Social innovation, reciprocity and contentious politics: Facing the socio-urban crisis in Ciutat Meridiana, Barcelona

Abstract

Taking one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Barcelona as a paradigmatic case, the aim of this paper is to explore the ways in which contestation organised by sublocal grassroots movements in the context of the current urban crisis operates, both in terms of content and form of protest. Our thesis is that resident mobilisation in the neighbourhood of Ciutat Meridiana is expressive of a new cycle of (urban) social mobilisations in Spanish cities. In such mobilisations, more or less spontaneous initiatives which emerged to counteract the effects of the crisis at the community level are simultaneously serving as platforms for reciprocity and political contestation. Establishing a dialogue with the literature on social innovation, in this paper we claim that these micro-local urban practices are linked to broader social movements and thus play a fundamental role in the political empowerment of citizens living in highly segregated and vulnerable urban areas.

What Sustainable Development Goals Do Social Innovations Address? A Systematic Review and Content Analysis of Social Innovation Literature

“…SIs are considered suitable for solving many of the most challenging problems facing today's society and for mitigating inequalities inherent to traditional solutions [4,5]. They address a wide-ranging field (e.g., from sustainable consumption [6,7] to health issues [8,9] or from sustainable energy [10,11] to sustainable cities and communities [12][13][14]). Even though SIs have only gained attention and interest in the 21st century, SIs per se have existed since the beginning of humankind [15].…”

The effects of economic crises on participatory democracy

“…This impact could have at least two faces: it could alter the nature of demands made by citizens; and alter government reactions to these proposals. In both cases these are relevant research questions that have not been adequately and systematically addressed (Blanco and León, 2017).…”

“…Similarly, Åström and colleagues (2013) explain that the economic and political crisis in Iceland led to innovative and challenging e-participation initiatives at the national level and also in the city of Reykjavik. In the local Southern European context, research on this issue has been limited, but a combination of new types of protest activities mixed with social innovation and platforms for social reciprocity have been observed as a result of the multidimensional and structural crisis (Blanco and León, 2017). In a broader sense, the crisis has generated new social movements and political parties in Spain (Martí-Costa and Tomàs, 2017) and emergent 'urban solidarity spaces' in Athens (Arampatzi, 2017).…”

The social innovation–(re)politicisation nexus: Unlocking the political in actually existing smart city campaigns? The case of SmartCity Cologne, Germany

“…satisfying unmet social needs and making social contributions, including the empowerment of communities) (Baker and Mehmood, 2015). Blanco and Leo´n (2017), in particular, have documented how confrontational social innovation can lead to a 'process of political empowerment' (p. 2185), through their case study of the negotiation of a new affordable housing policy in Barcelona. This case displays the potential effectiveness of conflict for shifting power relations in urban governance among civil society (especially marginalised actors), the market and different levels of government (Gonza´lez et al, 2010).…”