Participation in non-market housing as collective city-making: Revisiting Bologna, 1962–77

This essay examines architectural histories of Bologna from 1962–77 focusing on inhabitant involvement in collective housing production. ‘Red Bologna’ in this period has been cited as a politically progressive example of participation in urban administration and planning. This dominant architectural narrative is indeed compelling, and has contemporary relevance, due to Bologna’s concerted city-scale attempts to limit economic speculation and provide low-cost dwellings at a time of extreme housing crisis. We offer new perspectives by analysing three sites of participation which, while concurrent, have not previously been addressed together. This essay re-reads these cases, drawing on Anarchist perspectives – a tradition present in Italy but often overlooked in favour of official Marxist or autonomous Marxist currents of the day – to explore questions of sociality, social hierarchy and property. It therefore contributes to contemporary debates around the democratisation of housing and the possibilities offered for self-organisation and wider urban engagement.