Places that once mattered: sub-municipal contestability in Italian parliamentary elections within a post-Fordist city – the case of Turin

This study examines transformations in electoral contestability at the sub-municipal level in the city of Turin between 1972 and 2022, a period marked by profound economic, social and political change. Turin is approached as a representative case of a post-industrial city, having undergone significant electoral shifts, particularly in its historically working-class districts. Drawing on the theoretical perspective of the ‘geography of discontent’, the analysis focuses on how electoral configurations have evolved in those areas most affected by long-term socio-economic disadvantage. The paper reconstructs changes in voting structures over the long run and provides a detailed examination of electoral competition, volatility, and contestability at the neighbourhood level. The empirical analysis is based on original polling-station data collected throughout the entire period under review, which has been re-aggregated by district. This methodological approach overcomes the limitations of standard aggregate data and enables a fine-grained longitudinal comparison, offering a clearer understanding of how local electoral dynamics have developed over time.