ABSTRACT
As many other European cities, major Italian cities have been undergoing significant processes of urban regeneration in recent years (Savitch and Kantor, 2002; Buck et al, 2005). This renewal has transformed some important social aspects (promoting what may be described as ‘welfare cities’) and economic elements (e.g. larger investments in finance and in the so-called creative industries) in many industrialized cities. The economic and aesthetic appeal of some cities has been improved, mirrored in increasing flows of foreign investment and numbers of tourists from abroad (Borelli, 2005). Genoa and Turin are the leading actors in these structural transformations and, probably, their new images should have facilitated a new launch on the international scene. Milan is also developing on this front (Camagni, 2007); for the forthcoming Expo in 2015, it is promoting special creative assets, even incorporating the logo ‘Slow Food’. Florence and Bologna are in a political phase of stand-by as other medium-sized cities are emerging. This is the current urban policy framework, wherein local urban changes can partially affect further processes, such as the global links of an urban centre within the world city network (AA.VV., 2006).
