Social innovation tackling poverty in European cities: the complexity of scales and social transformations

Tatjana Boczy and Yuri Kazepov

Chapter 2 in A Modern Guide to Urban Poverty, 2026, pp 46-67 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter analyses how socially innovative initiatives tackle urban poverty in Europe. We examine the complex, multidimensional nature of contemporary poverty and social exclusion in cities, moving beyond purely monetary definitions. Local social innovations play a crucial role in addressing emerging needs and new forms of exclusion not adequately covered by standardised national welfare provisions. However, these initiatives face challenges scaling up beyond the local level. We propose a multi-scalar perspective to understand how social innovations navigate governance structures across different levels to understand the mechanisms behind social transformations. The consolidation of innovative practices depends on factors like stable funding, political legitimacy and local embeddedness. While bottom-up approaches are important, public-sector support remains critical for institutionalising and sustaining social innovations. Overall, this research contributes to debates on welfare state reform and urban poverty alleviation by highlighting the potential and limitations of locally rooted social innovation in addressing complex social challenges.

Keywords: Social Innovation; Urban Poverty; Social Exclusion; Multi-Scalar Governance; Local Welfare State; European Cities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781800889682
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