Crisis and urban shrinkage from an Italian perspective.

This chapter discusses the concept of urban shrinkage from an analytical perspective, a concept widely addressed in international debates but much less so in Italy, bearing in mind the spatial trends seen in the country. The findings will be discussed with consideration of two main aspects: with regard to the recent economic crisis, which originated from the burst of the housing bubble but rapidly evolved, as abroad, into a generalised recession throughout the country; and in light of the domestic spatial planning system, its traditional features, and more recent changes. An attempt will thus be made to understand the extent to which spatial policies in Italy have been made to face the recent global crisis and the possible urban shrinkage resulting from it.