Reconsidering Local Civic Services. A critical review starting from the new Italian planning tools

In existing cities, urban services play a critical role in creating more prosperous, fair and inclusive societies. Today more than ever urban services are called on to protect the welfare of society while creating the conditions for social and economic development. From a delivery point of view, services are traditionally considered a necessary public provision. However, in this present time of economic uncertainty, governments delivering urban services are currently facing fiscal pressures, as well as new demands and political priorities in a multifaceted and diversified society. New complex social problems, therefore, create new challenges and required a widespread reorganisation. The quest for an efficient, effective and sustainable way to plan and deliver public services offers the opportunity to re-think the traditional supply model. Starting with these remarks, the research mainly deals with the principal issue related to urban services and with the main intention to reform them in terms of planning, management and supply. From this perspective the survey is questioning about what is and what could be the contribution of urban plans in a new approach to supply and regulation of services, in a balance between institutional power and market opportunities. Therefore, the research questions the desirability of private sector access into the provision, management and production of local services in terms of quality improvement, territorial coverage and rates within the Italian situation. In particular, the purpose of the research is to: - Present an analytical framework for reconstructing the historical and legal situation of urban services in the Italian context and for understanding the new tendencies of the sector’s reform. - Provide an overview of the Services plan of the Lombardia region, analysing the twenty-four plans of the identified municipalities with populations of 40.000 inhabitants or over. - Identify, starting from the case studies, some potentially important sources of innovation. - Drawn conclusions in terms of policy implementation.