Abstract

"Circoscrizioni" have been for a long time the main institutions of municipal decentralization and citizens participation. They have been recently abolished for all the municipalities under 250,000 inhabitants. In their experience, "circoscrizioni" weren't able to really promote participation, because they have been occupied by parties with a national and centralized structure. Many municipalities have just created or are projecting new institutions of decentralization or participation of citizens on the basis of quarters. The essay critically describes these solutions in the light of the concept of democracy and self-government of city communities.