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The Dark Side of Urban Informality in the Global North: Housing Illegality and Organized Crime in Northern Italy

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  • Francesco Chiodelli

Abstract

This article deals with housing illegality/informality in Italy, where it represents an established aspect of urban development. It presents a case study focused on Desio, a town close to Milan in northern Italy. Here housing illegality occurs by virtue of the well‐established presence of a mafia‐type criminal organization (the ‘Ndrangheta). Three examples of illegal construction in Desio are analysed, forming the basis for a discussion on the distinctive features of illegal house‐building in Italy. In particular, institutional incentives encouraging illegal housing are investigated, with reference to both formal institutions (e.g. planning laws, rules preventing unauthorized housing and building amnesties) and informal institutions (e.g. organized crime). The case of illegal housing in Italy contributes significantly to the wider international debate on urban informality, highlighting the critical need for research along avenues as yet only partially explored (e.g. informal housing in Western countries and the role of criminal activities and actors in the spread of informality) and challenging some common assumptions such as the geographical dualism (‘global North’ versus ‘global South’) which, implicitly, results from the international literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Chiodelli, 2019. "The Dark Side of Urban Informality in the Global North: Housing Illegality and Organized Crime in Northern Italy," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 497-516, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:43:y:2019:i:3:p:497-516
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.12745
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    Cited by:

    1. Víctor Jiménez Barrado, 2020. "Evolution and Management of Illegal Settlements in Mid-Sized Towns. The Case of Sierra de Santa Bárbara (Plasencia, Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Iban, Muzaffer Can, 2020. "Lessons from approaches to informal housing and non-compliant development in Turkey: An in-depth policy analysis with a historical framework," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Chihsin Chiu, 2024. "Greening informality through metabolic coordination: An urban political ecology of governing extralegal housing forms in Taiwan," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(6), pages 1127-1146, May.
    4. Walid Beddiaf & Belkacem Dib, 2022. "Informal urban development in urban cities. Spatial assessment in the city of Batna, Algeria," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 37(1), pages 658-674, November.
    5. João Tonucci, 2023. "PROPERTY‐LED INFORMALITY: Shifting Informal Land Development from Popular Housing to Middle‐Class and Elite Speculation in Belo Horizonte," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 527-545, July.
    6. Raco, Mike & Ward, Callum & Brill, Frances & Sanderson, Danielle & Freire-Trigo, Sonia & Ferm, Jess & Hamiduddin, Iqbal & Livingstone, Nicola, 2022. "Towards a virtual statecraft: housing targets and the governance of urban housing markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114315, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Giuseppe Scandurra & Alfonso Carfora & Antonio Thomas, 2024. "Does Crime Influence Investment in Renewable Energy Sources? Empirical Evidence from Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-19, July.
    8. Nikos Angelos Salingaros, 2021. "Spontaneous Cities: Lessons to Improve Planning for Housing," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.
    9. Maria Atuesta Ortiz, 2023. "GAMONALES WHO MAKE A CITY: Intimate Interactions in City Building," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 90-105, January.
    10. Ferreri, Mara & Sanyal, Romola, 2022. "Digital informalisation: rental housing, platforms, and the management of risk," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112794, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. David López-Casado & Víctor Fernández-Salinas, 2023. "The Expression of Illegal Urbanism in the Urban Morphology and Landscape: The Case of the Metropolitan Area of Seville (Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-25, November.

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