DIMENSIONI SPAZIALI DELL’ACCOGLIENZA E PRATICHE DI CURA COME NUOVI ORIZZONTI DEL WELFARE

This chapter explores the emerging spatial dimensions of welfare, examining care and inclusion practices in the context of the global crisis. The weakening of public institutions has encouraged a shift towards an 'enabling' state, fostering collaborations between public actors and the third sector within the framework of 'second welfare'. This model promotes social innovation, multi-level governance, and empowerment, emphasising the importance of local communities in managing collective goods. Spaces associated with inclusion, particularly within the Italian SAI system, are interpreted as enabling environments in which responsibility, participation and emancipation can be explored. In contemporary cities, shaped by mobility and transience, these spaces contribute to an urban infrastructure of care that extends beyond traditional assistance. The case study of Naples demonstrates how mapping practices and participatory living labs can reveal hybrid spaces, networks, and latent communities, thereby supporting co-design processes and new welfare configurations. However, there are still challenges in translating these approaches into effective practices and redefining institutional roles. This paper therefore argues for rethinking welfare as a spatial and relational project, based on inclusive policies and flexible urban spaces that can address inequalities and foster a caring city that is open to all its inhabitants.