Luxury as a Driver for New Urban Identities in Milan: Geographies, Spatial Practices, and Open Questions

In contemporary cities, the role of capital and private investors who finance interventions in the field of urban regeneration has become an increasingly important catalyst for the physical and social impacts of these transformations. This paper aims to point out the role of urban projects developed by luxury companies or stakeholders in consolidated urban regions. Starting by analysing the spatial distribution of luxury firms in Milan and composing a tentative classification system based on a variety of case studies, the author proposes a mental map of spaces shaped, occupied, transformed and infected by the sector within the contemporary metropolis. The resulting network of urban places sprawls out not only across centralized areas, but also in peripheral neighbourhoods, which interact with existing contexts, spatial and economic relationships as well as evident and hidden flows. From this basis, the contribution reflects on a set of luxury-driven practices and their impacts on urban identities. The reflection includes the role played by media technologies in these transformations and in the study of their development. The conclusions then discuss the role of luxury; whether it transforms the physical form of our city (its shape and patterns) or rather influences processes of transformation.