Abstract
This paper explores post-Soviet migration in Rome not merely as a demographic process but as a dynamic force reshaping the city’s social and spatial morphology. Through everyday trajectories, informal meeting places, and digital networks of mutual support, migrant communities generate new layers of the urban fabric—what may be called a living archaeology of the present. These emergent forms of spatial and social ordering reveal how migration redefines the city from within, intertwining material infrastructures with intangible networks of belonging and legitimacy. Grounded in the frameworks of cultural anthropology and interdisciplinary urban studies, the research applies concepts of everyday law (Merry 1988; Ewick & Silbey 1998) and legal pluralism (Santos 2002) to examine how post-Soviet migrants negotiate their right to space and visibility. Methodologically, it combines digital ethnography, participant observation, and spatial mapping to trace how micro-practices of adaptation inscribe themselves onto Rome’s historical landscape. Findings suggest that these social morphologies act as mediators between the ancient and contemporary city, producing hybrid spatial experiences that challenge traditional notions of urban continuity and citizenship. By highlighting these invisible infrastructures of coexistence, the paper argues for recognizing the social and digital layers of urban environments as essential dimensions of sustainable and inclusive spatial design.
Presenters
Liubov IashchenkoMA Student in Cultural Anthropology, Dipartimento di Storia, Antropologia, Religioni, Arte e Spettacolo (SARAS), Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Urban anthropology, Social morphology, Post-Soviet migration, Digital ethnography, Everyday law
