Infrastructural Layers: History, Labour and Platforms in a Logistical Hub

Keywords: Logistics, Infrastructures, Platforms
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 26

Abstract

The Interporto (freight village) of Bologna is the Bologna’s main logistical hub. Erected at the end of the Eighties, it was conceived as a crucial push towards the logistification of the whole territory of Bologna. It is now interconnected via railroads and national highways, it is close to an international airport. However, two main elements have disrupted the impact of its original project in the last ten years. On one hand, a radical mobilization of its logistical workers frequently perturbed its activities, making also evident the limits of its architectural design. On the other hand, a proliferation of logistical warehouse all around Bologna’s periphery, that lead to a loss of centrality of the Interporto. Moreover, the arrival of Amazon in Italy in the last years is challenging further the function of Interporto, opening up the possibility of becoming a shrinking infrastructure.
The paper will depict this scenario putting together the following elements: a co-research made within the strikes and struggles of logistical workers; an historical analysis of the construction of the Interporto elaborated in the European research-project PLUS (Platform Labour in Urban Spaces); an ongoing investigation with the research group Into the Black Box of the current logistical organization of Bologna’s metropolitan area with a particular focus on Amazon and digital infrastructures. Finally, I will elaborate theoretically this mosaic to propose an analytical matrix for thinking the multiplicity of urban infrastructures in terms of the juxtaposition on different layers (history and architecture; humans and labour; digitalization and 4.0).