
URBAN10 / EPISODE 2
Living the Divide: More Than a Roof
What happens when housing stops being treated as a right and becomes a residual category—something to manage, not invest in? In this episode, we return to one of Milan’s largest public housing districts to examine the material and institutional neglect shaping daily life. Through interviews with researchers and residents, we uncover the long retreat of public responsibility, the internal fractures within social housing, and the everyday forms of resistance and care that emerge in response.
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Suggested readings
Baffoe, G. (2023). Neoliberal urban development and the polarization of urban governance. Cities, 143, 104668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104668
Brenner, N., Peck, J., & Theodore, N. (2010). Variegated neoliberalism: Geographies, modalities, pathways. Global Networks, 10(2), 182–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2009.00277.x
Fainstein, S. S. (2010). The just city. Cornell University Press.
Harvey, D. (1989). From managerialism to entrepreneurialism: The transformation in urban governance in late capitalism. Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, 71(1), 3–17.
House Inc. Project. (2023–2026). Horizon Europe research initiative. https://house-inc.eu
Hurricane, I. (2025). Milano horror stories. Incubi dalla rigenerazione urbana. AFA Edizioni.
Mapping San Siro. (n.d.). DAStU, Politecnico di Milano. https://mappingsansiro.polimi.it
Measuring the social value of public housing. (n.d.). SDA Bocconi Insight. https://www.sdabocconi.it/en/sda-bocconi-insight/research-updates/public-administration/measuring-the-social-value-of-public-housing
Saporito, R., et al. (2023). ExCoP project reports. SDA Bocconi.
Serra, S. (2021). Urban planning and the market of development rights in Italy: Learning from Milan. City, Territory and Architecture, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40410-021-00133-2
Swyngedouw, E., Moulaert, F., & Rodriguez, A. (2002). Neoliberal urbanization in Europe: Large–scale urban development projects and the new urban policy. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 26(3), 509–532. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.00308
Tulumello, S. (2016). Neoliberalism and urban change: Stretching a good idea too far? Territory, Politics, Governance, 4(3), 241–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2015.1073612