Segregative power of violence in Belfast and Naples. Exploring the role of public spaces reconnecting divided societies

This paper focuses on the contradictions between loss of the role of public spaces in encouraging sociability (vs. conflicts) in every-day life, as well as the way cultural differences and social inequality are addressed in public spaces. The focus has been developed within the framework of the interdisciplinary and international research line on Public Spaces and Urban Cultures of the AESOP. Social change has led to multiple transformations of the use and the organization of public spaces: in the traditional public spaces of the historical city and of the consolidated city, as well as in the creation of new types of public spaces in suburban areas. Among the many issues that concern the organization and shape of public spaces, has been chosen to address the way in which these spaces react to social division due to economic globalization and multiculturalism. The key issue is the way urban design tools focused on public spaces can be combined with those of community planning in order to deal with the social and cultural fractures of contemporary urban areas that are divided, conflicting and unequal. In particular, the main topic of this research is to develop a methodological approach that targets enhancement of multiple roles of public spaces in order to favor social inclusion and cultural interactions. The interpretation of latent multicultural and multifaceted social needs is aimed - with the involvement of people from conflicting components of the society - at defining strategies in order to improve processes for producing inclusive public spaces. To explore this scenario, case studies have been developed on conflictive neighborhoods in the city of Belfast (Northern Ireland) and on a deprived area on the northern fringe of Naples (Italy) - controlled by a criminal organization, the so-called "camorra" - in order to developing possible applications to be applied in other contexts that present divisions and conflicts among communities. While the character of these contexts of analysis is clearly specific and the conflicting issues produce extreme consequences, the broader implications may be more consistent with diverse experiences, raising questions about the role of urban design in ensuring the "right to the city" in places of different intensity of cultural diversity.