Papers by Carlotta Caciagli
This article aims to explore the forms of collective actions that are emerging in new sectors of ... more This article aims to explore the forms of collective actions that are emerging in new sectors of digital capitalism. In particular, it enquires into the mobilisation of food delivery workers that has been developing since 2016 in four Italian cities: Milan, Turin, Bologna and Florence. Despite the high level of pre-carisation and atomisation that characterise this subset of gig economy jobs, the so-called riders were able to organise into self-organised workers' collectives, which not only gave rise to many protest events, but also drew the attention of the institutions and the media. What are the conditions and the strategies that made this possible? And, more broadly, what does this case tell us about the possibility of labour activism in gig economy work? We argue that the high level of activation of food delivery workers is to be related to their capability to provide resources for reconstructing social ties among workers and, in turn, for translating them into political engagement and contentious action. This is realised through the combination of three factors that will be scrutinised in the paper. The analysis points out that although precarisation creates significant obstacles to organisation and mobilisation, collective action does actually take place also in the gig economy, in certain conditions.
This paper aims to contribute to the scholarly work on the internal dynamics of contemporary hous... more This paper aims to contribute to the scholarly work on the internal dynamics of contemporary housing movements. In particular, it explores the spatial strategies through which squat inhabitants change the configuration of the squat to turn an abandoned building into a house for multiple families. The main argument is that these strategies, requiring horizontal participation and solidarity, catalyse the transformation of a sum of people dispossessed of the house into a collective, political subject. Therefore , the author proposes to analyse housing squats as "educational sites of resistance". The findings come from the author's participant observation of Rome's housing movement organisation Coordinamento Cittadino di Lotta per la casa. In addition to providing empirical knowledge, the paper aims to offer inputs for investigating to what extent the process of politicisation is shaped by the space and what constitute the peculiarities of a so-recomposed collective subject.
In the prolonged afermath of the economic crisis begun in 2008, the importance of Housing Rights ... more In the prolonged afermath of the economic crisis begun in 2008, the importance of Housing Rights Movements is gaining a new momentum in metropolises like Rome. Here the spaces they squat for inhabitng purposes represent more than emergency shelters for people in a conditon of severe housing deprivaton within a proft-oriented and individualistc cityscape. Indeed, they enact a “right to stay put” into the city and contrast the socio-spatal marginalizaton of the dispossessed urban dwellers in three main ways. Firstly, they subtract spaces from the speculaton and from the top down model of urban regeneraton. Secondly, they allow marginal people not to be relegated out of the consolidated urban fabric, and to be visible as social and politcal subjects. Thirdly, they provide a set of grassroots actvites that confgure alternatve models of sociability, contentious politcs and communing inside neighborhoods afected by diverse forms of deprivaton. In this respect, housing squats can be interpreted as urban commons that, besides providing emergency housing, contrast gentrifcaton and
artculate a renewed “right to the city”. In order to empirically support this theoretical framework, we will discuss the case of the squat Porto Fluviale, located in the central area of OstIense and occupied since 2003. The alternatve housing paterns it has been developing, and the role it plays in the neighborhood, shows the diverse ways in which Housing Rights Movements conceive and practice the 'right to stay put' in the urban landscape.
This ossue of Quaderni focuses on anti-gentrification practices and challenges which have been on... more This ossue of Quaderni focuses on anti-gentrification practices and challenges which have been on the rise in public debates in many cities of the European South in recent years. It presents a variety of practices carried out in several European cities and presented by activists and/or by academics who met and engaged in a collective dialogue on the topic In the first part of the Quaderni, activists highlight their experience of involvement in practices against evictions, austerity, commodification of urban space for touristic uses and speculation in various cities. In particular, they were asked to
share their experience, repertoire of practices and proposals for action. In
the second part of the issue, scholars stress the theoretical epistemological challenges, spotlight the ambiguities, contradictions and conflicts that this subject presents. In some cases, the researchers locate themselves halfway between academia and activism, critically engaging in conversation with activists, or directly involved in housing protest and/or alternative housing policy design. The result is a polysemy of voices, a collective effort, that enrich our understanding of what it means to resist gentrification.
This paper scrutinises the phenomenon of collective squatting for housing in Rome (Italy), which ... more This paper scrutinises the phenomenon of collective squatting for housing in Rome (Italy), which has reached remarkable proportions and developed new characteristics since the start of the 2008 crisis.
Based upon two pieces of ethnographic research within the housing movement organisations Coordinamento Cittadino di Lotta per la Casa (Urban Coordination of Housing Struggles) and Blocchi Precari Metropolitani (Precarious Metropolitan Block), the authors aim to enlarge empirical knowledge of the case under study and provide renewed analytical instruments for understanding housing mobilisations. These organisations appear to be more than grassroots
approaches to housing deprivation; they also represent alternative forms of social reproduction in post-welfare neoliberal cities. Indeed, squats configure themselves as sites for broader political elaboration. For this reason, we propose to analyse housing squatting using the notion of ‘urban commons’. The introduction of this notion to analyse housing movements helps in the theoretical elaboration of a re-appraised ‘right to the city’, in line with current urban challenges.
Keywords: Housing; Squatting; Urban movements; Commons; ‘Right to the city’
Book Reviews by Carlotta Caciagli
How and why do squatting movements rise, fall, and rise again all over the Europe? The Urban Poli... more How and why do squatting movements rise, fall, and rise again all over the Europe? The Urban Politics of Squatters' Movements is the systematic attempt to answer these crucial questions, providing rich insight into squatting practices within a geographically broad and historically deep perspective. The authors of this collection, all involved in the Squatting Europe Kollective network (SqEK), explore nine European cities that have been sites of enduring squatting movements from 1960 until today, shedding light on cycles of protests, waves of mobilizations , and processes of institutionalization. Big metropolitan areas scattered in all Europe (Rome, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, and Copenhagen) are analyzed along with smaller urban areas (Seville, Rotterdam, and Brighton); this allows authors to retrace common features between northern and southern towns as well as between cities with different size. With variegated empirical materials and comparative perspective that seeks to gather different cases together, the volume edited by Martínez is a challenging, stimulating contribution to the field of urban and social movements studies. In all the cases squatting implies the use of a building (for living or for performing activities) without the consent of the owner (Pruijt, 2013) but it occurs through different rhythms, forms of expressions, goals, and performances. The book accounts for all these specificities without renouncing to inscribe them into
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Papers by Carlotta Caciagli
artculate a renewed “right to the city”. In order to empirically support this theoretical framework, we will discuss the case of the squat Porto Fluviale, located in the central area of OstIense and occupied since 2003. The alternatve housing paterns it has been developing, and the role it plays in the neighborhood, shows the diverse ways in which Housing Rights Movements conceive and practice the 'right to stay put' in the urban landscape.
share their experience, repertoire of practices and proposals for action. In
the second part of the issue, scholars stress the theoretical epistemological challenges, spotlight the ambiguities, contradictions and conflicts that this subject presents. In some cases, the researchers locate themselves halfway between academia and activism, critically engaging in conversation with activists, or directly involved in housing protest and/or alternative housing policy design. The result is a polysemy of voices, a collective effort, that enrich our understanding of what it means to resist gentrification.
Based upon two pieces of ethnographic research within the housing movement organisations Coordinamento Cittadino di Lotta per la Casa (Urban Coordination of Housing Struggles) and Blocchi Precari Metropolitani (Precarious Metropolitan Block), the authors aim to enlarge empirical knowledge of the case under study and provide renewed analytical instruments for understanding housing mobilisations. These organisations appear to be more than grassroots
approaches to housing deprivation; they also represent alternative forms of social reproduction in post-welfare neoliberal cities. Indeed, squats configure themselves as sites for broader political elaboration. For this reason, we propose to analyse housing squatting using the notion of ‘urban commons’. The introduction of this notion to analyse housing movements helps in the theoretical elaboration of a re-appraised ‘right to the city’, in line with current urban challenges.
Keywords: Housing; Squatting; Urban movements; Commons; ‘Right to the city’
Link full download ebook: https://www.infoaut.org/metropoli/ebook-citta-spazi-abbandonati-autogestione
Book Reviews by Carlotta Caciagli
artculate a renewed “right to the city”. In order to empirically support this theoretical framework, we will discuss the case of the squat Porto Fluviale, located in the central area of OstIense and occupied since 2003. The alternatve housing paterns it has been developing, and the role it plays in the neighborhood, shows the diverse ways in which Housing Rights Movements conceive and practice the 'right to stay put' in the urban landscape.
share their experience, repertoire of practices and proposals for action. In
the second part of the issue, scholars stress the theoretical epistemological challenges, spotlight the ambiguities, contradictions and conflicts that this subject presents. In some cases, the researchers locate themselves halfway between academia and activism, critically engaging in conversation with activists, or directly involved in housing protest and/or alternative housing policy design. The result is a polysemy of voices, a collective effort, that enrich our understanding of what it means to resist gentrification.
Based upon two pieces of ethnographic research within the housing movement organisations Coordinamento Cittadino di Lotta per la Casa (Urban Coordination of Housing Struggles) and Blocchi Precari Metropolitani (Precarious Metropolitan Block), the authors aim to enlarge empirical knowledge of the case under study and provide renewed analytical instruments for understanding housing mobilisations. These organisations appear to be more than grassroots
approaches to housing deprivation; they also represent alternative forms of social reproduction in post-welfare neoliberal cities. Indeed, squats configure themselves as sites for broader political elaboration. For this reason, we propose to analyse housing squatting using the notion of ‘urban commons’. The introduction of this notion to analyse housing movements helps in the theoretical elaboration of a re-appraised ‘right to the city’, in line with current urban challenges.
Keywords: Housing; Squatting; Urban movements; Commons; ‘Right to the city’
Link full download ebook: https://www.infoaut.org/metropoli/ebook-citta-spazi-abbandonati-autogestione