Migrant economies as new arenas to rethink policies and territorial development

The paper is based on an on-going empirical PhD project (Free University of Bolzano, Italy) and deals with the action framework of migrant economies in the South Tyrol of Italy. Self-organization among migrants is perceived as a bottom-up strategy, which can secure not only the material basis for existence, but can also promote active participation in the community and the capacity to become actors of their own development. As the preliminary findings show, in order to develop more real opportunities or freedom of choice there is a significant need to rethink migrant’s role in society. Moreover, awareness of the positive part that migrants can play in society could contribute to a more reflexive understanding of the phenomenon and lead to recognize migrant economic activities more as an important part of territorial development rather than a personal struggle and as a survival strategy.