Mediterranean cities of hope

Abstract

This essay puts to doubt the supposed ephemerality of social movements in Mediterranean cities, focusing on Greece and discussing Spain as well. During the aftermath of anti-austerity mobilizations international networking expands, the change in values affects society, and diverse economies emerge. A new generation of digitally literate and highly educated millennials, instead of lingering in unemployment and precarity or succumbing to the brain drain, are involved in alternative and creative ventures and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE), facilitated by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). On the basis of a map of solidarity structures in Attica and a two-dimensional typology of initiatives in Greece we argue that, though these ventures are vulnerable, they transform urban public spaces. Hybrid hubs of solidarity and creativity add up to affect urban landscapes towards a grassroots version of the ‘smart city’. In the 2010s, despite the crisis, and with a short-lived positive role of the state when the Left was in power, geographies of hope have been emerging in Mediterranean Europe.