Resilient networks and quality of life

Abstract

The contribution presents the results of a research conducted in the historic center
of Naples on the theme of quality of life and social resilience. Recovering the dimensions of the BES (“BenessereEquo e Sostenibile”, Fair and Sustainable Wellness),
the results of a survey created with the aim of identifying a series of indicators focused on the crucial aspects that (directly or indirectly) influence and determine
the level of well-being of individuals and local communities in the historic center
of Naples. On the other hand, the contribution offers a reflection on the ability of
citizens to respond to social problems, showing practices of social resilience "mediated" sometimes by the contribution offered by small local organizations (many of
them volunteering); sometimes by initiatives proposed by groups of citizens who, in
a self-organized and spontaneous way, activate a dense fabric of "informal" relationships in the territory, made up of particularly active and enterprising small knot
networks. We have defined them as resilient networks: networks that show the elasticity of the social body to respond to uncomfortable situations, to restore forgotten
and disused places to citizens, to amplify (even indirectly) the perception of citizens’
quality of life, giving value to initiatives that lead to the rediscovery of old and new
urban spaces.