This book discusses local area planning in the Lombardy region of Italy. The book provides valuable insights about the development of local welfare systems and the territorial organization of social services through the analysis of the evolution of the Local Area Plan, which lies at the intersection of sub regional governance and of social services delivery models. Using Lombardy as a case study, this brief analyzes the structural conditions influencing the establishment of Local Area Plans, their effect on inter-municipal cooperation, and the need for possible reforms. 

The book is organized as follows: the first chapter presents a reconstruction of the national and regional framework, analyzing the structure of ties and opportunities within which Local Area Plans are called to act. The second chapter provides a review of the extant literature on Local Area Plans and introduces the theoretical framework used by the volume. The third chapter details legislation introduced in Lombardy to reform the governance structure of Local Area Plans by supporting a process of reorganization and aggregation. The fourth chapter presents some cases of Local Area Plan aggregation. The final chapter presents the conclusion and some brief considerations about the future of social planning. 

Providing an empirical analysis of local service delivery, this book will be useful to scholars and practitioners interested in public administration, welfare, local government, non-profit and public organizations, and management.

Pietro Previtali is Full Professor of Business Organization at the University of Pavia (Italy). He received his PhD in Management and Business Administration at Bocconi University (Italy). He is President of the Public Administration Organization and Governance Research Center. His teaching and research focuses on managerial issues surrounding the introduction of information technologies in public agencies, health care organizations, and private companies.

Eugenio Salvatiis PostDoc researcher at the Department of Economics and Management at the University of Pavia. He received is Phd in Political Science at the University of Pavia. His research interests focus on political institutions, the process of European integration, local government and governance, the organization of local welfare. He has published several articles in national and international peer reviewed journals.