Can Spatial Planning Be Transformative? Regenerating the Commons and Commoning Regeneration: The Case of the Ex-Isotta Fraschini Factory in Saronno, Italy
By: Eleonora Gregori Ferri and Sara Lorenzini
References
- Aernouts, N. (2020). ‘Designing’ commons: exploring interplays between commons, space and spatial design. Urban Design International, 25, 63–76. 10.1057/s41289-019-00107-4
- Agrawal, A., Erbaugh, J., & Pradhan, N. (2023). The Commons. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 48, 531–558. 10.1146/annurev-environ-112320-113509
- Agostini, S. (2022). Ambiente. Territorio. Città: Quando le risorse diventano emergenze. Maggioli Editore.
- Albrechts, L. (2012). Reframing strategic spatial planning by using a co-production perspective. Planning Theory, 12(1), 46–63. 10.1177/1473095212452722
- Alfaro-d’Alençon, P., & Torrent, H. (2020). From actors to space, through processes Reflections from co-production and commoning. Journal of Science Communication, 19(04), 1–9. 10.22323/2.19040306
- Aligica, P. D., & Tarko, V. (2013). Co-production, polycentricity, and value heterogeneity: the Ostroms’ public choice institutionalism revisited. American Political Science Review, 107(4), 726–741. 10.1017/S0003055413000427
- Ansell, C., Sørensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2024). The democratic quality of co-creation: A theoretical exploration. Public Policy and Administration, 39(2), 149–170. 10.1177/09520767231170715
- Arena, G. (1997). Introduzione all’amministrazione condivisa. Studi parlamentari e di politica costituzionale, (117–118), 29–65.
- Arena, G. (2006). Cittadini attivi: Un altro modo di pensare all’Italia. Laterza.
- Bartolini, A. (2022).
Urbanistica . In Enciclopedia del Diritto. I Tematici (Vol. III, pp. 1260–1297). Giuffrè. - Bauwens, T., Wade, R., & Burke, M. (2024). The energy commons: A systematic review, paradoxes, and ways forward. Energy Research and Social Science, 118. 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103776
- Becker, S., Naumann, M., & Moss, T. (2016). Between co-production and commons: understanding initiatives to reclaim urban energy provision in Berlin and Hamburg. Urban Research & Practice, 10(1), 63–85. 10.1080/17535069.2016.1156735
- Benevolo, L. (1963). Le origini dell’urbanistica moderna. Laterza.
- Bianchi, I., Pera, M., Calvet-Mir, L., Villamayor, S., Ferreri, M., Reguero, N., & Maestre Andrés, S. (2022). Urban commons and the local state: co-production between enhancement and co-optation. Territory, Politics, Governance, 12(9), 1333–1352. 10.1080/21622671.2022.2108491
- Bombardelli, M. (Ed.). (2016). Prendersi cura dei beni comuni per uscire dalla crisi: Nuove risorse e nuovi modelli di amministrazione. Editoriale Scientifica.
- Borch, C., & Kornberger, M. (2015). Urban Commons: Rethinking the City. Routledge. 10.4324/9781315780597
- Boscolo, E. (2014). Oltre il territorio: il suolo quale matrice ambientale e bene comune. Urbanistica e appalti, 2, 129–146.
- Boscolo, E. (2017).
Nuove dimensioni della pianificazione comunale . In F. Di Lascio & F. Giglioni (Eds.), La rigenerazione di beni e spazi urbani. Contributo al diritto delle città (pp. 143–176). Il Mulino. - Boscolo, E. (2024). Un catalogo di principi (operanti) per l’urbanistica contemporanea. Rivista giuridica dell’edilizia, 2, 85–124.
- Boucquey, N., & Fly, J. (2021). Contested Commoning: Urban Fishing Spaces and Community Wellbeing. International Journal of the Commons, 15(1), 305–319. 10.5334/ijc.1095
- Bussu, S., Bua, A., Dean, R., & Smith, G. (2022). Embedding participatory governance. Critical Policy Studies, 16(2), 133–145. 10.1080/19460171.2022.2053179
- Campbell, S., & Fainstein, S. (Eds.). (1996). Readings in Planning Theory. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
- Cannavò, P., & Zupi, M. (2019).
A pact for the territory: towards a collaborative governance of transformation processes . In The Co-Cities Open Book for Just and Inclusive Cities (pp. 80–83).https://commoning.city/the-co-cities-open-book/ - Carlone, T., Gatta, F., Léonardi, C., & Vassallo, I. (2022). Regenerate the urban space as a common/generate commons through urban space: A reflection on the comparison of urban commoning tools in France and Italy. City, Territory and Architecture, 9(21). 10.1186/s40410-022-00157-2
- Chiti, E. (2017).
La rigenerazione di spazi e beni pubblici: Una nuova funzione amministrativa? In F. Di Lascio & F. Giglioni (Eds.), La rigenerazione di beni e spazi urbani: Contributo al diritto delle città (pp. 15–40). Il Mulino. - Cornelius, N., & Wallace, J. (2010). Cross-Sector Partnerships: City Regeneration and Social Justice. Journal of Business Ethics, 94, 71–84.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/29789686 - Danger, R. (1933). Cours d’Urbanisme, Technique des plans d’aménagement de villes. Librairie de l’Enseignement Techniques.
- De Angelis, M. (2017). Omnia Sunt Communia: On the Commons and the Transformation to Postcapitalism. Zed Books. 10.5040/9781350221611
- De Angelis, M., & Harvie, D. (2013).
The Commons . In M. Parker, G. Cheney, V. Fournier & C. Land (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Alternative Organisation (pp. 280–294). Routledge. - Donati, D. (2024).
Dai beni comuni al benessere comunitario. Evidenze, incertezze e limiti di un concetto sotto osservazione . In D. Donati (Ed.), La cura dei beni comuni tra teoria e prassi. Un’analisi interdisciplinare (pp. 9–36). FrancoAngeli.https://series.francoangeli.it/index.php/oa/catalog/book/1191 - Fainstein, S. (2010). The Just City. Cornell University Press.
- Festa, D. (2017).
Les communs urbains . In M. Cornu, F. Orsi, & J. Rochfeld (Eds.), Dictionnaire des bien communs. PUF, 285–292. - Foster, S. R. (2011). Collective action and the urban commons. Notre Dame Law Review, 87(1), 57–134.
https://ssrn.com/abstract=1791767 - Foster, S. R., & Iaione, C. (2016). The city as a commons. Yale Law & Policy Review, 34(2), 281–349. 10.2139/ssrn.2653084
- Fournier, V. (2013). Commoning: on the social organisation of the commons. M@n@gement, 16(4), 433–453. Retrieved from:
https://management-aims.com/index.php/mgmt/article/view/4020 - Gardini, G. (2020). Alla ricerca della “città giusta”. La rigenerazione come metodo di pianificazione urbana. Federalismi.it, 24, 44–95.
- Geagea, D., Kaika, M., & Dell’Angelo, J. (2023). Recommoning water: Crossing thresholds under citizen-driven remunicipalisation. Urban Studies, 60(16), 3294–3311. 10.1177/00420980231169612
- Giannini, M. S. (1983).
Pianificazione . In Enciclopedia del Diritto (pp. 629–634). Giuffrè. - Gibson-Graham, J. K., Cameron, J., & Healy, S. (2016).
Commoning as a postcapitalist politics . In A. Amin & P. Howell (Eds.), Releasing the Commons. Rethinking the futures of the commons. Routledge. 10.4324/9781315673172 - Giusti, A. (2018). La rigenerazione urbana. Temi, questioni e approcci nell’urbanistica di nuova generazione. Editoriale Scientifica.
- Giusti, A. (2023).
Che cos’è la rigenerazione urbana . In P. Urbani (Ed.), Riprendiamoci la città. Manuale d’uso per la gestione della rigenerazione urbana (pp. 17–38). iFEL Fondazione ANCI. - Granger, R. (2010). What now for urban regeneration? Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Urban Design and Planning, 163(1), 9–16. 10.1680/udap.2010.163.1.9
- Gregori Ferri, E. (2024).
L’uso del suolo e la prospettiva della rigenerazione urbana e territoriale . In S. Valaguzza (Ed.), Esplorazioni di diritto dell’ambiente (pp. 127–153). Editoriale Scientifica. - Guzzi, F. F. (2016). Il contenimento del consumo di suolo alla luce della recente legislazione nazionale e regionale. Rivista giuridica di urbanistica, 4, 25–55.
- Harvey, D. (2012). Rebel cities. From the Right to the City to Urban Revolution. Verso.
- Iaione, C. (2018).
L’azione collettiva urbana tra partenariato pubblico-comunità e pubblico-comunità-privato . In P. Chirulli & C. Iaione (Eds.), La Co-Città: Diritto urbano e politiche pubbliche per i beni comuni e la rigenerazione urbana (pp. 17–32). Jovene. - Kaika, M., & Ruggiero, L. (2015). Class Meets Land: The Social Mobilization of Land as Catalyst for Urban Change, Antipode, 47(3), 708–729. 10.1111/anti.12139
- La Rosa, D., Pivitera, R., Barbarossa, L., & La Greca, P. (2017). Assessing spatial benefits of urban regeneration programs in a highly vulnerable context: A case study in Catania, Italy. Landscape and Urban Planning, 157, 180–192. 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.05.031
- Lanzani, A. (2024). Rigenerazione urbana e territoriale al plurale. Itinerari in un campo sfocato. Laterza.
- Lanzoni, L., & Martínez, M. J. P. (2024).
The Regeneration of the Urban Commons: An Opportunity for Circular Cities . In E. Mangi, W. Chen, T. Heath, & A. Cheshmehzangi (Eds.), Innovative Public Participation Practices for Sustainable Urban Regeneration. Urban Sustainability. Springer. 10.1007/978-981-99-9595-0_4 - Laval, C., & Dardot, P. (2015). Común: ensayo sobre la revolución en el siglo XXI. Gedisa editorial.
- Le Corbusier (2014). La Carta d’Atene. Con un discorso preliminare di Jean Giraudoux. Ghibli Editore.
- Lee, D., & Scholten, N. (2024). Co-production of privately owned public space: Who, why, when, and how? URBAN DESIGN International, 29, 123–133. 10.1057/s41289-024-00239-2
- Lepenies, R., Hüesker, F., Beck, S., & Brugnach, M. (2018). Discovering the Political Implications of Coproduction in Water Governance. Water, 10(10),
1475 . 10.3390/w10101475 - Linebaugh, P. (2007). Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberties and Commons for All. University of California Press. 10.1525/9780520932708
- Löffler, E., & Bovaird, T. (Eds.). (2021). The Palgrave Handbook of Co-Production of Public Services and Outcomes. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. 10.1007/978-3-030-53705-0
- Lorenzini, S., & von Jacobi, N. (2024). Whose forest? A two-level collective action perspective on struggles to reach polycentric governance. Forest Policy and Economics, 158. 10.1016/j.forpol.2023.103093
- Lucarelli, A. (2018). Biens communs. Contribution à une théorie juridique. (translated from Italian by J. Mercier and T. Perroud; translation reviewed by E. Bottini). Droit et société, 98(1), 141–157. 10.3917/drs.098.0141
- Luke, N., & Kaika, M. (2018). Ripping the heart out of Ancoats: Collective action to defend infrastructures of social reproduction against gentrification. Antipode, 51(2), 579–600. 10.1111/anti.12468
- Maddalena, P. (2011). L’ambiente e le sue componenti come beni comuni in proprietà collettiva della presente e delle future generazioni. Federalismi, 25,
1 .https://www.federalismi.it/nv14/articolo-documento.cfm?artid=19328 - Madison, M. J., Frischmann, B. M., & Strandburg, K. J. (2010). Constructing Commons in the Cultural Environment. 95 Cornell L. Rev., 657.
https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol95/iss4/10 - Marcuse, P. (2009). From critical urban theory to the right to the city. City, 13(2–3), 185–197. 10.1080/13604810902982177
- Marella, M. R. (2013). Pratiche del comune: Per una nuova idea di cittadinanza. Lettera internazionale, 116(2), 25–28.
- Mattei, U. (2011). Beni comuni: Un manifesto. Editori Laterza.
- McMillan, R., Spronk, S., & Caswell, C. (2014). Popular participation, equity, and co-production of water and sanitation services in Caracas, Venezuela. Water International, 39(2), 201–215. 10.1080/02508060.2014.886844
- Micciarelli, G. (2017). Introduzione all’uso civico e collettivo urbano: La gestione diretta dei beni comuni urbani. Munus, 1, 135–161.
- Micciarelli, G. (2022).
Hacking the legal: The commons between the governance paradigm and inspirations drawn from the “living history” of collective land use . In F. Savini, A. Ferreira, & K. C. von Schönfeld (Eds.), PostGrowth Planning: Cities Beyond the Market Economy (pp. 112–125). Routledge. 10.4324/9781003160984-12 - Miccichè, C. (2018). Beni comuni: risorse per lo sviluppo sostenibile. Editoriale Scientifica.
- Mitlin, D. (2008). With and beyond the state – co-production as a route to political influence, power and transformation for grassroots organizations. Environment and Urbanization, 20(2), 339–360. 10.1177/0956247808096117
- Moroni, S. (2015).
Il suolo è un bene comune . In E. Somaini (Ed.), I beni comuni oltre i luoghi comuni (pp. 163–176). IBL Libri. - Moskowitz, P. E. (2018). How to kill a city: Gentrification, inequality, and the fight for the neighborhood. Nation Books.
- O’Brien, K., & Hochachka, G. (2010). Integral Adaptation to Climate Change. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 5(1), 89–102.
- O’Brien, K., & Sygna, L. (2013). Responding to climate change: The three spheres of transformation. In Proceedings of Transformation in a Changing Climate,
19–21 June 2013 . (pp. 16–23).University of Oslo . - Osborne, S. P., Radnor, Z., & Strokosch, K. (2016). Co-production and the co-creation of value in public services: a suitable case for treatment? Public Management Review, 18(5), 639–653. 10.1080/14719037.2015.1111927
- Ostrom, E. (1996). Crossing the Great Divide: Co-production, Synergy, and Development. World Development, 24(6), 1073–1087. 10.1016/0305-750X(96)00023-X
- Pagliaroli, C. (2019). Disciplina transitoria della legge regionale lombarda sul contenimento del consumo di suolo: profili di incostituzionalità. Rivista Giuridica dell’Edilizia, 4, 853–862.
- Palermo, P. C. (2022). Il futuro dell’urbanistica post-riformista. Carocci Editore.
- Pera, M., Bianchi, I., & Salazar, Y. (2023).
The embeddedness of public-common institutions: the Citizen Assets Programme in Barcelona . In A. Bua & E. Bussu (Eds.), Reclaiming Participatory Governance. Routledge. - Pera, M., Lorenzini, S., Bianchi, I., & von Jacobi, N. (in press).
The emergence and unfolding of the democratic co-production of common goods . In G. Garzarelli & S. Lucciarini (Eds.), Co-production, institutions, and governance: Interdisciplinary and applied-level perspectives. Bloomsbury Academic. - Putini, A. (2023). Commoning the Cities? Active Citizenship and Urban Commons. Rivista Trimestrale di Scienza dell’Amministrazione, 1, 1–19. 10.32049/RTSA.2023.1.04
- Raco, M. (2005). Sustainable development, rolled-out neoliberalism and sustainable communities. Antipode, 37(2), 324–347. 10.1111/j.0066-4812.2005.00495.x
- Roberts, P. (2000).
The Evolution, Definition and Purpose of Urban Regeneration . In P. Roberts & H. Sykes (Eds.), Urban Regeneration. A Handbook (pp. 9–36). SAGE Publications Ltd. 10.4135/9781473921788 - Rodotà, S. (2011). Beni comuni e categorie giuridiche. Una rivisitazione necessaria. Questione giustizia, 5, 1–12. 10.3280/QG2011-005017
- Rodotà, S. (2018). I beni comuni: L’inaspettata rinascita degli usi collettivi (G. Preterossi & N. Capone, Eds.). La Scuola di Pitagora.
- Salvia, S., Bevilacqua, C., & Gullo, N. (2021). Manuale di diritto urbanistico. Wolters Kluwer.
- Salzano, E. (2009). Fondamenti di urbanistica. La storia e la norma (7th ed.). Laterza.
- Secchi, B. (2000). Prima lezione di urbanistica. Laterza.
- Shelby, H. (2022). Commoning or being commoned? Institutions, politics, and the role of the state in collective housing policy in Bangkok, Thailand. Planning Theory, 21(4), 333–353. 10.1177/14730952211037372
- Stavrides, S. (2022). Spazio comune: Città come commoning (Original title: Common space: City as communing). AgenziaX. (Original work published in English in 2016).
- Stella Richter, P. (2022). Diritto urbanistico. Manuale breve. Giuffrè.
- Thompson, M. (2015). Between boundaries: From commoning and guerrilla gardening to community land trust development in Liverpool. Antipode, 47(4), 1021–1042. 10.1111/anti.12154
- Tsavdaroglou, C., & Kaika, M. (2024). The second displacement of refugees: Urban regeneration against commoning practices in Belgrade’s Waterfront. Antipode, 56(1), 328–352. 10.1111/anti.12971
- Urbani, P. (1992).
Urbanistica . Enciclopedia del Diritto (ed. 1992, Vol. XLV, pp. 868–883). Giuffrè. - Urbani, P. (2013). Conformazione dei suoli e finalità economico-sociali. Urbanistica e Appalti, 3, 59–69.
- Urbani, P. (2023).
Introduzione . In P. Urbani (Ed.), Riprendiamoci la città. Manuale d’uso per la gestione della rigenerazione urbana (pp. 11–15). iFEL Fondazione ANCI. - Urbani, P. (2024). Lo stato dell’urbanistica. Viaggio nella disciplina e nella società. Giappichelli Editore.
- Van Assche, K., Beunen, R., Duineveld, M., & de Jong, H. (2013). Co-evolutions of planning and design: Risks and benefits of design perspectives in planning systems. Planning Theory, 12(2), 177–198. 10.1177/1473095212456771
- Villamayor-Tomas, S., Thiel, A., Amblard, L., Zikos, D., & Blanco, E. (2019). Diagnosing the role of the state for local collective action: Types of action situations and policy instruments. Environmental Science & Policy, 97, 44–57. 10.1016/j.envsci.2019.03.009
- Voorberg, W. H., Bekkers, V. J., & Tummers, L. G. (2015). A systematic review of co-creation and co-production: Embarking on the social innovation journey. Public Management Review, 17(9), 1333–1357. 10.1080/14719037.2014.930505
- While, A., Jonas, A. E. G., & Gibbs, D. (2004). The environment and the entrepreneurial city: Searching for the urban “sustainability fix” in Manchester and Leeds. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 28(3), 549–569. 10.1111/j.0309-1317.2004.00535.x
- Whitaker, G. P. (1980). Co-production: Citizen Participation in Service Delivery. Public Administration Review, 40(3), 240–246. 10.2307/975377
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ijc.1608 | Journal eISSN: 1875-0281
Language: English
Page range: 451 - 467
Submitted on: Jun 16, 2025
Accepted on: May 31, 2026
Published on: Sep 8, 2026
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
© 2026 Eleonora Gregori Ferri, Sara Lorenzini, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.