Abstract

The article presents the results of an active research on the perception of the drug phenomenon in two local contexts of the city of Venice, identified by an experimental mapping of the territory. The management of the drug phenomenon, which in recent years affects both social and security policy, needs of localized interventions, based on a deep knowledge of the area and the impact that phenomenon has on its population. Harm reduction strategies, which combine efforts targeted at drug users with social mediation, are the most appropriate means to achieve this form of "light" social control. The hypothesis is that the perception of the drug phenomenon is influenced by historic and social factors of the areas and even by police and journalism interventions, which can amplify the perception of the phenomenon in the contexts analyzed. The survey consists of three phases: the experimental mapping of the territory, carried out through the data on the road, the police and the press, the construction of the historical/social areas and the survey on perception of the drug phenomenon. Through the results of the research it was possible to outline the profile of the areas from the point of view of their users, and from these, suggest specific and varied interventions.