The multilevel governance of housing policies for migrants in Catanzaro

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The Multilevel Governance of Housing

Policies for Migrants in Catanzaro

Davide Morello – 11009047

M.A. in Conflict Resolution and Governance: Thesis

Supervisor: Dr. A.J. van Heelsum

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Chapter 1 – Introduction

1.1 Acknowledgements

My gratitude goes to all respondents and their contribution to the local scale research. I would like to thank in particular the regional and municipal offices, with their respective local level practitioners, which have kindly contributed to add scientific knowledge to local scale research and its development.

My tanks also go to my thesis supervisor for the precious suggestions and advices during the entire research process.

Finally yet importantly, I also want to extend my thanks especially to my family members for their extreme and unconditioned support to Emanuele and Gregorio, for their support and conversations that have inspired me to further deepen my knowledge on the subject.

1.2 Abstract

Immigration to Italy is considered a relatively new phenomenon that has been developing since late 1970s. Over the last three decades, Italy has moved quickly to establish a regime of both rights and control, particularly on non-EU migrants to Italy, culminating in its 1998 legislation. Recent studies and events related to immigration show the importance of finding fitting solutions to immigration management. The research takes into consideration and emphasizes the multilevel governance perspective in order to analyze and observe how and where important areas of intervention occur on finding and implementing measure of social inclusion. As it would be too pretentious to focus on the various multitude of social inclusion policies concerning immigration policy regulations, the research is going to focus on one of the aspects of social inclusion policies, which concerns housing policies on non-EU migrants.

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1.3 Introduction

In Italy, many studies on the policy-making processes for immigration addresses two classical issues: policy networks and local decision-making, and implementation and the role of local administrations. The first one explains territorial differentiation in immigration policy and the level of conflict and fragmentation within the P.A. (Public Administration). The focus of the research stresses the importance of how local policy-makers deal with the challenges of increasing diversity by linking to other levels of government and/or to other actors at a local level, and which kind of policy approaches emerges because of these multiple vertical and horizontal relations. Concerning the intergovernmental dimension of regional/local development policies, a multi-level governance approach adapts to the dynamic differentiation of decision-making structures as well as a balanced mixture of different types of governance that can provide viable escape routes from potential deadlocks. However, processes of multi-level governance depend to a considerable degree on the national institutional setting that may provide favorable conditions for processes of adaptation, but may also impede them.

In order to try to develop an analytical approach to the question of multilevel governance on housing regulations the research addresses the following question: how did the city administration of Catanzaro, in Calabria, coordinate with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies and the local authorities of social integration on policies regarding housing for non-EU migrants from 1998 legislation?

The ambiguous and controversial approach of national political parties, as well as the responses of civil society to local differentiation and the role of the third sector are all important in shaping the debate around the issue of pathways to social integration. Nevertheless, these processes enable mechanisms of regional and local responses that allow the creation of multilevel governance mechanisms that will be later on analyzed. Another

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interesting aspect of the subject matter comes from the fact that the study on the process of policymaking regarding immigration issues under the lenses of multilevel governance is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of academic research. This research takes into account housing policies as pivotal in generating good results for integrative policies. Housing plays an important role in Italian legislation and is even integral part of Constitutional matters that do not regulate polices but sees the right to housing as an essential element in ensuring the development of the human person and as a tool of propagation of all other fundamental rights of the individual1.

For a better understanding of the complexity of the subject matter, the sections that constitute the body of the research are divided in the following order:

1) The first part of the second chapter is dedicated to the literature review covering the relatively new field of research especially dedicated to the understanding of how immigrant and immigration policies are decided upon and carried out and the issue of the multilevel governance of immigrants and immigration. This part of the research also explores theory and concepts related to the multilevel governance approach, trying to show how it relates to the Italian national characterization as a mean of devolution of power among the regional and local/municipal authorities. Explaining the role of decentralization is key to understanding in part the mechanisms that could favor an escape route from institutional deadlocks in the field of housing options for non-EU economic migrants.

2) The second part of the second chapter is dedicated to the explanation of how a multilevel governance approach in terms of devolution of power and local differentiation in the Italian case takes place. Integral part of the research is

1_{Many of the articles of the Italian Constitution indirectly and implicitly address the issue of housing as an}

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provided by a case study in which theory and practice are going to be analyzed together in order to understand how multilevel mechanisms of policy implementation with regards to housing policies for non-EU migrants takes place. European, national, and local authorities share the power and create legislation but, most importantly, these multilevel governance mechanisms should allow local authorities, such as municipalities, to undertake certain sectors of integrative policies toward non-EU economic migrants in order to overcome potential legislative deadlocks. These modes of operation are central to understand how European directives and national policies can change by the intervention of local authorities. Specific issues related to regional differentiation and the participation of different actors to the multilevel mechanisms of integration are presented in order to explain how actors involved in the process show their power to act independently or depend from the pressure of civil society and the presence of a strong third sector.

3) The third chapter explains the methods used to carry out the research and its valence in terms of multilevel governance and regional differentiation on carrying on with policy inputs and policy implementation. Before proceeding with the presentation of the information gathered through the interviews with local authorities and important actors from the third sector, if any, the research draws on some empirical and statistical evidence gathered from the case study of Brescia and its relevance as an example of housing policies and active participation to integrative measures for immigrants, especially regarding housing.

4) In the fourth chapter, I will talk about the analysis of the results from the interviews in the city of Catanzaro with local authorities. It is a tentative step to

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highlight how multilevel governance mechanisms are operated by one of the many Italian local realities and where literature and research on the issue of housing policies for non-EU migrants are very limited.

The outcomes of the interviews with local authorities based on questions related to their relation with higher level of authorities, as either bottom-up or top-down approach ought to explain where the points of interaction occur between city administrations and national ministries and institutions predisposed to take care of housing policies for non-EU migrants and foster social integration policies. What does this entails in terms pf policy implementation?

5) The fifth chapter is dedicated to the framing of concluding remarks trying to answer the central question of the topic. In the tentative step to frame local pathways of social inclusion and their respective governance mechanisms at the different institutional levels, the author tries to provide an explanation to local level practices.

According to Dirk Gebhardt (2014) from the Migration Policy Institute, European cities are to be considered vital actors in the process of immigrant integration. Cities are the number one indicators of how national policies affect newcomers. City-level policies have been closely analyzed to understand the important role of adapting institutions and services to new and diverse communities. Yet there is still much incongruence and contradiction between national and local integration visions and policies. Gebhardt poses two arguments in favor of a greater attention to the role of cities in setting integration policies. The first argumentation is that cities and local authorities have a clearer picture of which policies work and which do not as they are the first to acknowledge bad or successful policies. The second point has to do with numbers. The density of immigrant communities has often pushed cities to enact

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promptly following different approaches than national governments. Despite the role of cities, national governments do not always work together with them in terms of integrative policies. A very interesting picture arises when we look at the statistical data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). According to the institute, the foreign population in Italy has surprisingly increased form the beginning of the 2000s as much as 151% within a 6-year period2 (ISTAT 2009). Therefore, migratory influxes are at the origin of a new strong wave of

social housing. The possibility to reside in a decent house represents a fundamental passage for every inclusive project directed to foster the integration of migrant families and individuals. It is also a very good policy tool for those institutional entities responsible for the preservation of the urban territory from urban decay.

1.4 General information about the presence of immigrant population

The latest statistical dossier on immigration that has been redacted by a group of researchers and scientists from the various regions of Italy dates 20143. The coordination of

such a difficult and multi-layered research has been possible thanks to the Centro Studi e Ricerche IDOS, in collaboration with the UNAR (National Office for Racial Anti-Discrimination), the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and the Department for Equal Opportunities (Saladino 2015).

According to statistics4, Italy counts almost five and a half millions of foreign

residents in its territory. The incidence of the immigrant population in the region of Calabria is around 91,000 units. Throughout the region, the provinces with more immigrant presences are Cosenza and Reggio Calabria, ranging around the 30,000 units each. Catanzaro is only the third major pole of migration for European and non-EU migrants. The entire province counts

2_{More information available on}_www.istat.it

3_{Official data are therefore to be taken into account with reference to the years of 2014 and 2015, the year in}

which the dossier has been publicized.

4_{The data gathered in the “Dossier Statistico Immigrazione 2015” comes from official information of a wide}

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16,175 presences on the territory of which 53.0% is constituted by women and 15.2% of young (0-14 years) immigrants. The numbers show an increase of these two categories over the last few years, in many cases pushed by successful cases of family reunifications and the increase of women working in the tertiary and primary sector. This trait shows how the region is becoming a new place of relocation for immigrant families, rather than just a stop on their journey.

Of the immigrant resident population, 78.1% (72% alone from Romania) comes from new entries of the EU. The second place is held by the African continent with its 19,155 units, where Moroccans represent the 73.4% of the total African population in Calabria. Immigrants coming from Asian countries are mainly from Indians with 4,143, Filipinos with 2,925 and Chinese with 2,808 residents. This data is crucial to understanding the variability of immigrant presence in the region as well as the variables related to the increase or decrease of such presence. It is undeniable at this stage of the evolution of immigrant reception that Italy yet unprepared to fulfill the requirements of immigrant families especially in terms of housing conditions. Especially for the regions with a low density of immigration history, such as the case of Calabria, immigrants have been traditionally seen as a temporary phenomenon, a stage of their migratory phase to somewhere else. The incapacity to face the effects of the recent economic crisis and the crisis of the “social housing” in terms of units and capacity, has determined a renewed crises for migrants and social housing policies. The Italian state itself own a little patrimony of public houses, although the coordination of such area is given to the semi-private sector, as for the case of Calabria.

Nationwide there is a preference by immigrant families to opt to go for a rental agreement, rather than investing money to buy a house. Not surprisingly, the choice for a residence are very limited for immigrants, leaving them predominantly those old apartments that are often refused by Italian families. Therefore if the possibility to enter the circle of

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public housing and succeeding to find an accommodation is already very limited, fanciful becomes the prospect of buying a house among the immigrant population. As of 2012, a bit less than the 20% of immigrant families was the owner of a house, privileging the North to the South.

The big absent of the picture though results to be the public residential houses, going from 1,000,000 units to 800,000 and a waiting list of 650,000 people eligible for it. Regional and provincial policies play a fundamental role in positioning immigrants in the picture of public residential housing because according to the specific case the province or municipality can attribute points to the applicant according to the years of permanence in that specific area.

Chapter 2 – Theoretical Background of the Research

2.1 Approaches in the Study of the Multilevel Governance of Migration and

Integration Policies.

The study of the processes related to policy-making concerning immigration and immigrant integration is a relatively young field in the case of Italy. The policy-making aspect regarding immigration and immigrant incorporation has generated a new generation of research topic. According to Zincone and Caponio (2004), the literature on this topic has generated four different “generations” of studies over the years. First generation studies were essentially concerned with the demographic composition and evolution of migration flows into and immigrant stocks within European countries. Second generation research has focused primarily on immigrants’ economic integration and their social behaviors. The third generation has dealt mainly with integration policies and political participation. Lastly, the fourth generation has tackled the problem of understanding how immigrant and immigration policies are decided upon and carried out. Even more recently, a sort of fourth and a half-generation type of studies has emerged. This new half-generation is starting to carry out research on the issue of the multilevel governance of immigrants and immigration. Of all the

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generations of studies that have been identified above, the last two groupings are the ones that will be explored in more depth.

To better understand how multilevel governance of immigrants and immigrant integration works it is necessary to explore the theoretical realm that better explains how issue evolving around the subject ought to be dealt with.

Multilevel governance as a concept finds its origins in the early 1990s. The multilevel governance approach considers the EU as a political system that shares many features with national political systems. Therefore, a wide variety of actors is involved in the policy process than just national ministries. According to Marks and Hooghe: “multilevel governance

emerges when experts from several tiers of government share the task of making regulations and forming policy, usually in conjunction with relevant interest groups.” (Hague and Harrop:

2007: 282) Multilevel governance sees European policies as the result of a constant coordination across different territorial levels including a supranational, national, regional and local level. According to Stubbs when we talk about multilevel governance we should refer to a: "perspective that forces one to address processes of the supranationalisation, the

decentralization and the devolution of authority as potentially coexisting, rather than engage in very narrow, linear, debates about the influence, or lack of influence, of international agencies." (Stubbs: 2005: 67)

The process of multilevel governance entails a close cooperation among actors involved in the process and in so far one of the greatest challenges for supranational, national, and local institutions is to coordinate among them in order to postulate and implement successful policies.

The Italian institutional setting has gone through many different transformation phases but the one that is most important for the topic is the concept of political decentralization and devolution of power. If the sixties and seventies were the decades of intense phase for

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operational studies and regional planning in many European national contexts, the eighties, on the other hand, saw the affirmation, almost throughout Europe of a skeptical approach towards centralized planning. At the end of the past century, lastly, the concept of the region re-emerges with renewed vigor in the countries of Europe (Salone 2010). The following sections distinguish between the different levels of multilevel governance starting from the EU level and going into the more difficult terrain of local level strategies of bottom up approach regarding the level of authority and independence of a local institution vis-à-vis the national institutions.

2.2 Multilevel governance and the European level

According to Leonardi (2005), the creation of the Structural Funds and the strengthening of an EU regional development policy created a completely new approach based on multi-level programmes that were no longer centered exclusively on the national level. The new regulations required the participation of a multiplicity of levels such as the Community, national and regional/local levels. This approach significantly changed the nature of relations between institutions and led to the emergence for the first time of regional and even local institutions as significant policy actors. Policies moved from being exclusively top-down to combine both bottom-up as well as top-top-down characteristics. Nevertheless, it is important to notice that these structural changes are not evenly implemented. When the concept of “Europe of Regions” was firstly introduced as a project of multilevel-governance and cooperation, adopts different characterizations depending on the country and the region involved.

The implementation of the new decision-making mechanisms associated with multilevel governance proved to be far more complex and difficult than was initially expected. Adaptation to the new EU rules and regulations was not automatic or simple. Several authors (Bailey and De Propris, 2002; Keating, 1995) argue that differences in the

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forms and structures of local governance throughout the EU have weakened the aim of multilevel governance policies in achieving economic and social cohesion. Simona Milio (2007) suggests and provides evidence to support the idea that, especially in the Italian case, carrying out policies and their implementation phase depends on the level of what she defines as “administrative capacity” of the regional bureaucracy. Since the signing of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999, little literature has emerged regarding the systematic studies analyzing the interconnections between Italian and European policy-making on immigration related issues. Di Gregorio (2001, 2004) came up with a very interesting analysis of the Europeanisation of Italian immigration policy. It combines neo-institutionalist and actor-centered approaches. These studies adopt a qualitative methodology, including semi-structured in-depth interviews with privileged observers and actors taking part in the policy processes investigated. The findings demonstrate that although the immigration and asylum field is only partially communitarised, the concrete impact on national policy has been significant due to the influence exerted by non-political actors (external experts and Ministry officials) as opposed to political actors, who have often produced mere rhetoric.

2.3 Multilevel governance at the national level: explaining law making in

Italy

Studies on national immigration policy-making processes in Italy have been analyzed primarily under two different categories: one focuses on the top level decision-making process operated by key institutions and actors; the second field of studies undertakes the governance-oriented approach, focusing on the relations between levels of government and/or between public institutions and civil society. The analyses offered by Fedele (1999) highlights the importance of the activity of the Italian Parliament regarding matters of social policy, including immigration policies. The results highlight the importance and centrality of the Interior Ministry, which is the one generally involved when migration is debated. Here the

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approach to immigration and social inclusion policies varies according to the agenda of the national parties as whether the issue is more centered on public security and control of illegality, or more concerned with social inclusion. Zucchini has also investigated the level of policy-making exerted at the parliamentary level (1999). This was an attempt to analyze the first systematic legislation on immigration for Italian authorities, leading to the important Turco-Napolitano Act. According to Zucchini’s analysis, we can find at least five different actors playing an important role in shaping the policies toward immigrants. The analysis shows that party politics and political agendas of parties play a fundamental role in shaping not only the debate but also the way in which policies are decided upon. In his analysis, the author presents an intensive bargaining process in which controversial issues have been either eliminated from the original proposal of the act, or in some cases the controversial nature the text wanted to give some discretional power to officials (especially in the case of expulsion).

According to Colombo and Sciortino (2003) party politics play a very important role in shaping the governance and the decision making process at the national level. The research focuses on top-level decision-makers. It takes into account the passing of the Bossi-Fini Act of 2002 and the contradiction between center-right rhetoric inspired by anti-immigrants stands, and the actual text of the Act that in fact assumes much more moderate tones for migrants.

These studies are very important to understand the bargaining process that happens among parties in order to reach compromise. Unfortunately, these studies only focus on top level of decision-making at the parliamentary level, neglecting the effect of pressures external to party politics. In this respect, Zincone (1998) adopts a different method of analysis. A long-term view approach is adopted in order to study the process of reform of the Martelli Act of 1990. Despite some public fears and populist rhetoric from right wing parties (especially the Northern League), three actors exerted a lot of pressure throughout the policy-making

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process, namely civil servants, expert committees, and civil society organizations such as left-wing trade unions and Catholic voluntary associations. The article also emphasizes the innovative role played by the local authorities and by unlawful practices, especially the inclusion of undocumented immigrants in health services and children’s education.

Other researches have conducted on the national sphere of influence on policy-making procedures. Zincone and Di Gregorio (2003) have been analyzing the Turco-Napolitano law of 1998 and its future left-wing policy implementations. The study is not only based on the centrality of parliamentary proceedings and records. It also gives an account for each phase of the decision-making process and the actors involved, through a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews with key actors and observers. The authors combine two theoretical approaches: the system analysis framework and the advocacy coalition framework. The research demonstrates that despite changes in political majorities, there is a strong advocacy coalition essentially composed by Catholics and third-sector organizations, which has taken part in each stage of the policy-making process.

In another occasion, Zincone (2002, 2006) explains and analyzes the importance of different actors in the making of the Turco-Napolitano Act. Notwithstanding the importance of “Catholic parties”, advocacy groups, and employers’ organizations in the process of negotiation, the Turco-Napolitano Act is characterized as a governmental Act, built on the support of civil servants, experts, third-sector associations and representatives of local authorities, and seeking agreement with at least part of the opposition. In opposition, the center-right reform (Bossi-Fini Act) had an essentially political nature. In the opinion of many, politicians created the act to win the elections, thus paying more attention to the anxieties of the public than to practical solutions.

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2.4 The local level of multi-level governance

Zincone and Caponio (2005) suggest that studies of local-level immigration policy-making processes in Italy reflect two classic themes in policy studies literature: policy networks and local decision-making on the one hand, and implementation and public administration on the other.

The first typology of studies takes into account the network approach based on the programmes and policies promoted by the UNESCO MOST Metropolis Project5, and the

relation between the third sector and local authorities. The principal aim of these studies was to show how regional differentiation occurs and why so. Zucchini (1997) for example, rejects the idea local immigrant polices can be understood as a coherent program promoted by political majorities. Thanks to the reconstruction of immigration policies in eight Italian cities (major cities); the research has brought up the issue of regional and local differentiation. The importance of the third sector and the level of conflict and fragmentation within the P.A. are the clear characteristics of how much local reality on immigration policies can be different. Thus, the coordination among the sectors of the P.A. predisposed to enact on immigration issues and the quickness of responses enacted are essential to characterize local differentiation. In the case of Rome and Naples for example, the analyses reported by the UNESCO project shows how important is the role of the voluntary associations in taking an active role for the promotion and consolidation of immigrant rights, often operating in complete autonomy. In the case of northern cities, it is a bit of a different picture. Here central administration and local authorities take a more proactive role in engaging with immigration issues, regulating the realm of it. The study also highlights the importance of the fragmentation within the P.A. of metropolitan cities such as Rome and Milan. In both cases, it appears that immigration is perceived as a social problem by the offices in charge of assisting migrants.

5_{See www.unesco.org/most/p97}

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In 2002, The National Association of the Italian Communes (ANCI) promoted the research on the role of Italian communes in managing the migratory influxes. Thanks to this large scale and in depth analyses of different Italian municipalities it has been possible for researchers like Caponio (2004) to come up with very important statistical data as well as a clearer picture of the local actors and offices involved in the process social integration for migrants.

Figure 1.1 shows the type of regional differentiation depending on whether communes have specific offices dedicated to immigration issues or more generic or none at all. According to the results it appears that only 37,6% of Italian communes disposes of a specific office for immigrants. In general, 41,6% of communes has a more generic office that also takes care of immigration issues. The national differentiation between North and South is very disproportionate because it shows that specific offices created for the sole purpose of immigration issues are more present in the North rather than in the South, which only reaches 18,6%.

Figure 1.1 Communes with specific immigration office (blue), more generic offices (red) for immigrants, and no offices at all (yellow).

The research shows how there is a congruous difference between North and South not only in terms of numbers, but also in terms of efficiency and number of services granted to migrants. The figure below shows what kind of services local offices offer to the immigrant population and the differentiation from North to South. In general, most of the communes

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offer info points rather than other services. The North and the Center score higher than the South in providing social inclusion services such as assistance in finding housing (red color). The general national picture shows that only 20,4% of communes provides for social and health services.

Figure 1.2 Types of services offered by local offices predisposed to enact on immigration issues.

According to the data gathered on the questionnaires and surveys conducted by the ANCI, it is surprising to acknowledge that especially in the South, most of the communes did not join the initiative called Territorial Councils for Immigration (Consigli territoriali per l’immigrazione, Cti). In the South almost 63% of communes declared they had not taken part to the initiative. The city of Catanzaro for example is listed among few others as one of those cities that never took part to the initiative to coordinate immigration issues on the provincial level.

The third sector resulted to be a crucial actor in promoting and advocating immigrant rights on the local level. Local organizations of Italian citizens are very active on the national territory. According to statistical data from the questionnaire, it appears that almost 60% of communes have engaged in conventions with national associations (NGOs) for the advancement of immigrant rights.

Another important factor of local differentiation is to be found in the number of new or extra officials and committees that have been formed to take care of such a delicate issue.

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To present day there are generally two types of representatives for immigrant rights and policies within the local setting. One type is characterized by the presence of local consults while the other by appointed councilors. Even here, Italian communes score very law in terms of either one category or the other, even more are rare the cases in which both actors are present.

The questionnaire redacted by ANCI and deeply analyzed by Caponio (2004), although a bit dated, allowed to form a first descriptive picture of the Italian national situation concerning different degrees of participation in the multilevel governance of migration. From one side, it shows and confirms the evident gap between North and South; from the other side clears out the fact that big metropolitan cities do not always offer the best offers to social cohesion and integration problems though they are the recipients of a larger quantity of funds still may lack of administrative capacity6.

Chapter 3 - Methods

3.1 Design

Cities such as Milan, Rome, and Naples offer a great deal of official documents and in-depth interviews, highlighting two main dimensions: the importance of the third sector and the level of conflict and fragmentation within the public administration (ANCI 2002). The case study selection for this research aims at contributing to the local dimension of research of smaller Italian realities in the South of the peninsula, hoping to highlight how multilevel governance affects those centers of local control. It is important to acknowledge that smaller Southern Italian cities do not offer the same spatial and economic opportunities as bigger and more industrialized cities of the Center and Northern Italy. Nevertheless, as it is possible to

6_{“The set of skills and competencies that are expected of public bureaucracies so that they can facilitate and}

contribute to problem solving. They encompass the structural and procedural provisions that enable bureaucracies to perform particular functions and embrace the individuals within these bureaucracies that are capable and skillful enough to meet the expectations of their political masters and the wider public” (The Governance Report:

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see in the Italian case, the traditional places where people migrated from have now become attractive to an increasing number of non-EU economic migrants.

The city selected for this case study is Catanzaro, the city capital of Calabria, Italy. It does differ from previous case studies because it is not as attractive, as bigger, more industrialized northern Italian centers, though it has been hit, as many other small peripheral centers, by the magnitude of the new waves of migration from non-EU economic migrants, therefore touching on social integration issues that have never been as influential as nowadays. The choice to research on housing policies and how they are carried out through the different levels of multilevel governance wants to investigate how the need for housing can generate new, and sometimes more informal, solutions to the local level. The objective of this research is precisely to take stock of the situation on policies that have been adopted concretely in order to respond to the continuous needs of new housing policies for the integration of migrants.

However, it is not possible to get a complete picture of the politics evolving around the central theme of housing policies if it is not taken into account the important ties in terms of immigration law and housing policies coming from the national and regional governments. Essential is the reconstruction of the normative picture regarding the access to housing in general and more specifically concerning the immigrant population.

How local practices of policy-making and implementation are carried out by local actors, as well as the level of autonomy that local authorities reach in terms of governance concerning housing policies for non-EU migrants are considered essential to demonstrate peculiarities and deficiencies. It is important to remind the reader that the goal of the research is not to give an evaluative critique of a specific Southern Italian reality as opposite to other regional and municipal realities. It is rather an attempt to show how different actors play different roles in creating policy inputs. Thanks to the relevance and magnitude of other studies conducted in

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other regions of Italy, such as the very detailed case of Brescia it is possible to identify point of convergence and divergence in terms of policy inputs and actors involved. As the city has a longer history for what concerns economic migrants, a team of researchers from the European Forum of Migration Studies (2007) has devoted their time to research on the governance on housing policies for immigrants. Thus, it serves as an example of local differentiation in terms of actor’s involvement and policy outputs.

The research is designed to include a section on the field research concerning governance mechanisms on housing policies and how they are operated by the city of Catanzaro. The regional normative approach in terms of devolution of power, and the autonomy of specific institutional actors involved in the governance of housing policies’ process, are going to be the principal indicators to explain regional differentiation, if any. To better understand the ongoing governance mechanisms and policy outputs, interviews are going to be carried out at the municipal and regional offices. The research analyses the behaviors of the various actors, according to the policy implementation approach, not its outputs in terms of efficiency. Although the municipality of Catanzaro is certainly not the main immigration pole in Italy, it can though, be a representative case for understanding governance approaches in a country where average-size cities constitute a significant part of the overall national population. However, some specifications are due: the case study approach seems to be uncompleted if it is circumscribed only to the province of Catanzaro. Therefore, it has been extended at the Regional level, acknowledging that for a multilevel approach to be adopted it is necessary to establish connections among institutional territorial actors. Indeed, the research carries out the case study on two levels: the regional and the municipal level.

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3.2 Respondents

In general the process of interviewing showed that immigration policies were a sensitive issue and respondents were careful on political issues. The interviews have the specific intent of deepening the knowledge regarding issues of power relation, level of dependency from political parties, bottom-up versus top-down approach and coordination among regional and municipal offices. The role of civic community as well as NGOs on the territory is used to identify possible good practices between public actors and citizen initiatives. The result of such semi-structured interviews with appointed officials and civic organizations should suffice to give a clear picture of how multilevel governance mechanisms enact in the case of Catanzaro.

The respondents of the interviews have been selected through the regional, municipal offices, and no-profit organizations that are specialized in the field of both housing policies and inclusive measure policies.

The first round of interviews was conducted at the regional level through the help of the Dipartimento Programmazione Comunitaria e Nazionale (Department of National and Communitarian Programming). Two different rounds of semi-structured interviews have been conducted at the regional level. The director of the department is one of the two respondents along with one practitioner that deals on a daily bases with programming, analyzing, or simply processing, issues that are relevant to the topic of public housing. Both interviews took place within the same day and where about thirty to forty minutes long.

The more local level of governance was explored through participant observation of the daily process that takes place in the Dipartimento Politiche Sociali (Social Policies Department) headed by a local counselor appointed by the mayor. The inclusion of municipal offices is fundamental to understand how local level of policymaking works and the range of different actors involved in the first line of action. One interview was held with the head of the department and other two with the respective coordinators of the Ufficio Politiche

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Abitative (Housing Policy Office) and the Ufficio Politiche dell’Accoglienza, dell’Integrazione e Multietnicità, Immigrants and ROM (Office of Reception Policies, Integration, and Multietnicity, for Immigrants and ROM). The interviews have been scheduled through the secretariat of the Dipartimento Politiche Sociali.

To prove the important involvement of the third sector in the field of social integration policies, connecting to the field of “affordable housing measures” for immigrants in the particular field of housing, the field research comprises of an interview conducted at the local level with the president of the Fondazione Città Solidale. Integrative information also come from a number of informal conversations held with front line practitioners of the above mentioned foundation.

3.3 Operationalization

In general, the guiding research questions for this type of research on housing have been: how does the local housing system (institutions and relevant actors, their agenda, resources and legal framework) work? What is the general policy and what specific interventions are made? Which factors have been relevant for the outcomes? To answer to these general questions it is important to direct the attention on the analyses of concrete dimensions of housing of migrants in the local case study. A complete list of the questions asked during the interviews can be found in the Appendix 1. In order to understand how the social environment plays an important role regarding the results of local public policies on housing it becomes explicit the necessity to establish that the term refers to what social policy measures related to housing issues are implemented to improve the conditions and the social situation of vulnerable categories. The quality of the social environment in the field of housing should be strongly influenced by the quality of community relations. In more explicit terms, it can be used as a valuable variable to understand how the social environment plays a role in the governance of housing policies. It appears evident from the results of the

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researches conducted on behalf of the CLIP Network, form the various participant research institutes that the relations between ethnic communities and the majority society are an important factor for social cohesion. To address this complicated aspect means to investigate on the influence the social environment of the city of Catanzaro plays on the governance aspect of housing policies. Community relations become an important part of integrative processes and therefore of policies regarding the adaptation of new groups to new environments.

Citizens’ initiatives and NGOs constitute an important factor shaping policy initiatives and policy outcomes. Therefore, their influence in the multilevel governance of housing policies represents. Encouraging the participation of citizens in community affairs and decision-making can improve migrant housing and community relations. Exploring the kind of existing participant relations between institutions and citizens projects or initiatives can provide to some extent the level of importance of such groups in the decision making process and the governance mechanisms in general, showing the bottom-up approach.

Acknowledging the importance of the active participation and contribution of citizens through initiatives and political participation in the decision making processes (as it has been reported by a number of cases highlighted by the CLIP network within some European cities), we must not forget the importance of institutions: local offices predisposed to take care of housing policies, as well as the pressure exerted by political parties according to their political agendas at the various levels of local authorities. It appears that in order to understand how governance mechanism function within public administration offices we have to look not only to top-down approaches among different offices from national to more local level, but also highlight the importance of an “horizontal” approach to look for coordination among offices which share competences on the same field of operational power.

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To achieve a good comprehensive picture of how multilevel governance on housing policies for migrants effectively works the research poses a number of questions specifically oriented to discover patterns of top-down or bottom-up approaches in the decision-making process concerning decisions of housing policies, whether they are favorable or not to the category of migrants. The result of the policies itself does not constitute the bulk of the research as it is not in the interests of the paper to critically analyze policies outputs and effectiveness of policies. Indeed, it is the way in which decision-making processes are influenced by front line practitioners and competent offices, using the fragmentation of the Italian public administration as an important variable in terms of cooperation and coordination among offices.

According to the local settings of administrative offices, the research proposes to find out local governance measures in different areas of policymaking. One way in which the research attempts to answer this question is through the assessment of the housing situation and the setting of an agenda for local policies as an important major step in discovering areas of interests regarding specific topics and preferences toward one policy area over another. An example could be the number of houses allocated to migrants versus an economic perspective based on the economic advantages of migrant tenants. The planning of such policies in terms of data acquisition, analyses, and different visions of the topic should provide significant information regarding the number of different local actors involved in the process. A third major step into finding governance approaches is to detect at which stage and by whom administrative provisions, such as the allocation of competencies and responsibilities, are decided upon. Finally, to understand the methods and practices of implementation measure toward housing policies, including assessments and eventual evaluations.

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Chapter 4 – National, Regional, and Local Policies in the Case of Catanzaro

In this chapter, I will expose the current situation in terms of governance for housing policies regarding the three main policy players. The way in which the findings are presented is the following: (4.1) the national level of policy-making in relation with international regulations and the approach with territorial entities; (4.2) the following step is taken through the regional institutional bodies and the relations they hold with other local actors in terms of policymaking and capacity building; 4.3) the third, more local, step taken is in relation with local public offices of the province of Catanzaro, Calabria. Most of the information gathered are constituted by primary data. The presence of secondary data is also required as it serves to explore statistical information and policy papers that are relevant to the research. Thanks to the help of different practitioners of the public administration, political representative sphere, and from third sector involvement, it has been possible to assimilate and gather enough data sufficient to scheme out how housing policies are shaped and governed by the different territorial authorities, including how far this measures impacts the life of migrants and how new ideas and projects for better integrative measures are at stake. The presence of semi-private sector came out to be an important factor for the differentiation of regional housing policies outputs in terms of efficiency and management. It should not be forgotten that very often the regional offices delegate some of their administrative and managerial matters to entities that have been granted with legal, organizational, administrative and accounting autonomy, headquartered in the capital of each province and operates on its territory.

4.1 The National Level

This section is dedicated to the analysis of national legislation in terms of policy measures regarding provisional measures for the accreditation of housing rights with regards to the immigrant population which resides in Italy. The analysis starts by: a) introducing

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recent national policies adopting regulatory stands on the issue due to its constitutional and international importance; b) the second section is dedicated to the actions taken by the national government to face the situation of immigrants in general with particular regards to inclusive measure and full integration programs, touching on housing; c) the last part is dedicated to the last step regarding national legislation in terms of housing policies and its repercussions on the housing sector, especially from a regulatory point of view.

4.1.1 Regulations in Compliance with Constitutional and International Law

The turning point for national legislation regarding housing policies for migrants, and for immigration in general is the Law Decree 286 of 19987, proposed and redacted with the

approval of the Chamber of Deputies. The law decree adopts to the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Huma Rights) with reference to housing as one of the essential elements needed to live a sufficient life (art. 25)8. According to the Italian Court of Justice, integrative

housing measures have to be adopted in order to guarantee a fundamental social right for the immigrant, not only in terms of housing rights per se, but also linked to the possibility of a family reunification. Being the family part of the Italian Constitutional Text (art. 29, 30, 31)9,

the constitutional article determines the duties of the Italian state and the measure adopted to guarantee the rights of the family. In accordance with the UDHR and the Italian Constitution, both promoting the importance of the advancement of the rights of every individual, the Law Decree 286 regulates with more details general governance measures and therefore competences of other national actors, other than the central government. It regulates that the legal immigrant has the right to access social housing, according to regional laws, but following general national directives. Those immigrants who possess the permit to stay for as long as two years and are regularly employed or self-employed hold the same rights as the

7_{Law Decree 286 of 1998: http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/deleghe/98286dl.htm} 8_{UDHR art. 25: http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/udhr_article_25.html}

9_{Art. 29, 30, 31 of the Italian Constitution:}

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Italian citizens to access public residential housing, and to use the mediation services of social agencies to have adequate access to the housing market. The control and supervision on the effectiveness of such policies, does not prove to be quite effective everywhere and with the same rate for every local reality.

4.1.2 The Creation of Second Reception Centers

Of great importance for the debate on human rights protection and advancement, the Ministry of Interior, part of the national government, has created in association with ANCI (National Association of Italian Municipalities) and the UNHCR a Memorandum of Understanding a “secondary reception” system in order to better integrate immigrants in the Italian system. This secondary reception system is constituted by the creation of the SPRAR (Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) which became official since the promulgation of the Art.32 of the Law n. 189 of 2002. The entire network is coordinated and monitored by a Central Service Office, which is managed by the ANCI, following an agreement with the Ministry of Interior. This system entails another level of devolution of power from the national government, to the local actors such as the municipalities. The SPRAR has two main objectives: (a) measures to provide assistance and protection to the individual immigrant; (b) facilitate the integration process by acquiring a newfound autonomy. The Ministry of the Interior, through the Central Service Office, emanates every three years a tender notice for the allocation of funds. Individual local authorities, together with third sector organizations in the area, participate to the tender notice presenting each their own project.

4.1.3 The Influence of National Legislation on the Local Level Governance

The first important step in the analyses of such policy-field is constituted by the definition that the state attributes to housing policies and more specifically with regards to

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“social housing.” According to the definition retrievable through the website of the House of Deputies10: “social housing is constituted by the presence of a building unit used for

permanent residential lettings operated in the public interest for safeguarding social cohesion in the attempt to reduce the housing crisis of disadvantaged families and individuals.” Therefore, social housing constitutes a service of general interest that has to characterizes every urbanistic standard through the lettings of areas and houses. Of particular importance is the decision to include the regions, analyzed in the following section, as the principal actors in defining general acceptance criteria and financial reliefs for those who participate in the allocation of social houses. Such spaces have to be conform to the law and respect the general prerequisites decided by law.

The latest step of the national government in terms of housing policies for immigrants is related to the law decree n.112 from 2008. Such law provides for the application of a national plan for public housing. It regulates also the categories of those beneficiaries of public housing, listing among them regular immigrants with low income and with the residency in Italy for at least ten years, five of which in the region where the beneficiary is resident. Following this provision, local entities, such as regions and provinces, are now facing a new problem. From one side, the planning strategy for public residential housing from the national perspective has legally included immigrants in the picture. On the other side, definitely such a regulatory policy includes immigrants and immigrant families with economic problems as a category, but potentially excludes newcomers from entering public residential housing because of the time needed to be recognized as a beneficiary of the service.

The national plan for public residential housing has affected many policy areas regarding housing policies in terms of capacity building, from the budgetary point of view, and the range of influence that public almost-autonomous entities, in accordance with regional

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agreements, can exert in the process of governance, thus characterizing the effectiveness of certain policy areas. A congruous amount of resources has been allocated to regions and other local actors to take action on some areas regarding public residential housing projects requiring developments and improvements.

To conclude, the analyses of such policy papers, revealed how the national government has to guarantee human rights to the immigrant, in collaboration with and by sharing competences with regions, provinces, municipalities, and voluntary associations. I find this to be the first level of governance measures that regulate how and where competences are shared, definitely shaping the coordination of the relations between actors, and the level of discretion of each sector. The important law decree n.286 of 1998 has provided new obligations for the above-mentioned local actors requiring the predisposition of second reception centers for those legal immigrants that are not able to provide for themselves a shelter among their basic needs. These reception centers are finalized to make the individual auto sufficient within the shortest period. Very important part of the text is the power given to the regions, now capable of determining management and structural requisites of those centers and agreements with the private or semi-private sector for the allocation of funds. We assist here to a clear shift of competences, ranging from the managerial to the economic sphere, directed to benefit the autonomy of the regions, better predisposed and knowledgeable about the local territory. Within the multilevel governance process, we assist to a devolution of power in favor of more local entities, finalized to guarantee a better policy output thanks to the knowledge of the regional territory by regional entities. Therefore, the central government performs the role of the lawmaker with implied roles of supervisory power through the Ministry of Interior, leaving to regional entities more regulatory and managerial autonomy.

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4.2 Multileve Governance at the Regional Level

Most of the data is the result of semi-structured interviews conducted at the various levels of institutional spheres. At the regional level housing policies are decided upon, coordinated, and monitored by the Department of National and Communitarian Programming (Dipartimento Programmazione Nazionale e Comunitaria). The people interviewed in the department range from the directorate, with the director of the department, to the administrative sphere where work that is more bureaucratic is present and employees who deal with the public contribute with their front line experience to the research. The result of the interviews, together with the deep analyses of the policy papers, primary tool for the regional institutional support of the housing policy system. The way in which the section is structured is as follow: a) the first part is dedicated to the description of the powers allotted to the regional sphere of competence; b) the next section explores the ways in which the regional sphere plays an important role in terms of regulatory laws and directives, especially in terms of public residential housing and the constraints for other actors involved in the multilevel process; different priorities of the regional agenda in terms of housing policies and immigrants; c) a following section is dedicated to the social welfare measures taken by the regional sphere in order to create inclusive pathways for local institutional support.

According to the results of a local research conducted for a PRIN project (Research Program for National Interest), the phenomenon of immigration is not particularly at the center of major studies or well documented and researched (Sarno 2014). In support of this particular aspect is the phenomenological intervention of the regional institutional machine only in case of emergencies. The semi-structured interviews revealed that at the policy level there is not a clear cut between national legislation on immigration and the regional one. What is relevant at the regional level regarding the governance of immigration policies in general, and housing policies in particular, is the regulatory power on regional directives as well as the

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power to allocate, by using specifically formed commissions, national and regional funds for the development of integrative projects.

4.2.1 Functions and powers of the regional sphere

There are numerous functions and powers that the regional sphere of governance holds and shares with more local entities. What emerges from the analysis of the constitutional text11, including the important “Testo Unico Immigrazione” (Immigration Text, ld. n. 286 of

1998), is the role of the region as the promoter of “substantial citizenship” or the actual possibility to enjoy social rights. On the other hand, the “formal citizenship” aspect belongs to the national government as an expression of the sovereign state. Regional competencies and regulatory powers are exemplified in five main categories: social housing policies, healthcare, labor policies, education, and cultural mediation. The author has observed how the actions taken by public institutions at the central level in terms of social rights for immigrants are also a matter of shared competences with the regional sphere forming a binomial: reception/hospitality and time of stay/integration. The first terms of the two binomials are the competence of the state, while the other two belong to the regional sphere. According to the regional statute12, the competences of the regional entities are clearly shaped in terms of

governance. The Region of Calabria acquires a very important role upon matters of addressing, programming, and coordinating all activities and programs regarding the public housing sector. It is up to the regional council to decide upon the allocation of resources territorially and to the approval of provincial and municipal initiatives regarding housing policies.

11_{Article n. 117 of the Italian Constitution on the competences of local entities.}

12_{Regional Statute of the region Calabria:}

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4.2.2Regional laws and regulations on housing policies

The region plays a fundamental in terms of regulatory policies concerning public residential housing and social housing in general. The first regulatory law that touched on housing policies with reference to immigrants seems to be the regional aw n.32 of 1996. It disciplines the assignment of public residential houses. Article n.10 of the above mentioned regional law clearly regulates the terms and conditions for those who can be the beneficiaries of public residential housing. It regulates that EU and non-EU citizens have the right to ask for and be assigned to public housing “…if this right is recognized, with conditions of

reciprocity, by international treaties and conventions and if the citizen is registered by the Provincial Labor Office or performs an authorized form of job.”

From the same legal text, the very first step for the inclusion of immigrants in the public housing sector is constituted by the clause that allows the region to hold up to 25% of public residential houses present in the entire territory of Calabria for “housing emergencies”, including in this category the accommodation of refugees in general. This of course was just the first inclusive step, followed by the urge of the following decade from the increasing presence of immigrant population in the territory.

A major legislative action taken by the region of Calabria tackling the problem of public residential housing and its management was to include a local territorial actor with specific functions in the area of public housing. The regional law n. 27 of 1996 confers important functions to the ATERP (Territorial Agency for Public Residential Housing), a public entity with legal, organizational, administrative and budgetary capacity. Following the regional agenda, the ATERP has transformed over time into a public economic entity with administrative and entrepreneurial autonomy.

With the 1998 unified text on immigration, another important regulatory intervention was introduced in the text, influencing the right immigrants hold to be eligible for public residential housing. According to local practitioners at the regional offices, “it regulates the

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requirements needed by non-EU workers and regular immigrants. It entails that those subjects who want to be eligible for social housing have to be resident in the national territory for a period of ten years and for five consecutive years in the region where they are applying for the assignment of social houses. On top of that, the candidate has to give proof of a regular and continuous working activity. A regional law of 2008 establishes that for the social and urban inclusion of the immigrant population the 5% of the new residential housing projects has to be dedicated to the category of immigrants.” Despite the agreeability of such a

percentage, administrative controversies and problems related to the validity of rankings relating to tenders have caused the stall of the projects.

4.2.3Regional pathways for the inclusion of immigrants in the housing sector.

A very important goal for the interviews was to explore the number of initiatives and institutional contacts with higher or lower levels of the public administration. With regard to this, the interviews have revealed a number of initiatives finalized to improve the conditions of the immigrant population on the territory. According to insiders, and ratified with the Accordo di Programma (Programme Agreement) in accordance with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, the region has sponsored integrative housing projects for migrants rounding up to 600,000 euros. Another initiative dates back to 2010, when the approval of a special project for immigrants in Calabria was sponsored. It was finalized to a new web of inclusive social housing for immigrant workers in five urban areas with difficult housing situations. Both projects attracted a lot of attention from the media, though as of today the actual realization of such projects is still at the discussion phase. The interviews conducted at the Programming Department revealed the how the governance aspect of the region concerning housing policies for migrants has played an important role in planning and developing projects devoted to social integrative measure. It appears that based on the different policy fields, urban inclusion and housing emergency have gathered funds destined

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to actions taken in the latter categories ranging around 2 million euros and more. These regional projects can be either sponsored by national funds named “PON” (National Operative Programs) or another category called “POR” (Regional Operative Programs), sponsored by European funds for the development of regions. According to interviewees an amount of 65 million euros, from 2009 until 2013, was used for the execution of three main areas of intervention regarding immigration in Calabria:

a) One area involves the reception and inclusion of asylum seekers,

b) A second major area focus is the social inclusion of resident immigrants,

c) And the last and third area concerns urban inclusion and the housing emergency. A very important step in terms of housing policies determining the importance of the regional actors in term of initiative and programming has been recently made by at the regional level requiring the synergy and cooperation between three different departments. Three have been the department involved in this new strategy development plan designed to cover a six-year period. According to Giacomo Mancini, the regional councilor in chief of the National and Communitarian Programming regional office, the approval of a new program for the communitarian funds that covers from 2014 until 2020: “…the region of Calabria can benefit

for more than ten and a half billion euros, an incredibly large amount of funds…regarding the contents of the program we want to confront local, national and European realities, trying to understand the mechanisms and following the good examples of governance.”

4.3 Multilevel Governance at the Municipal Level: the local reality of

Catanzaro

This part of the chapter is dedicated to the local case of Catanzaro and its territorial jurisdiction over issues concerning housing policies and social inclusive pathways. The section is structured in the following different areas of interest:

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a) Describe whom the main local actors involved at the municipal level are, their roles, competences and interactions concerning housing policies measures;

b) Introduce the steps taken by local actors regarding governance measures on housing policies.

c) Problems related to the governance of housing policies and its beneficiaries

4.3.1 Local Actors: between municipal offices, public entities and the third sector

The field research on the local dimension of policymaking, together with the analyses of policy papers, has highlighted the importance of several local actors involved in the multilevel governance of housing policies in general. To a general level, and according to the law, local actors are the holder of the administrative functions concerning social services, and contribute to fulfill the regional program. Thanks to an important legislative action taken toward the reformulation of the roles of local actors concerning social services, since the year 2000 municipal offices have the administrative duty to authorize, make accountable, and oversee social services, public residential housing, and public or private actors operating in the sector. This legislative action was a step taken in order to guarantee new check and balance mechanism among local actors to enhance the role of municipalities. The goal of this devolution of power from the central state to local authorities is in relation with the concept of subsidiarity. The meaning of the term implies “an intervention to support” and it refers to the contribution that local entities play in terms of administrative capacity. In order to guarantee the principle of subsidiarity and concur with the activity of the central state and regional programming, the municipality of Catanzaro counts on the support provided by: a) two municipal offices and b) a small but significant range of other local actors formed by public entities and third sector organizations.

The multilevel governance of housing policies for migrants in Catanzaro