ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the pattern of spatial development in Italy. It deals with the administrative and financial relations between the national government and cities. The chapter illustrates the national authorities' points of view about the development of large cities, the major urban issues and challenges that cities are facing. It focuses on the direct and indirect policies that have been developed to solve urban problems and face urban challenges. Urban growth mostly occurs in small urban centres characterized by relatively good accessibility to larger centres. Metropolitan areas start with a residential function, but industrial activities, especially small and medium-sized activities, also take place, according to a decentralization pattern of production. The high political instability of Italian governments and the national debt constraint are two specific national circumstances that have hampered the development of integral policies at the local level.
