Solidarity as Care: Multidimensional Inequalities and Narratives in Italian Cities

Solidarity was a central concern for progressive movement organizations during the pandemic. This chapter explores the narratives of urban movements in Italy in three fields in which solidarity initiatives are widespread: migration, housing and care. In particular, through frame-analysis it aims to shed light on how solidarity and contentious actions are entwined in the strategies of collective actors dealing with contemporary urban transformation. The chapter is based on the analysis of 25 self-produced documents that have been published on blogs, social media webpages and in journals by 25 collective organizations or movement networks based in two Italian cities: Florence and Palermo. Generally speaking, the various collective actors identify the unequal access to services as the main source of social problems and injustices in their cities. With regard to the solutions presented, there is a call to recognize direct social action and solidarity as the only way to overcome such difficulties, but also for public institutions to guarantee civic, political and social rights. In this sense, solidarity also connects to a new, broader meaning of care, which often emerges as care for both people and the locality, aligning with environmental and healthcare issues.