The Endless Reconstruction and Modern Disasters: The Management of Urban Space Through an Earthquake – Messina, 1908–2018

Description

This is a study on the long-lasting consequences of a disastrous earthquake that hit the city of Messina, Sicily, in 1908. The quake killed about 86,000 people, and destroyed one of the most important portal cities of the Mediterranean. The book investigates both the forces that shaped that event and made it possible – firstly, urban speculation processes at the end of the nineteenth century – and the role of that occurrence in creating a complex event that, on the one hand, accelerated trends and tendencies that were already in motion; and, on the other, produced an entirely new social space based on social separation and the raise of a widespread marginal class. Such a class developed within urban borders and spaces that, over the decades, grew according to the same logic and directions that followed the reconstruction. Especially the shacks, still a visible presence in the city, represent the lieu of reproduction both of a class and the whole of the social relations stemming from the disaster. It shows how key-concepts in contemporary scientific analysis, such as “shock economy” and “economy of disaster,” can be aptly backdated. Above all, this study broadens the normal analyses of disasters by showing the stratification of institutional techniques and economic forces that, over the decades, intervened and (re-)shaped the site of a disaster and its social structure. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction (Domenica Farinella, Pietro Saitta)....Pages 1-17 Researching Disasters: Theories for a Case Study (Domenica Farinella, Pietro Saitta)....Pages 19-41 History Seen Through the Slums: The Southern Question and the Current Crisis (Domenica Farinella, Pietro Saitta)....Pages 43-97 Messina, From the Earthquake to the Present (Domenica Farinella, Pietro Saitta)....Pages 99-153 Working and Dreaming at the Margins of the City (Domenica Farinella, Pietro Saitta)....Pages 155-198 Formal and Informal Housing in Today’s City (Domenica Farinella, Pietro Saitta)....Pages 199-231 Messina Today: Representation, Identity, and Mobilization for Change (Domenica Farinella, Pietro Saitta)....Pages 233-271 Conclusion (Domenica Farinella, Pietro Saitta)....Pages 273-286 Back Matter ....Pages 287-290