Vulnerability and chronification of poverty: A case study of social exclusion in Olot (Girona)

Abstract

We are in a context where situations of poverty and social exclusion have spread, intensified and transformed. This context shows a more complex and diverse reality than the usual one; which, in turn, challenges the traditional ways of defining and implementing social policies. Although the debate is extensive, this article focuses on the emergence of two central phenomena to define the current social reality: the chronification of poverty and an increase in social vulnerability. First, these two phenomena will be placed in a conceptual framework on social exclusion; next, their empirical manifestation will be examined in a specific case: the city of Olot in the province of Girona). This will serve to assess the extent to which these new concepts (chronification and vulnerability) are useful to present the social reality of a specific community and, simultaneously, to observe how conceptual debates translate into practical challenges.