State-sponsored mass housing is an integral part of the urban history of Europe from the post-war period to the present. Between the 1950s and 1970s, hundreds of loosely modernist, large-scale, often high-rise social housing estates contributed to shape the built, as well as the social fabric of European cities. Embodying confidence in the welfare state’s ability to promote the well-being of citizens, these estates provided adequate and affordable accommodation to rapidly growing urban populations. Conceived as an ideal solution to problems of housing and urban development, however, they soon fell out of favour and sometimes turned into an urban problem themselves. Today, they represent a significant, if controversial, legacy of post-war urbanization and housing policies. After providing an overview of state-funded mass housing in Western Europe, this article looks at Italian cities focusing on a prominent social housing estate located in Rome.
L'edilizia residenziale pubblica costituisce un elemento essenziale della storia urbana europea dal secondo dopoguerra a oggi. Tra gli anni Cinquanta e Settanta del Novecento, grandi complessi di edilizia popolare di stampo latamente modernista hanno contribuito a plasmare il tessuto edilizio e sociale delle città europee. Incarnando la fiducia nella capacità del welfare state di promuovere il benessere dei cittadini, hanno fornito alloggi dignitosi ed accessibili a popolazioni urbane in rapida crescita. Concepiti come soluzione ai problemi della casa e dello sviluppo urbano, tuttavia, questi complessi hanno presto perso popolarità e talvolta sono diventati un problema urbano essi stessi. Oggi costituiscono un’eredità significativa, seppur controversa, dei processi di urbanizzazione e delle politiche abitative del secondo dopoguerra. Dopo una panoramica sull’edilizia residenziale pubblica in Europa occidentale, questo contributo guarda ai piani di edilizia popolare nelle città italiane concentrandosi su un caso romano particolarmente rilevante.
Housing the masses: European and Italian cities in the post-war era / Bonomo, Bruno. - 354:(2023), pp. 421-440. (Intervento presentato al convegno The ‘city’ across time. Emergence, developments, and social, economic, political, cultural and health impact tenutosi a Rome, Italy).
Housing the masses: European and Italian cities in the post-war era
Bruno Bonomo
2023
Abstract
State-sponsored mass housing is an integral part of the urban history of Europe from the post-war period to the present. Between the 1950s and 1970s, hundreds of loosely modernist, large-scale, often high-rise social housing estates contributed to shape the built, as well as the social fabric of European cities. Embodying confidence in the welfare state’s ability to promote the well-being of citizens, these estates provided adequate and affordable accommodation to rapidly growing urban populations. Conceived as an ideal solution to problems of housing and urban development, however, they soon fell out of favour and sometimes turned into an urban problem themselves. Today, they represent a significant, if controversial, legacy of post-war urbanization and housing policies. After providing an overview of state-funded mass housing in Western Europe, this article looks at Italian cities focusing on a prominent social housing estate located in Rome.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
