Abstract
The article examines the administrative reform process at the local level in Italy. Its point of departure is the "institutional incrementalism" that has taken place in recent years through the proliferation of new agencies within the old structure of local government. It deals particularly with the establishment of neighborhood councils in a number of Italian cities and their more recent development in Bologna, Florence, and Milano. The general thesis is that the reform process is an adaptive reaction to the changing relation ship between the political administrative system and its citizens to maximize consensus and that the main function of the neighborhood councils has been to increase the legiti macy of the system by smoothing the policy process.
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