Book excerpt: Presenting social innovation initiatives that emerged from organized citizenry in Southern European cities, this book explores the response to austerity policies implemented after the 2008 economic crisis. Chapters look at the common aim of these initiatives in responding to social needs and challenging social exclusion. Social Innovation and Urban Governance offers an empirically informed theoretical discussion on the scope of citizen action when members of civil society or emancipator social movements organise to contribute to local democratic governance and to enlarge the reach of social welfare. Contributions highlight how, starting from innovative actions in individual urban neighbourhoods, social actors created opportunities for participation in society and organised from below to collaborate with local institutions in "bottom-linked" forms of governance. A timely exploration of the importance of social innovation in urban settings, this is a useful book for scholars of urban studies as well as sociology and human geography. It will also be an insightful read for urban policy-makers.