The commodification of territorial stigma: How local actors can cope with their stigma

This paper presents an analysis of three area-based initiatives’ in a stigmatized neighborhood of Naples (Scampia). It is based on ethnographic material collected between 2013 and 2014. We focus on the relationship between territorial stigmatisation and local actors within these initiatives.The aim is: to contribute to the debate on the «coping» strategies that the local actors of a disadvantaged territory put in place with respect to the stigma of their context; to broaden the framework of the debate on the processes of commodification of stigma. Finally, this contribution could also add to the debate surrounding the effects of area-based initiative.