Social well-being in shrinking areas in Spain and Italy: towards a new idea of social territories?

This chapter focuses on the often-overlooked “social dimension” of the migration–development nexus through an analysis of diverse case studies in rural areas of Spain and Italy. The findings contribute to unpacking the implications of social well-being in rural contexts, enabling a critical examination of settlement processes, inequalities, and sustainability. By mapping the dimensions most frequently highlighted by participants — social capital, services and housing, homemaking, and human–nature relations — the authors advocate for a multidimensional approach to social well-being and emphasise the importance of mobilising the concept of “social territories.”