Palermo housing emergency and urban accessibility reforms

The city of Palermo is addressing a housing emergency through the repurposing of public and confiscated assets. In one instance, the Municipality assigned a property in the Tommaso Natale-San Lorenzo area to a family of six, including five minors, after it was recovered from mafia occupation.

Councilor for Social Housing Fabrizio Ferrandelli noted that recovering such assets allows the city to provide dignity and access to services to families on the housing emergency list while combating illegal housing markets. To further address the crisis, regional officials have urged the municipality to prepare projects for the national ‘Piano Casa’ (Housing Plan). This strategy involves cooperation between the Municipality, the Region, and IACP to secure funds for renovating existing assets, constructing new units, and utilizing properties confiscated from organized crime.

Building on these efforts, the municipal administration has launched a tender for 794,000 euros to conduct extraordinary maintenance on confiscated properties to ensure safety and habitability.

Expanding its urban and social initiatives, the municipal government has adopted the Plan for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers (PEBA). This strategic tool, which includes an estimated €112.28 million for interventions on municipal buildings, UNESCO sites, and public spaces, will undergo a 30-day public consultation period. To improve the management of the housing crisis, the Municipality has also introduced new standardized procedures for housing exchange requests to ensure transparency and equity.