In 2023, the Italian government launched the so-called “Caivano Model” — a top-down emergency plan aimed at tackling crime in one of Italy’s most troubled suburbs. But two years on, locals say all that arrived was repression. On the ground, grassroots organizations have quietly been trying to improve the situation for many years, creating opportunities for sports, tutoring, social activities, and community gardens. Real change didn’t come from the government’s emergency model — it came from decades of bottom-up activism by movements like the Vele Committee and Centro Sociale Gridas.
@vdnews_ita has travelled between Caivano and Scampia to ask a simple but urgent question: what do Italy’s peripheral neighborhoods like Caivano actually need? This video is part of our monthly “Periphery” series.
