ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that there is indeed a case for distinguishing a sub-national level of social citizenship. It argues that cities have an important part to play in securing citizenship in general and social citizenship in particular. Financial hardship was mentioned as one of the major causes of social exclusion, so it is beyond doubt that decent basic social security benefits and a redistribution of paid work are and will remain important weapons in fight against social exclusion. In order to prevent non-take-up and to promote the implementation of social rights, informing people about their rights, avoiding complex and bureaucratic claiming procedures and encouraging a respectful treatment of claimants by social policy administrators should be important issues of urban social policies. One of the reasons for the attractiveness of the concept of social exclusion for policy makers might be that it fits with a shift of the central point of social policies from income and welfare towards integration and activation.
