Naples

Naples is the third city in Italy, the largest in the South. It is particularly interesting as example of the contradictions between a superb geographical location and a widespread condition of social and economic crisis. The problems of the city have different origins, recent or not. Currently the two main critical factors derive from the social and economic conditions of its wider metropolitan area and from the lack of a clear functional distribution between city and its surrounding area; the result is a strong concentration of key functions in the city and the unplanned diffusion of residential areas and secondary functions far beyond its boundaries. Naples recent fast transition to a post-industrial condition (without having gone through a strong industrial stage) has forced a profound re-examination of its future and has driven planning policies towards ambitious urban plans; but the weakness of a strong social and economic structure has called into question both the assumptions and the targets of the city’s planners.