Socio-spatial Practices in Palermo’s Street Markets and a new Vocabulary of Planning.
2014

Developed as an MSc dissertation, this study investigates how contemporary urban transformations in Palermo can be understood through the lens of everyday life. Against a backdrop of physical decay, socio-economic inequality, and the limitations of conventional planning approaches, the research argues for a planning culture that acknowledges and learns from lived practices. Focusing on the city's historic street markets, spaces of intense social, cultural, and economic exchange, the study explores how large-scale urban issues become visible through fine-grained, ordinary interactions. By examining these public spaces as sites of collective life, the project reflects on alternative ways of understanding and guiding urban transformation in Southern European cities.