Overtourism and Hostile Architecture: Preliminary Assessments of the Effects in Major Italian Cities

The term overtourism is used when the number of visitors in each location becomes disproportionate to the capacity of the site to sustainably manage tourist flows. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), overtourism denotes the negative impact of tourism on a destination, affecting both the visitor experience and, more significantly, the quality of life of residents. To better assess the impact that overtourism has had on major Italian cities over the past decade, it is essential to understand the political strategies implemented by local administrations and the resulting urban and social transformations. City administrators in the most attractive tourist destinations have adopted solutions that encourage tourist consumption while contributing to the displacement of residents. Among these strategies, hostile architecture stands out as a measure designed to control and influence the behaviour, attitudes, and well-being of specific groups of people within public spaces. In this context, several aspects can be evaluated: the weakening of local public transportation (explicit hostile architecture), the removal or alteration of benches (implicit hostile architecture), the disappearance of public restrooms (denied architecture), and other similar interventions. After establishing the general framework of reference, this study presents an assessment based on direct survey techniques, aiming to preliminarily identify the impact of overtourism-induced discomfort on tourist decision-making. This type of consultation, targeting key industry stakeholders as well as directly affected individuals both tourists and residents focuses on hostile solutions to foster a deeper understanding of the ongoing transformations.