From alternative representations to prospective visions. The administrative subdivisions in Palermo (Italy)

Alternative representations of the city are not only a useful analysis tool, but they also provide elements of a conceived new version of lived space that can contribute to ameliorate the spatial justice of the city. This is even truer for intra-local spaces that are the reference scale for many public participation policies, grass-root projects and activists. In this paper, we present the case of Palermo where the administrative subdivisions of the urban space have been imposed – because of legislation about administrative decentralisation – on the historical and perceived ones. Alternative mapping shows intra-local spaces as places of identity definition and civic engagement. In our paper…