Fostering participation in scampia - Let's make a piazza

We present a case-study of social innovation to counter deprivation and social exclusion in Naples. The case, studied within the SINGOCOM research project, is located in Scampia, an extremely deprived neighbourhood on the northern outskirts of Naples. A network of civic associations, Piazziamoci, is trying to build a 'piazza' (square), as a place where the local community can meet and experience collective initiatives, with the aim of (re)constructing social relations, especially among young people. On the one hand, these social relations are inhibited and corrupted by criminality and, on the other hand, by neglectful city planning.The civic network succeeded in enhancing local social capital and fighting social exclusion; furthermore, it developed a planning project for the 'piazza' through direct citizen participation. The use of ICTs had a relevant role in community networking. The article assesses the socially innovative content of the Piazziamoci project and its impact on neighbourhood dynamics, taking into consideration the intolerable living conditions in the neighbourhood, and the difficult relations between the network and the municipal government.