Local Authorities and Pandemic Responses in Perspective. Reflections from the Case of Milan

Abstract

While in general the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have been analysed in academic literature from many points of view, such as the medical, occupational, social, economic and psychological ones, much less attention has been paid to the systems of norms which, in an emergency situation, have been elaborated and applied, and to their relationship with space. In order to explore this gap, the paper will propose to open a discussion on the role and effects of systems of pandemic regulation at local level, proposing a research framework and some very first applications to a specific case, the City of Milan in Northern Italy, an area badly hit by the pandemic. The paper thus moves from three research questions, related to questions of framing, governance, and timescale of the effects, as the main interpretive perspectives to understand and conceptualise the relationship between norms, actors, and decision-making processes, with a specific focus on the spatial realm. While the case in point chosen is the City of Milan, the research questions open to a wider debate, and to possible cross-context comparisons with other urban areas.