How taking care of the local areas increases people’s security
Urban sociology has identified a vicious circle between chaos and anti-social behaviours (for example, according to the famous broken windows theory, put back at the top by Rudolph Giuliani during his mandate as NY mayor). To break this circle, according to Thomas Emmenegger, Swiss psychiatrist and director of the project Olinda, it is necessary to act at a local level with initiatives aimed to improve integration and, as a consequence, reduce people’s insecurity and fear. This is what Emmenegger has focused on for more than 20 years in the ex-psychiatric hospital Paolo Pini in Milan, now converted in a group of social enterprises that supports people with mental health problems and teenagers looking for a second chance.
