Plural Paths for Interweaving Diversity in Palermo

The most recent ethnic movements and cultural contacts are modifying the city nature all over the world, and in these years even the most fringe European areas are witnessing an increase in cultural and social mixité. Currently we can assert that the city is not an unitary system any more, instead is composed of multiple (often non-homogeneous) groups which express new forms and demands of space use. In this context of fast changes, the various ethnic groups coming to European cities are not the only stakeholders of diversity. There are also cultural groups which have remained separate until now, each one rooted in a restricted part of the city, according to models that are obsolete nowadays. Today, these groups meet and discuss, sometimes even clash, and help to create new geographies of cultural contacts. Our presentation aims at showing that even in Palermo, a city that has long been considered marginal with respect to the most important economic flows, and even more in its peripheral areas, far from the dynamics of its core, a new dimension is unveiling. Both geography and planning are urged to try conversational processes which may take profit of the knowledge and multiple points of view of the local communities (usually not entitled to their citizenship rights). This communicative approach should avoid curbing the differences in homogeneous categories, or imposing solutions of social integration, by confusing equality with assimilation. In this approach, plural groups, geographers and planners are entirely embedded in a political process of mutual social learning and ethical distribution of opportunities, contributing to the emancipation and to the political regeneration of local communities.