Urban poverty and informality in Southern Europe: a view from Naples

Giovanni Laino and Mario Trifuoggi

Chapter 6 in A Modern Guide to Urban Poverty, 2026, pp 123-135 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This contribution explores urban poverty in Naples, positioning it within the broader historical and institutional context of southern European cities. By examining Naples’ unique socio-spatial layout, characterised by high informality and close proximity of different social groups, the analysis highlights the city's distinct dynamics of cohesion, differentiation, and exclusion. The famous metaphor of the porous city is revisited here to explain how Naples’ informal structures enable opportunities for disadvantaged groups, while also entrenching inequalities and ambivalent power dynamics. The discussion extends to the impact of recent urban transformations, particularly the effects of migration and tourism on the city's historic centre, showing how these global forces interact with local poverty. Ultimately, the chapter underscores that Naples’ urban poverty is not an anomaly of modernity but rather a manifestation of a specific mode of social regulation typical of southern Europe, offering insights into the ongoing challenges faced by cities in this region.

Keywords: Urban Poverty; Residential Segregation; Informality; Porosity; Touristification; Naples (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781800889682
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781800889699.00014 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 403 Forbidden

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:20870_7

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().