Local politics and immigration: mobilizing immigrant associations beyond small-scale cities

Abstract

Cities, towns and rural areas may respond differently to similar challenges posed by the arrival of immigrants. While New York or London are large-scale, global cities; residential cities outside of Madrid or Lisbon may be considered small-scale ones. I propose an analytical framework that problematizes the political mobilization of immigrant associations in small-scale cities through a multi-scalar lens. I illustrate the utility of this framework by studying the mobilization of immigrant associations in the 2010 local census controversy in the Catalan city of Vic, Spain. I highlight the potential that small-scale settings have for the multi-scalar mobilization of immigrant associations.