Il “muro bianco” del capitale. Storie di respingimenti e di restrizioni dagli scritti di Mike Davis

This contribution reflects on some of the issues raised in the research work of Mike Davis. His reporting over a ten year period provided an important cultural and political commentary on American cities, combining insights from sociology, urban planning, political theory and the history of ideas. The first part of the essay explores the different forms of exclusion of certain minorities, such as the blacks (African Americans) and latinos (immigrants from Latin America) that were part of the quotidian reality in the United States. The focus, in the second part, is on an emblematic case from Los Angeles, namely the phenomenon of the “white wall”, or that of “residential racism”. In this context, the theme of “exclusion” identifies the existence of “enemies” who, from the beginning of the 20th century, were considered by a substantial part of white residents to be a serious threat to both cohabitation and to the real estate valuations of a residential district. This delicate argument raises a number of further theoretical reflections which require tailored empirical investigations.