Occupations of Housing and Social Centers in Rome: A Durable Resistance to Neoliberalism and Institutionalization

Abstract

Squatting for housing and social centers has a long tradition in Rome since the end of the 1960s. By the mid-1970s, the occupation of buildings to set up political and social activities became part of the repertoire of left radical movements. In this chapter a set of 34 squatted spaces for housing and social centers in Rome active in 2014 is analysed. Squatting practices thus provide a lens to interpret the evolution of urban struggles, urban development and the changing sociopolitical contexts. Furthermore, Mudu and Rossini examine the role played by the processes of neutralization, co-optation, normalization and contention that explain the institutionalization of squatting in the city of Rome.