| Abstract: |
The paper analyses the changed development path of the metropolitan area of
Rome. It aims to analyse the evolution and modernization of Rome in the last
thirty years and to examine whether or not the consequent cultural
regeneration promotes social cohesion. To this end we focus on both structural
and institutional change in Rome, trying to identify the main ruptures and
continuities in the development path, as well as the driving forces of the new
model. After WWII, Rome was generally considered to be a cumbersome capital
city, with a heavy bureaucracy sector and without any strong “local” political
forces and social movements capable of bringing about economic and political
change. Nevertheless, a new and more democratic local governance and
subregulation mode have emerged during the post-Fordist era, which have
allowed for the production and reproduction of new socioeconomic relations
that in turn influenced a new economic model for the city. This new governance
is an important leading theme; it brings about some interesting forms of
“democratisation” that are difficult to find in other post-Fordist
metropolises. The new economic model is characterised, on the one hand, by the
development of the advanced tertiary sector, i.e., knowledge intensive
services, tourism services, business services, cultural industries, R&D
activities. On the other hand, the Roman model is also characterised – in line
with other national and global metropolises – by forms of social exclusion, a
new poor, and polarisation between the peripheries and central/high income
districts, in a sort of multi-speed development. At the same time, the
traditional bureaucracy and its connected “state bourgeoisie”, although still
relevant, are no longer dominant. New service activities have brought about
new agents, new powers and new institutions. In addition to a review of the
literature and an analysis of existing statistics, interviews were undertaken
with informed political leaders and economic and social actors of the
emblematic moments of change in order to capture the driving forces of the new
development path. |