 'crisis' in the institutionalised means of participation. Methodologically, the research depended on observation, interviews and literature reviews inside and outside Bologna. The information available was often official and fairly acritical, whilst issues being dealt with were broad and complex, as Italian politics tend to be. Conclusions are difficult, although certain trends can be noted along with directions the administration will presumably take if it is going to be flexible and as responsive to citizen demands as it has always claimed it can be