Sommario: 

1. Premessa.

2. Le radici del dissenso territoriale e la fatica di decidere.

3. Lo spazio (demitizzato) della partecipazione alle scelte infrastrutturali. 

4.Il dibattito pubblico tra negoziazione e partecipazione. 

5. La partecipazione alle decisioni di interesse generale dopo il dibattito pubblico.

Abstract:

In Italy, siting policies is the target of a recurrent opposition from the local communities that bear the economic and social costs of the construction of unwanted facilities. In order to face these «territorial conflicts», other countries have been introducing tools to open a dialogue between citizens and public administration in the infrastructure siting procedures (such as the «dèbat public» in France and the «public inquiry» in UK). Following these examples, the recent Italian code of public procurement provides for the introduction of a «public debate» aimed at including the voices of private subjects in the public action. This article, starting from an analysis of the causes of «siting conflicts», seeks to analyze the main features of the Italian «public debate» in order to understand whether its application could create an efficient relationship between decision-making and consensus-building.