This thesis investigates spatial injustice in post-disaster geographies through the case study of the 1980 Irpinia earthquake in Southern Italy, focusing on the city of Avellino. By examining the relationship between urban planning, governance, and reconstruction processes, the research explores how natural disasters can become catalysts that reveal and reproduce existing inequalities in the built environment.

The first chapter introduces the concept of spatial justice, examining how infrastructure, architecture, and urban planning can operate as tools of control and marginalization, deepening social inequalities. It also situates these dynamics within the specific context of Southern Italy, through a critical reading of the Southern Question and its colonial construction, drawing on Carmine Cornelli’s decolonial analysis of the Mezzogiorno.

The second chapter focuses on the destruction of Avellino and the political and economic dynamics of its attempted reconstruction, investigating the entanglements between local governance, speculative interests, and emergency policies.

The third chapter centers on the long-term effects of the reconstruction process of the city’s fabric and its dwellers through the testimonies of two women: Armida Tino, Avellino’s former councilor for culture and wife of architect Marcello Petrignani, who drafted the city’s first master plans in 1971 and 1987; and Ada Becchi, member of the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission on the Reconstruction Measures in Basilicata and Campania of 1989-1990.

Finally, the fourth chapter explores the works and practices of DAAR (Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti), Gordon Matta-Clarke, and Mike Kelley, as critical explorations of space beyond the frameworks imposed by capitalist and colonial legacies.

Author: Francesca Pionati