Togetherness or Antagonism? the Experience of Urban Public Space in ‘Porous’ Naples

Naples’ city centre is characterised by an extremely compact, informal urban fabric entailing a significant degree of physical proximity between different social groups. In light of most trends of urban seclusion and segregation observed across Europe, this is often regarded as an exception to modernity with a socially virtuous component favouring interclass solidarity and a general sense of togetherness, as Benjamin and Lacis famously captured in their metaphor of the ‘porous city’. In fact, the experience of Naples’ urban public space is more about antagonism than togetherness, inasmuch as social differences work beneath the surface to informally discipline the accessibility and usage of its crowded streets and alleys. This has become blatantly evident with the recent touristification of many central neighbourhoods, where a plethora of new economic activities in the hospitality sector are exploiting the ‘porosity’ of the city to informally appropriate and monetise public space. Drawing from the observation of one of these neighbourhoods, namely the Quartieri Spagnoli, we illustrate the politics of physical class proximity in Naples and unpack its implications for the local experience of urban public space. In doing so, we aim to challenge abstract definitions of ‘good’ public space and rethink the latter in relation to the histories and institutions in which is embedded, with particular regard to the informal character of southern European cities like Naples.