The emerging role of cooperatives in the management of public housing in Italy. Opportunities and limitations of the ”Valorization-alternative-to-sale” policy in Lombardy

ABSTRACT

Many public housing units in Italy are vacant or in critical need of repair due to continuous political withdrawal and a structural lack of funds. To cover overheads with low rents – linked by law to the income of poor households – Italian public housing organizations and municipal authorities were turned into companies despite their welfare function and rely largely on the sale of properties to balance their budgets. In the context of protracted disinvestment in public housing, the paper adds to the growing body of research on cooperatives’ role in hybrid housing policies. By investigating the regional upscaling of a pioneering partnership in Milan, codified in the “Valorization-alternative-to-sale” law by the Lombardy regional government, we explore the opportunities and limitations of partnerships between public authorities and cooperatives for the management of public housing in alternative to the sale of the stock.

KEYWORDS:

• Public housing
• housing cooperatives
• Hybridities
• public private partnership
• Italy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Public housing in Italy can be owned and managed either by municipalities or by regional public housing companies.

2. We conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with: 11 workers from the two housing cooperatives involved in the project (decision-making, design, management); 7 tenants living in the Quattro Corti; 2 officers from the public administration; 1 volunteer from a local association based on the ground floor of the building; 2 researchers who investigated the Stadera neighborhood. Interviews were transcribed and analysed with qualitative methods.

3. Interviews included questions on the programs features in the Valorization alternative to sale umbrella, and data on programs approved and realized. Interviews were conducted directly by the authors. A follow up of the focus group required to provide from each local context significant cases, which were then discussed by the whole group. The focus group took place on October 25th 2022, lasting approximately half day (14:30-18:30). The discussion has been moderated by the authors and was recorded and transcribed.