Urban migrant citizenship in syndemic times in Italian small towns: a case study

Journal title MONDI MIGRANTI
Author/s Alba Angelucci, Eduardo Barberis
Publishing Year 2025 Issue 2025/2
Language English Pages 20 P. 193-212 File size 205 KB
DOI 10.3280/MM2025-002009
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The COVID-19 syndemic hit disadvantaged social groups hard, especially migrants. Municipalities had to address magnified vulnerabilities during lockdowns, impacting migrants' access to social services and urban citizenship. This paper investigates how Italian local administrations and networks managed migrants' vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 syndemic, and how this shaped urban migrant citizenship in small and medium-sized towns (SMTs). Here urban citizenship is understood in terms of access to social rights and resources locally, amid weakened national welfare provisions. Presenting the results of a qualitative research based on interviews with policymakers and civil society actors in the Marche region (20202021), this paper will show how new, emergency-driven responses from public and private actors addressed these challenges. The long-term effectiveness of these approaches in supporting a complex, vulnerable population remains an open question.

Keywords: urban migrant citizenship; bottom-linked governance; public-private partnerships; small-and-medium towns; migrants’ vulnerabilities.

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Alba Angelucci, Eduardo Barberis, Urban migrant citizenship in syndemic times in Italian small towns: a case study in "MONDI MIGRANTI" 2/2025, pp 193-212, DOI: 10.3280/MM2025-002009