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The urban transformations underway in Naples over the last decade refer to a few important themes of the contemporary debate regarding urban heritage and the space-time dimension of the city’s transformations, also in relation to the effects of tourism, those being: the theme of the preservation / conservation of the city’s Heritage and of possible alternative uses, the theme of the Urban Commons and experiences of temporary re-use, the theme of impacts and changes to the city’s structural heritage of buildings, also brought about by digital platforms for purposes of tourism.

These three phenomena unfold at different rates, from the slow redevelopment projects of the UNESCO to the very rapid and out-of-control changes to the real estate markets for tourist use, hence causing a paradox accentuated by the recent Covid-19 crisis. Therefore, what critical issues remain and what qualities can be traced among the urban policies that have affected the historic centre of Naples in the last 10 years? What projects and strategies can still be activated, starting from the reflections that arose at a global level in the post-pandemic era? And what possible perspectives for the future, also in function of a renewed idea of habitability, can be activated for the city’s historical heritage and its tourist accommodations?

This paper investigates methodologies for rethinking habitability of Naples’ historic centre due to over-tourism and recent urban transformations.