ZEN (Palermo)
San Filippo Neri
ZEN (Zona Espansione Nord) | |
|---|---|
Quartiere of Palermo | |
.jpg) Panoramic view of the ZEN district | |
 Position of the district within the city of Palermo | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sicily |
| Province | Metropolitan City of Palermo |
| Comune | Palermo |
| Municipality | VII |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 13,513 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| CAP | 90147 |
ZEN, acronym for Zona Espansione Nord (North Expansion Area in English), is a social housing district in the northern outskirts of the city of Palermo, in the autonomous region of Sicily, Southern Italy. It was renamed San Filippo Neri in 1997.
The district is included in the 7th municipal division of the city and has a population of around 13,513 people as of 2022.[1] It is divided in two residential areas with different building characteristics, known as ZEN 1 and ZEN 2. The latter, designed by the architect Vittorio Gregotti in 1969, is infamously known for the political and social events that made it a symbol of the urban decay associated with numerous low-income housing blocks built in Italy between the 60s and 80s, like Scampia in Naples or Quarto Oggiaro in Milan.[2][3]
ZEN has frequently been depicted by the media as one of the worst neighborhoods in the country for quality of life and has been repeatedly associated with images of crime, juvenile delinquency and social degradation.[4][5] For this reason, in 2015 the architect Massimiliano Fuksas proposed its demolition, together with other similar blocks in Italy.[6]
Italian director Marco Risi used ZEN as the setting for his 1990 drama film Ragazzi fuori (Boys on the Outside), which depicted the social problems and lack of opportunities faced by the unemployed youth of ZEN.
Bibliography
[edit]- Fava Ferdinando, Lo zen di Palermo. Antropologia dell'esclusione, introduction by Marc Augé, Franco Angeli Editore, Milano. 2008 - ISBN 88-464-9567-5
- Badami Alessandra, Picone Marco, Schilleci Filippo (eds.), Città nell'emergenza. Progettare e costruire tra Gibellina e lo Zen, Palumbo Editore, Palermo. 2008 - ISBN 88-6017-046-X
References
[edit]- ^ "Portale Open Data - Popolazione residente a Palermo al 31/12/2022 per Unita' di primo livello e cittadinanza - Comune di Palermo". opendata.comune.palermo.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- ^ "ZEN". Manifesta 12 Palermo. 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- ^ "Accordo di rete per la rigenerazione e lo sviluppo del quartiere ZEN (San Filippo Neri)" (PDF). comune.palermo.it.
- ^ "I quartieri più pericolosi d'Italia dove la vita mescola il bene e il male" [Most dangerous neighborhoods in Italy where life mixes good and evil]. italiaore24.it (in Italian). 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2025-01-30. [Here the school dropout is among the highest in Italy (2 out of 3 kids drop out of school to become a petty criminal). Here many families are poor and live crowded together in real hovels and children play among garbage. No municipal administration in the capital of Palermo has managed to heal that wound.]
- ^ Fabio d'Urso, "Librino e lo Zen, tra Urbanistica e Antropologia", 30 November 2008, Bollettino d'Ateneo, University of the Studies of Catania, retrieved on 28 February 2009
- ^ Interview in Corriere della Sera, 3 April 2006
38°10′45″N 13°18′57″E / 38.17917°N 13.31583°E
 | This Sicilian location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |