Sostenibile per chi? Transizione ecologica e vulnerabilità sociale

This article presents an overview of recent social science research engaged with the nexus between social vulnerability and ecological transition, in urban contexts of the Global North. Starting from a perspective attentive to ethnographic and qualitative methods, I review research on two main trends, intersected by multiple cross-cutting topics: (1) vulnerability as exposure to different ecological harms, produced by the overlapping effects of urban marginality and social inequalities, but also by the potential drawbacks of adaptation policies; (2) more or less «sustainable» knowledge and practices of different vulnerable subjects, migrants among them. The so-far overlooked experiences and perceptions of vulnerable subjects and groups can substantially enrich sustainability debates. At the same time, the article reflects on the necessity to go beyond a strictly Western-centered gaze, thus embodying in future research a thorough consideration of the complex combination of material elements and cultural meanings, in the social construction of key concepts such as «sustainability», «environment», «nature».