Planning in the Face of Conflict in Un-Democratic Contexts: Lessons from Two Sicilian Municipalities

Within planning theory, the disciplinary tradition that is more attentive towards conflicts can be placed in a triangular position between politics, citizens and power, where the different research directions can be identified as studies into the élites, the hierarchy of governance and, last but not least, the role of social movements. Through élite theories and theories of classical pluralism, the reflection on conflicts has been measured mostly against the enigma of “who is in power” applied to city management, whereas in the sphere of urban economic policy, questions have mainly regarded the objectives, despite their having to come to terms with the limitations of rational choices (Bish and Ostrom, 1973). In relation to these considerations the article highlights that in the last ten years, many conflicts regarding spaces, some of them common, contended public spaces have emerged, in many areas of the world and with different characteristics and reasons (De Leo and Lo Piccolo, 2013); among their causes, the increase of injustices in the systems of redistribution of resources (including spatial resources) is viewed as the effect of the mix of neoliberalism and the economic and financial crisis.