Globalized Urban Precarity in Berlin and Abidjan

Hannah Schilling is an urban sociologist and associated member of the Georg-Simmel Center for Metropolitan Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

• In transition: the making of urban livelihood1 Crossing views: airtime selling in Abidjan and food delivery in Berlin2 Conceptual devices: inequality at work in comparative perspective3 Hustling: the symbolic value of in-between work4 Trust and rule: tying workers to work5 Organizing care: distributive labour across private and public realmsNot just of symbolic value: work to make oneself living

'By exploring how changes in technological and informal work transform identity, social networks, and economic survival, Schilling's book represents an important contribution to urban sociology, labor studies, and the discourse on digital economies. For scholars in the fields of urban inequalities, labor dynamics, and the global digital economy, Globalized Urban Precarity in Berlin and Abidjan is an indispensable resource. Schilling’s comparative approach and detailed ethnographic method provides a powerful examination of how young urbanites become ensnared by the social and economic forces that shape their lives. While defining new modes of survival in today’s urban spaces, Schilling’s book is an important guide in understanding the ways in which digital transformations reshape work.'Duane Ebesu, Columbia University, African Studies Quarterly