Collaborative spaces for urban regeneration: The case of Complesso di Santa Caterina a Formiello in Naples

Urban regeneration represents a relevant challenge for modern public administrations aiming at developing policies for requalifying urban environments and promoting social and economic growth. They increasingly embrace the idea of involving citizens and civil society organizations in a collaborative effort to find innovative solutions to the complex problems of urban areas requalification, such as social marginalization, poverty, or unemployment. Building on the literatures of collaborative spaces, collaborative innovation, and hybrid partnerships, this chapter aims at investigating the perceived role of the public actor in a social innovation initiative from the bottom aimed at revitalizing the social and economic environment of a given urban area. An in-progress Italian case of urban regeneration has been chosen in the city of Naples. Our results show that collaborative spaces, promoted in a bottom-up logic through social innovation initiatives, represent an important way to further collaborative innovation aimed at urban regeneration. Key aspects concern the themes of engagement, the need for new skills and competencies, and collaborative leadership. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.