Papers are invited for a conference to be held at the Politecnico di Milano, School of Architecture and Society to address a range of issues relating to middle-class housing from the post-war period to the present. Possible topics include:
• The construction processes of the buildings and complexes for the middle classes during the second half of the 20th century in specific national and urban contexts
• The role played by professionals in shaping the physical features of the habitat for the middle classes, and the mutual influences between their practice and the transformation of mass culture, from domestic habits to consumption patterns and lifestyles
• The forms of transformation, adaptation and renovation of this housing stock from its construction to the present, with particular regard to their relationships with the residents’ changing lifestyles, needs and aspirations
• The life stories of the dwellers: how the social, demographic and cultural changes let emerge new future scenarios for this built stock and raise new relevant issues to be addressed by public policies
• Urban middle-class lifestyles as desire for autonomous and distinctive dwelling practices, as well as an ethos for social mixing, civic participation, environmental sustainability