Regional urbanization processes in contemporary Italy: beyond the city, from the country of one hundred cities

Over the last twenty years, a relevant amount of research in Italy has been dedicated to explore urban change, in particular observing the complex interplay between the persistence of the urban territorial patterns inherited from the past and the emergence of new urban phenomena, connected with globalisation processes and their impact on the socio-spatial fabric. The debate on the negative or positive nature of urban transformation is progres¬sively losing its meaning. We have tried to show what the contemporary urban space is in Italy. It is not the deterioration of the modern city or metropolis; it is something else. Images are persistent, and if we continue to name this new socio-spatial phenomenon a city or a metropolis, we may unconsciously incur a number of implicit consequences. If we continue to look for the reconstruction of an order that has been lost forever, we will miss the opportunity to explore the potential and appropriateness of the post-metropolitan space in dealing with emerging soci¬etal challenges.