Papers by Elisabetta Forni
Cities & Health
ABSTRACT The north-western city of Turin, Italy, well known for the FIAT car industry, representi... more ABSTRACT The north-western city of Turin, Italy, well known for the FIAT car industry, representing the leading Italian example of a one-company town, ranks the highest Italian level of PM10 air pollution, among the worst in Europe. According to epidemiologists, children’s health in Turin is severely affected by air pollution, primarily originated from private motorized traffic. Based on this data, a complaint against Turin’s Mayor was recently filed by a citizen who hypothesized the City’s violation of the right to a healthy city for everyone. However, children’s right to breathe unpolluted air is even more jeopardized in poorer neighbourhoods, where no traffic restriction policies are implemented, unlike the privileged and wealthy historical centre. Our research approach aimed at experimenting some low-cost interventions, acting simultaneously on the material and cultural conditions negatively influencing both public policies and citizens’ behaviour. Actions with younger children and parents’ participation in monitoring and mapping air quality as well as re-shaping public spaces for a healthier and playable city are presented and discussed as key points for successful implementation and dissemination policies in Turin and elsewhere.
Nordisk Alkoholtisdkrift (Nordic Alcohol Studies)
Although Italy still lacks an alcohol policy, consumption of alcoholic beverages, and in particul... more Although Italy still lacks an alcohol policy, consumption of alcoholic beverages, and in particular wine, has been decreasing steadily for several decades. Why? The authors argue that, even if most Italians maintain the habit of eating their main meals at home, wine is losing its role as an essential component of the menu. People today drink smaller amounts and less often than in the past particularly because wine is no longer “eaten” as before. In addition, two other factors may have contributed to the decline in consumption: the loss of confidence in producers and wholesalers following the toxic wine scandals and the increasing preoccupation with healthy lifestyles.
Alkoholpolitik: Tidskrift för nordisk alkoholforskning (Alcohol Policy – Journal for Nordic Alcohol Research)
Afrika Spectrum, 1980
Soon the Democratic Republic of Somalia will celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Revolution whi... more Soon the Democratic Republic of Somalia will celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Revolution which, on 21 October, 1969, made Mohamed Siyad Barre the leader of the country. This is, therefore, an opportune moment to draw up a balance sheet and to considerboth on a global as well as on a more specific levelcertain aspects of the reality of this country, which through the Revolution had opted for a new path of development based on the choice of a scientific socialism" : a reality so particular at this very moment, which is, so to speak, on the borderline between the African and the Arab worlds, and perhaps, precisely for this reason, all the more interesting and complex. Amongst the many phenomena that have taken place in the last decade, we could place that of the "discovery of woman". By this term I mean to refer to the process of critical revision which the Somali State-nation has exercised concerning the problem of Women's condition and the consequences which this has had for women and for the whole country from the economic, social, cultural and political points of view. It is not difficult to state that there exist, in this respect, two elements which are common to many African countries. The first being that, it is above all the countries with socialistic and progressive tendencies that have become aware of the female condition, and have therefore made certain political choices in order to overcome problems of sexual inequality and discrimination. Both ideological as well as historical reasons have contributed to this factor: the influence of the outbreak of feminist movements in the West, as well as the participation of African women in the armed struggle for national liberation. The second reason is that such choices usually tend to come from the top through the initiative of a few enlightened individuals (mostly male) much more than from the bottom i. e. the pressures and demands that a popular female contingency could make on its own governing bodies in order to obtain certain reforms. The "discovery of woman" has been one of the landmarks of the most recent political programmes of the government and this is directly linked to the general problem of national progress and under development. It is a campaign to see all citizens, women included, enjoy the same rights; it also expects all citizens indiscriminately to show a certain amount of personal commitment to the benefit of the Nation. This necessity has also been cited by Siyad Barre:
Africa Rivista Trimestrale Di Studi E Documentazione, 1979
1. La sociologia rurale ha affrontato lo studio delle campagne in Africa cercando in primo luogo ... more 1. La sociologia rurale ha affrontato lo studio delle campagne in Africa cercando in primo luogo di definire se e quando si possa parlare di contadini africani, distinguendoli sia dagli agricoltori tradizionali sia dagli imprenditori agricoli (*). Wolf e Stavenhagen, ad es., conducono la loro analisi partendo dal presupposto che i raggruppamenti sociali nelle societa contadine sono determinati soprattutto dal loro rapporto con la terra e occorre percio condurre un'analisi partendo dalle trasformazioni strutturali relative al possesso della terra, alla estensione dello sfruttamento agricolo, all'impiego di manodopera salariata, ecc. Fallers considera le comunita contadine come ' unita locali semi-autonome ', definibili in base a criteri non solo economici ma anche politici e culturali; a livello economico, per quanto riguarda l'Africa nera, egli giunge a concludere che la coesistenza della produzione per il mercato accanto a quella per il
Lo spazio pubblico, per eccellenza luogo deputato alle relazioni sociali basate sull'incontro... more Lo spazio pubblico, per eccellenza luogo deputato alle relazioni sociali basate sull'incontro delle diversita, ha subito negli ultimi decenni una perdita di significato e di funzioni.La sua dimensione funzionale alla scoperta e alla tolleranza dell'altro (diverso per eta, genere, condizione sociale, appartenenza etnica) e oggi soggetta ai condizionamenti delle forze sociali piu aggressive e potenti. Tuttavia merita ricercarne le trasformazioni morfologiche e relazionali in quegli spazi detti 'loose' che sopravvivono alla logica della rendita e della cementificazione. Sono i luoghi della liminalita, particolarmente significativi nelle periferie urbane, e dei quali si riassumono nel saggio le possibili differenze e caratteristiche
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Papers by Elisabetta Forni