Associazioni di categoria come attori di governance urbana

The advent of new technologies and digitalization, which has characterized the last decade in a globalized context of international financial crisis—sealed by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008—has been one of the main factors that have undermined many economic certainties and the established positions of institutions and families. In this context, most businesses, particularly small ones—i.e., according to international classifications, those with fewer than 50 employees, which, based on Istat data and European Union information sheets, represent 99.4% of Italian businesses, approximately 3.75 million companies—have faced increasing difficulties in adapting to market transformations and changes in public administration. These dynamics, on the one hand, have challenged economic and social models, while on the other, they represent an evolution, modifying the system of influence, positions, and relationships among stakeholders operating in the same territory. This has sometimes encouraged collaborative and disintermediation processes at the expense of representation, traditionally filtered through intermediary bodies and political parties, radically transforming the relationship between businesses, trade associations, members, citizens, and public entities. In this scenario, the role played by Italian employers' associations, which have been undergoing a profound transformation for decades, appears to have been at least partially redefined. They have shifted from a purely corporative approach—focused on pursuing the interests of their members by providing services and representing them (often in opposition to multiple other interests in play)—to a more associative approach, reaffirming a social function and placing greater emphasis on relationships with public administration and local stakeholders. The issue that this thesis aims to investigate is part of the ongoing debate in Italian literature on trade associations, analyzing how they operate and seeking to understand to what extent they merely pursue lobbying actions and interests, or whether, in certain contexts, they can evolve into significant actors within the urban governance system. Regarding the economic and territorial context of Veneto, which serves as the framework for this research, the study analyzes the project initiatives undertaken by some territorial branches of the National Confederation of Crafts and Small Businesses (CNA) in Venice. These projects were developed in response to funding opportunities provided by the Chamber of Commerce for urban regeneration. To explore and understand whether and how this change in role within urban policies has taken shape among trade associations, the analysis follows a collaborative governance approach. Both selected cases were chosen because they operate within funding schemes related to non-mainstream urban policies—i.e., those aimed at regenerating the social and economic aspects of the targeted territories rather than focusing on the physical and spatial characteristics of places and structures. The emergence of the COVID-19 health crisis seems to have further intensified these dynamics, reaffirming the social function and role of these organizations as key points of reference for their local communities.