Territorial governance processes in contemporary cities live frequently the conflict between the will to evaluate the local resources and the necessity to be competitive at international level. Where being competitive means, also, to be able to host cultural events that on one hand attract many visitors and, in some cases, trigger financial investments; but on the other hand have a negative impact on the cities and cause new "urban dysfunctions", i.e. noises pollution, waste and littering. This paper is a result of a research carried out in the city of Milan. The research aims to investigate littering behaviors in public space and during particular events/situations. The paper aims to utilize littering as lens to observe practices of urban governance and discusses the tensions among policies and practices in the littering management.
Keywords: Littering, Territorial Governance, Urban Dysfunction, Cultural Events, Geographic Information System, Smart City.