The Permanent Red Zone: An Ethnography of Spatial Practices in the Areas of the Italian Central Apennines Affected by Earthquakes (2016–17)

The earthquake that affected the Central Apennines between 2016 and 2017 is one of the most significant socio-economic disasters Italy has experienced in the last few years. This chapter is the result of ongoing fieldwork regarding temporary housing and emergency policies in Alto Nera (an epicentral area that includes the villages of Visso, Ussita and Castelsantangelo Sul Nera). It examines how local communities experience the post-earthquake public and physical spaces of the temporary shelters provided by the Italian government for residential and commercial activities. The focus is on how local communities narrate the current state of the reconstruction and the changes wrought on their daily habits by the processes of displacement and resettlements. These local communities are experiencing issues related to public spaces and associated social practices that have changed profoundly since the earthquake. The uncertainty concerning the reconstruction has weakened their agency and ability to think about the future, while the post-earthquake dimension of ‘permanent emergency’ exacerbates and generates new vulnerabilities. Within this framework, the ethnographic methods allow to re-articulate discourses and practices that characterize dwelling in this specific territory, within and beyond displacement and resettlements.