Il caso di un distretto impoverito: quali strumenti per la comprensione di un territorio

(The Case of an Impoverished District: What Instruments to Use for Understanding a Local Territory?)

Abstract

This essay examines the case of a local observatory on the issue of poverty. We read this experience through a methodological lens, starting from the assumption that looking from the inside is a great opportunity to understand a social phenomenon. The paper retraces some steps of our ten-year research based on statistical analysis, interviews, specific insights, conversations with the operators, and the relations with citizens. The observatory’s aim is to understand the local society and its change in the last fifteen years following the crisis of the textile district. We try to underline the value of an inner point of view, positioning our work of researchers into that kind of “impregnation” referred to by Olivier de Sardan.