Embedded economic practices in the city of Taranto

The city of Taranto in Southern Italy is suffering from a long-lasting variety of wicked problems, such as the presence and crisis of massive and obsolete steel factory, structural unemployment and urban decline. In this context, the paper discusses a set of practices which are brought about in the historical centre of the city and that posit themselves at the fringe between economic action and community development. The authors analyse them looking at the kinds of capital that allow their production in the peculiar and highly disinvested context of the historical centre of Taranto. It will be shown that, to a certain extent, they represent examples of ‘diverse economies’ that while thematising the overall urban regeneration of the place offer relevant insights for discussions on community economies.