Social innovations and street-level bureaucracies: the governance of housing squats in Rome

As the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash has caused a spike in housing vulnerability, squatting for housing purposes has gained a new momentum in Rome (Italy). If national laws like the Article 5 of the 2014 Housing Plan have pursued the eradication of the phenomenon, local districts have often adopted a more dialoguing approach towards the squatters and Housing Rights Movements to de-escalate the social exclusion it undergirds. Dwelling upon activist-ethnographic materials, this paper combines the social innovation theory with the framework of street-level bureaucracies to critically appreciate whether the initiatives activated by local administrators and social welfare practitioners in cooperation with the Housing Rights Movements in Rome can configure durable social innovations.