Metropolitics

The “ordinary” Italian suburbs: exploring the apartment buildings of the middle classes

Thomas Pfirsch & translated by Oliver Waine — 2014-12-11T06:00:00Z

Through the detailed histories of 23 apartment buildings and their inhabitants, a team of historians and architects show how Italy became a society of homeowners during the boom of the 1950s and '60s. This book sheds light for the first time on the history of this little-known aspect of the private housing sector that nevertheless concerns the majority of Italian households, and highlights the – often underestimated – role played by public policy in its development.
As the debates on urban

- Reviews / homeownership, housing, developers, Rome, housing estates, Italy, middle classes, Milan, Turin, self-segregation, owner-occupiership, co-ownership, condominium

The burst bubble and the privatisation of planning in Tokyo

Raphaël Languillon-Aussel & translated by Oliver Waine — 2014-02-05T05:50:00Z

Since the early 1990s and the collapse of Japan's asset price bubble, developments in Marunouchi – Tokyo's main business district – have revealed a turning point in planning policy with regard to commercial real estate. Instead of letting laissez-faire prevail, the public authorities have actively involved private developers such as Mitsubishi Jisho in order to increase functional diversity and redefine public spaces.
Marunouchi is the most central business district in the Tokyo urban area,

- From the Field / developers, urban planning, urban policy, urban development, privatization, development, business district, Tokyo, Japan

The reconstruction of Beirut: sowing the seeds for future conflicts?

Bruno Marot & Serge Yazigi & translated by Oliver Waine — 2012-11-14T10:59:43Z

Periods of post-war reconstruction are often the backdrop for new socio-economic and political dynamics. In Beirut, the rise of market-led urbanism, a lack of proper urban planning and the far-reaching sectarian polarisation are all factors that could raise questions about the model of urban regeneration implemented and arouse new socio-political tensions.
“Beirut in times of peace has been more disfigured and destroyed than in times of war.” While the city centre, devastated by the combats

- From the Field / gentrification, developers, governance, urban renewal, residential mobility, reconstruction, Lebanon, Beirut, conflict, urban regeneration, demolition

The mayor, the developer and low-cost home ownership

Guilhem Dupuy & translated by Michael Stokes — 2011-01-17T16:29:51Z

At a time when controlling housing prices has become a national priority, a recent study carried out by Guilhem Dupuy shows that the manner in which national measures are implemented at the local level is the principal issue at stake in formal and informal negotiations between developers and local representatives. By means of such practices, which border on illegality at times, they work together to elaborate housing programmes and then contribute to shape housing supply on local markets. Their

- From the Field / homeownership, housing, local government, developers, building works