La dimensione istituzionale dei significati del tempo libero. Indicazioni d'analisi da un classico studio di comunità

Though leisure time and space appear at first sight at the very core of the development of modern cities, urban studies - and in particular sociological urban studies- keep generally ignoring such a domain of study. As a direct consequence of this lack of attention, the analysis of the meanings of leisure – increasingly at centre of various strains of leisure studies- risks of not having the possibilities to grasp the institutional dimension through which contemporary leisure is socially constructed. The paper argues that such a risk can be avoided by learning from the sociological analysis of leisure outlined in the classical community study of Pizzorno (1961). Indeed, this analysis gives a theoretical and methodological wonderful example of the possibilities the sociological urban perspective offers to grasp the institutional dimension of the meanings of contemporary leisure. Also, the analysis of Pizzorno exemplifies the contribution that the urban sociological perspective may give to the study of leisure by focusing on time and space conditions of leisure practices.