La nuova questione abitativa: dalla casa all’abitare

In Italy it's hard to develop a housing policy that is anything more than a building policy. The difficulty is even greater in the present circumstances, where it is essential to respond non only to the need for homes but also to the new forms of dwelling imposed by the social transformations and chenging lifestyles. It is partly because of this that the housing issue in Italy is a crucial way to observe the country and its modifications. In the 150 years since the unification of Italy down to the public institutions have been engaged, more or less directly, in coping with the "housing issue." In the '60 there was a convergence of interests between private enterprise and the masses of workers who had become urbanized, who both involved public intervention to build social housing. In the '90 and more the housing market change. Property values grew at annual net average rates of about 10%. Underpinnig this property cycle there are reason directly inherent in the economic system, in particular the process of restructuring of the production system. The process of financializing the property market, the withdrawal of the state from a policy of direct intervention, the sales of real state by the social security and welfare agencies and the progressive marginalization of the rental market are all parts of a complex picture which cannot be solved by a policy of simply building new housing. The housin issue calls for more than the construction of new homes.