Today, the concept of citizenship is the subject of intense debate, both in academic and political circles. Globalisation has made economies, institutions and technologies increasingly interconnected, going beyond the traditional boundaries of nation states. A clear example is the recent dispute over trade tariffs. At the same time, transnational connections and the use of digital platforms are growing, often generating conflicts and inequalities. In this scenario, the sovereignty of nation states still appears central, but at the same time it is weakening in its ability to mediate and act within these processes.

Urban areas are becoming key places where the main political, social and economic transformations are taking place. Filippo Bignami, Senior Researcher at the SUPSI Competence Centre for Labour, Welfare and Social Research (CLWS) and Coordinator of the LUCI - Labour, Urbanscapes and Citizenship research area, focused on this issue in the seminar held on 6 March 2025 at the Zolberg Institute of Migration and Mobility of the New School University in New York. On that occasion, Bignami explored how the boundary between online and offline behaviour is increasingly blurred, with interactions mediated by digital platforms that profoundly influence society and politics. This phenomenon, with profound implications for the very concept of citizenship, defined by him and other scholars as ‘platform urbanisation’, represents a dominant but still little analysed techno-political process.

In cities, this process manifests itself in the creation of new informal and mobile boundaries, which are added to the official ones. For example, the privatisation of public spaces, unequal access to services, the spread of e-commerce platforms and the segmentation of the population based on wealth and infrastructure are all elements of this change. The dynamics of commuting and social exclusion, which particularly affect the most vulnerable groups such as migrants, are also part of this.

Faced with these transformations, which directly affect the daily lives of all of us, it becomes essential to redefine and co-construct the concept of citizenship, adapting it to the new urban and digital realities.