Schedule 9th International Degrowth Conference

In Miraftab (2017), the relationship between civil society activism and the authorities is described as shaped by the coercive use of power, in which the authorities manipulate activism by suppressing some forms and promoting others for the purpose of maintaining control. The city is a space where activism can take various forms, ranging from loosely organized movements that utilize both legal and illegal methods to bring attention to issues, to more mainstream forms such as cooperatives and ethical purchasing groups (Gruppi d’Acquisto Solidale). The Italian city of Bologna, is a prime example of the coexistence of these different forms of citizen resistance, where activism on issues like food sovereignty, eco-spatial inequalities, and the precarity of life in the western welfare state has helped to re-imagine and re-shape the city. Despite the relatively open space for imagination, reshaping is not without the involvement of the municipality, whose response, particularly towards more radical movements, has been repressive - the forced evictions of XM24, Labàs, and the former Telecom stand as prime examples. This paper will examine how the relationship between social movements and municipal institutions shapes insurgent planning in the context of social-ecological transformation. The paper will be using Bologna as a case study for its unique mix of social activism and unsustainable urban development.

Info

Day: 2023-09-01
Start time: 13:00
Duration: 00:15
Room: ZV-8-5
Type: Paper Presentation
Theme: Resilience building through degrowth

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