Solidarity networks for grassroots collaboration in response to the pandemic: the case of the city of Valencia (Spain)

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic drove the emergence of grassroots solidarity initiatives designed to alleviate the impact of the subsequent health, economic and social crisis. Some of these initiatives were organised collectively in a process which can be considered as social innovation. Taking the city of Valencia (Spain) as a case study, this paper examines the grassroots solidarity initiatives which sprang up in the first wave of the pandemic, analysing their features, their relationship with previous initiatives and their roots in the territory to make an initial assessment of their potential for social transformation.