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Material Changes, Symbolic Transformations: Commercial Gentrification and Urban Change in Turin, Italy

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Diversity of Urban Inclusivity

Part of the book series: International Perspectives in Geography ((IPG,volume 20))

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Abstract

The chapter focuses on the relevance of commercial transformations in processes of urban change. By investigating the modifications in the commercial and recreational landscape of a semi-central neighbourhood of the city of Turin, a previous one-company-town in the north-west of Italy, the chapter argues that commercial changes have a major role in challenging established uses and representations, affecting the urban spaces in both symbolic and material terms and possibly supporting dynamics of socio-spatial inequalities. Even if the relevance of commercial premises in shaping how a neighbourhood is perceived, described and used in everyday life has been acknowledged and the development of urban landscapes of leisure and consumption is currently a key dynamic in processes of urban upgrading, only in recent times have scholars started wondering how these processes may play into broader dynamics of urban change and social inequality. The centrality that consumption, leisure and entertainment are acquiring in post-industrial cities urges to closely investigate these processes and their social, cultural and economic implications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

    Magda Bolzoni

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  1. Magda Bolzoni
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Correspondence to Magda Bolzoni .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate school of Geography, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan

    Toshio Mizuuchi

  2. Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Geerhardt Kornatowski

  3. Department of Japanese Cultures, Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan

    Taku Fukumoto

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Bolzoni, M. (2023). Material Changes, Symbolic Transformations: Commercial Gentrification and Urban Change in Turin, Italy. In: Mizuuchi, T., Kornatowski, G., Fukumoto, T. (eds) Diversity of Urban Inclusivity. International Perspectives in Geography, vol 20. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8528-7_5

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