Dalla democrazia proprietaria all’abitare imprenditoriale: seduzioni, contraddizioni e derive del neoliberalismo urbano

Abstract

Referring to the post-recession economies of the Western world, and particularly of the United States, Great Britain and Italy, this article offers an interpretation of the housing question within today’s regimes of urban neoliberalism centred on the thesis of the shift from the pre-crisis model of ‘homeowning democracy’ to the post-crisis pattern of entrepreneurial dwelling illustrated by the explosion of the home-sharing economy. In doing so, it is showed how both contingent and long-term contradictions in the housing markets of capitalist economies have the effect of generating a divisive politics of inter-communitarian rivalry within post-recession urban societies. The article concludes by calling for a radical reform of existing, neoliberal-oriented housing policy, with special reference to Italy.