New social risks and the role of local welfare: an introduction

This introductory chapter presents the aims of the book and the methodology of the research on which the book is based. In the first section the issue of social vulnerability in local contexts is addressed, showing the connections with the theoretical debate on poverty and social exclusion on the one hand, and with current urban research on the other. The second section examines the shift to new social risks throughout Europe, looking at current trends in employment, housing conditions, work-care reconciliation, immigration, and income vulnerability. In the third section, policy implications are discussed, by considering to what extent local welfare systems in Europe are able to deal with (new) social risks and what are the main challenges on the table. The fourth section briefly considers the impact of the current economic crisis on both social risks and local welfare. Finally the last section describes the aims and methodology of the research in details.