Negotiating the middle-class city. Housing and equipping post-war Turin, 1950-1980

The article explores the pattern of fragmented public spaces and collective facilities built in Turin between the 1950s and the 1970s, as the result of negotiation processes conducted between public institutions, private developers and professionals over the design and construction of housing devoted to the middle-class. Considering three developments – the complexes of Moncalieri and Collegno located at the outskirts of the city, and the new residential district of Quartiere Ippodromo in the southern sector – the article observes public facilities as the outcome of a set of different policies, mirroring the encounter between an heterogeneous set of actors and initiatives: from the scale of the playground close to the condominio to the public park at the edge of the new residential sectors, from the neighborhood’s kindergartens and primary schools, to the community and sports centers in the new districts. During this period, houses devoted to middle-class and new public facilities were negotiated, designed and built simultaneously, bringing light to the fragmented process of construction that generated post-war Turin, implemented through series of punctual agreements between private and public actors. Through an uncommon approach, that aims at combining traditional sources with the analysis of less explored planning tools (mainly the convenzioni urbanistiche and the piani di lottizzazione), the article contributes to a deeper understanding of the development of post-war Italian cities, by looking at the aggregation of houses and facilities as two dimensions of inhabiting/living – closely interrelated in middle class housing – that together contribute to actively build the “ordinary” city. Nowadays this interrelationship still represents a focal point of social cohesion, urban quality and liveability

Learning spaces as urban places: issues and perspectives

Community services and facility spaces were largely designed and built over the last century, during the golden age of welfare state politics in Europe. They have helped shape and structure everyday spaces within different contexts, including urban and metropolitan areas through extension projects, public and private initiatives, and widespread interventions in small cities and rural areas. These everyday infrastructures are articulated in schools, sports facilities, civic centers, libraries,..

Negotiating the middle-class city. Housing and equipping post-war Turin, 1950-1980

The article explores the pattern of fragmented public spaces and collective facilities built in Turin between the 1950s and the 1970s, as the result of negotiation processes conducted between public institutions, private developers and professionals over the design and construction of housing devoted to the middle-class. Considering three developments – the complexes of Moncalieri and Collegno located at the outskirts of the city, and the new residential district of Quartiere Ippodromo in the southern sector – the article observes public facilities as the outcome of a set of different policies, mirroring the encounter between an heterogeneous set of actors and initiatives: from the scale of the playground close to the condominio to the public park at the edge of the new residential sectors, from the neighborhood’s kindergartens and primary schools, to the community and sports centers in the new districts. During this period, houses devoted to middle-class and new public facilities were negotiated, designed and built simultaneously, bringing light to the fragmented process of construction that generated post-war Turin, implemented through series of punctual agreements between private and public actors. Through an uncommon approach, that aims at combining traditional sources with the analysis of less explored planning tools (mainly the convenzioni urbanistiche and the piani di lottizzazione), the article contributes to a deeper understanding of the development of post-war Italian cities, by looking at the aggregation of houses and facilities as two dimensions of inhabiting/living – closely interrelated in middle class housing – that together contribute to actively build the “ordinary” city. Nowadays this interrelationship still represents a focal point of social cohesion, urban quality and liveability

Negotiating the middle-class city

The article explores the pattern of fragmented public spaces and collective facilities built in Turin between the 1950s and the 1970s, as the result of negotiation processes conducted between public institutions, private developers and professionals over the design and construction of housing devoted to the middle-class. Considering three developments – the complexes of Moncalieri and Collegno located at the outskirts of the city, and the new residential district of Quartiere Ippodromo in the southern sector – the article observes public facilities as the outcome of a set of different policies, mirroring the encounter between an heterogeneous set of actors and initiatives: from the scale of the playground close to the condominio to the public park at the edge of the new residential sectors, from the neighborhood’s kindergartens and primary schools, to the community and sports centers in the new districts. During this period, houses devoted to middle-class and new public facilities were negotiated, designed and built simultaneously, bringing light to the fragmented process of construction that generated post-war Turin, implemented through series of punctual agreements between private and public actors. Through an uncommon approach, that aims at combining traditional sources with the analysis of less explored planning tools (mainly the convenzioni urbanistiche and the piani di lottizzazione), the article contributes to a deeper understanding of the development of post-war Italian cities, by looking at the aggregation of houses and facilities as two dimensions of inhabiting/living – closely interrelated in middle class housing – that together contribute to actively build the “ordinary” city. Nowadays this interrelationship still represents a focal point of social cohesion, urban quality and liveability

Role of MUC1 rs4072037 polymorphism and serum KL-6 levels in patients with antisynthetase syndrome

Mucin 1/Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is proposed as a serum biomarker of several interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), including connective tissue disorders associated with ILD. However, it has not been studied in a large cohort of Caucasian antisynthetase syndrome (ASSD) patients. Consequently, we assessed the role of MUC1 rs4072037 and serum KL-6 levels as a potential biomarker of ASSD susceptibility and for the differential diagnosis between patients with ILD associated with ASSD (ASSD-ILD +) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). 168 ASSD patients (149 ASSD-ILD +), 174 IPF patients and 523 healthy controls were genotyped for MUC1 rs4072037 T > C. Serum KL-6 levels were determined in a subgroup of individuals. A significant increase of MUC1 rs4072037 CC genotype and C allele frequencies was observed in ASSD patients compared to healthy controls. Likewise, MUC1 rs4072037 TC and CC genotypes and C allele frequencies were significantly different between ASSD-ILD+ and IPF patients. Additionally, serum KL-6 levels were significantly higher in ASSD patients compared to healthy controls. Nevertheless, no differences in serum KL-6 levels were found between ASSD-ILD+ and IPF patients. Our results suggest that the presence of MUC1 rs4072037 C allele increases the risk of ASSD and it could be a useful genetic biomarker for the differential diagnosis between ASSD-ILD+ and IPF patients