Periferie e sicurezza urbana

This essay will focus on the evolution of the notion “urban security”, from a purely sociological concept to a new one entered into our regional and national legislation. The analysis of the latter, and the related jurisprudence that was born from, both administrative and Constitutional Court, will allow us to evaluate the fortunes of “urban security” in our system. It was linked to centralist public policies, that often – but not always – were not under scrutiny, then it has been declined as a “minor public safety”, undermining the expansive potential of the concept and betraying the principles of vertical and horizontal subsidiarity in that field. This brought some consequences also on the way the issues connected to the insecurity of suburbs have been addressed, thus avoiding to link the theme of urban security with that of urban regeneration. Therefore, an unacceptable detachment came out between the public policies over the last years of the Italian legislature and the dominant thought of sociologists and urban planners, as well as with respect to good practice at local level. Recent legislative measures seem to go in a different direction, supporting a renewed, albeit cautious, optimism.