A particular and worrying form of urbanization are "informal settlements" or unauthorised buildings (abusivismo edilizio), a phenomenon which is particularly accentuated in southern Italian cities, especially in Campania Region. Nevertheless their challenges -economic, social and environmental -have been widely recognized in international and national programs fostering urban sustainability. In Italy, as in other European countries, the actions set out by current regulations to address illegal

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... ettlements follow several approaches: repressive, mitigatory and comprehensive. This last approach provides the legalization of informal settlements or buildings on the basis of a pecuniary sanctions to obtain a "retrospective building permit". The sanctions could represent a significant item of revenue and capital expenditure (or investment) in financing the public city. In this perspective, the article wants to extend the question with reference to some cities of the Campania Region, where there are numerous types of informal settlements. Considering the different assessment procedures used by municipalities in order to determine the value of illegal works and analyzing some municipal budgets, both the efficiency and effectiveness of this tool will be evaluated, as well as the capability of local authorities in the informal settlements management for the promotion of sustainable city.