Crisis, (re-)informalization process and protest: the case of Barcelona

Abstract

Analyses of responses to the crisis in Southern European cities have underlined political unrest and social mobilization as the result of growing inequality and the imposition of cuts. This article analyses these responses in terms of the return of reciprocity practices in a context of weakening citizenship rights. From this point of view, these responses can be understood as forms of informality as is analysed in cities of the global south. Citizens' self-organisation to cover basic needs can be read as strategies of resistance such as quiet encroachment. Some of these strategies are politicized, becoming part of the political struggle for rights. Through the case of Barcelona, this article analyses how different groups are politicizing these practices and by focusing on the case of sub-Saharan migrants living in abandoned factories in the city in particular. The analysis shows how in the context of weakening or the absence of citizenship rights, there is a growth of informal practices that can be unevenly politicized by different groups.