After a time of prolonged neglectfulness from scholarly production, it is just recently (in the last ten years) that Rome became the object of a number of researches and publications. These are focused on to specific aspects of, or more generally dedicated to, its socio-economic, cultural and political environment, and the long-lasting crisis affecting the capital city of Italy. Nevertheless, the contributions able to offer a broad and complex explanation of the actual condition of the city are just few. The less developed field concerns urban economy: the economic structure of the city, and its spatial and governance implications.
Aim of this research proposal is to inquire spatial and public policies implications of the socio-economic structure and dynamics of Rome through an innovative, interdisciplinary, integrated approach. It will be based on collaboration and scientific exchange between different disciplinary research groups (whose collaboration capacity has been already tested), related to the fields of urban and territorial planning, economic geography and political sociology. The research will cover a major knowledge gap, providing an important contribution relevant to the general public and addressed to enhance decision- and policy-making. These objectives will be reached also through a national and international comparative analysis with other major cities (starting with Milan), which implies also a contextualization at the metropolitan and regional scale.
In order to more precisely bound the scope of the research, it will focus particularly on: the spatial organization of the production and services system; role, scope and potential of productive poles; relations between the public and private sectors in economic development agendas and urban transformations; the role of rent (even in its most recent declinations) and of accessibility and mobility networks in urban development; the role of `marginal economies¿ and their features.
The research presents different innovation profiles and can introduce possible scientific and cultural advances at different levels.
Firstly, as already mentioned, although increased in the recent past the literature on Rome lack a specific and in-depth analysis of the spatial implications of the socio-economic structure of Rome, its dynamics, and the related public policies. From this point of view, the research covers a very significant knowledge gap. Moreover, the research is not limited at studying the socio-economic structure in its classical terms, but focuses on the relationships that that structure establishes with other dimensions, in particular the spatial and governance ones. It therefore makes specific scientific advances on the following topics: relationship between productive structure, location of productive poles and services and spatial organization at metropolitan and regional level; new forms of rent, not only related to the real estate market, but also to platform economies and to the financialization of economy; impacts of tourism (accommodations particularly) on the urban space (on historic centres, and on real estate market dynamics in general); evaluation of the positive or negative effects of the different old and new economic and productive activities on the urban economic system as a whole; relationship between representations and real policies of city government (or their absence).
Secondly, some interpretative categories used at international level will be tested on the case of Rome, to verify their validity or the possible need to different conceptualization and theorization, and to discuss their significance within the international scientific debate. These interpretative categories refer to the aforementioned debate on `extractive capitalism¿, on `global cities¿, on the relationship between `global South¿ and `global North¿, on `urban regimes theory¿ and `growth machine theory¿ also referred to the need to rethink the issue of `urban rent¿.
Thirdly, there are important innovations from a methodological point of view, as research is strongly characterized by an interdisciplinary approach, not simply limited to a juxtaposition of sectorial knowledge and skills, but aimed at making them interact with each other. This interaction will concern the research as a whole, but also some of its specific aspects and therefore with a `variable geometry¿ (for example, the relationship between tourist economy and trend of rent and real estate market, or between representations and structure of productive development).
Finally, an innovative contribution regarding the policies and possible strategies of city government is foresaw, which today constitute a particularly problematic field.
Specifically, some detailed indications can be provided. As already said, studies and research on Rome have recently increased. The academic interest has been triggered by the economic, social and political crisis. Besides, in the public debate developed among political, economic and communication actors several evidences and factors of crisis have been pointed out. What is missing is an explanation of the difficult governability of Rome¿s development based on an integrated view of economic and extra-economic factors. Moreover, in what and for what reasons is Rome similar or different from other Italian and European big cities?
In particular, so far no relevant research on Rome has dealt with:
- the consequences of the political volatility of the last ten years, in which right-wing, center-left and populist leaders have alternated as Rome¿s mayor;
- the role of financialization of real estate in the politicization of property developers¿ strategies and the consequences on distribution/concentration of urban transformation costs and benefits;
- the structural presence of an illegal immigration, due to the lack of management for orderly flows of the migration phenomenon, and its contribution to the functioning of specific non-advanced economic sectors;
- the role of immigrants in the rental market, in particular in relation to the residential and economic transformation of the most concentrated suburban and semi-central districts.
More specifically, the issue of urban rent that emerged in the analyses of the Rome in its spatial, socio-economic and political features since the early `60ies, asks for more empirical research and a new (or renewed) interpretive framework.
This can contribute also to deciphering the often-claimed `exceptionality¿ of Rome in the Italian context, and also to sketch possible comparative framework with other big cities, nationally and/or internationally.
Finally, in perspective we intend to encourage the development of an inter-university working group on Rome, already underway, within which the Sapienza University can make a substantial research contribution, and play leading role.