1970s Italy saw urban uprisings across its cities, as working class residents occupied their houses, hospitals and neighbourhoods. A wave of revolutionary activity, best known by the slogan ‘Take Over The City!’, this moment is a vital reference point for today’s campaigns and struggles over land and urban life! In his new book, Take Over The City: Spatial Composition in Italian Autonomy (Common Notions 2026), Neil Gray offers the first developed account of how these movements were rooted in the shifts of post-war Italian capitalism, and develops a radical framework for understanding how militants have turned to the streets and social life to challenge the state and capitalist power.
This book launch will also be a space to hear from activists participating in a number of contemporary campaigns and struggles – over space, housing and community life – as we collectively make sense over the transformation of our cities and towns.