Short description:

The contributions gathered in this volume shed light on the clash between the perspectives of restructuring and re-ordering urban environments in the interest of investors and the manifold and innovative agencies of resistance that claim and stand up for the rights of urban citizenship.

Long description:

At times of triumphant neo-liberalism cities increasingly become objects of financial speculation. Formally, social and political rights might not be abolished, yet factually they have become inaccessible for large parts of the population. The contributions gathered in this volume shed light on the clash between the perspectives of restructuring and reordering urban environments in the interest of investors and the manifold and innovative agencies of resistance that claim and stand up for the rights of urban citizenship. Renewed waves of urban transformation employ state coercion to foster the expulsion of poor and marginalised inhabitants from those urban spaces that attract interest from speculators. The intervention of state agencies triggers the work of hegemonic culture for reframing the housing issue and implementing moral and political legitimation, as well as legislation that restricts urban citizenship rights. The case studies of the volume comparatively show the different and sometimes contradictory patterns of these conflicts in Berlin, Sydney, Belfast, Jerusalem, Amsterdam, and ?stanbul as well as in metropoles of Latin America and China. Innovative resistance agencies emerge that paint possible paths for the re-establishment of the right to the city as the core of urban citizenship.

"This is a timely and well-crafted book, bold in scope and analysis. It brings together different voices on a global scale, with examples reaching from Amsterdam, Jerusalem, Belfast, Berlin, Sydney, China, Turkey to Latin America, analysing the contradictions of urbanization processes by differentiating hegemonic and critical discourses from each other. A must-read book for anybody who is interested in understanding contradictions in the social practices of urban life in a neo-liberal world."

Ute Lehrer, Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, Canada

"In these new times of crisis conflict and resistance are growing in cities around the world. Reacting to the march of neo-liberal policies, of planetary gentrification, the hegemony of real estate, and the inequalities and segregations they inflict, urban citizens are fighting back. They are fighting for their right to the city, their right to community, and their right to stay put. As this superb volume evidences ? these struggles are both local and global. Conflict and resistance are not static they are constantly in process (they are figurations) and herein lies their potential. This collection is not only timely, it is conceptually and theoretically informed, empirically rich and it is global. It is an excellent read for all interested in these issues."

Loretta Lees, Professor of Human Geography, University of Leicester, UK

"The central claim of this volume is that cities lie at the core of the global political economy and that global crises and discontents can only be understood through the lens of contemporary urban struggles. Leading scholars provide keenly insightful case studies covering Medellin, Jerusalem, Belfast, Amsterdam, Berlin, migrant workers in Chinese cities, Istanbul, and right to the city movements, yielding a rich volume that transcends the usual constricted viewpoints."

John Mollenkopf, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology, and Director of the Center for Urban Research at the Graduate Centre, City University of New York, US

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Logics of Urban Marginalisation and Resistance  Part 1: Restructuring and Reordering Urban Citizenship  1. Violence and the Latin American City: Security and Open Citizenship in an Age of Disorder  2. National Policymaking, Contested Citizenship, and the City  3. Criminalising Activist Spaces: Privatisation, Public Order and Moral Order  4. Exclusionary Tales of (Non)Belonging: The Crisis of Urban and National Citizenship in the Netherlands  Part 2: Urban Agency and Resistance  5. Strengthening Urban Citizenship in Berlin. Three Modes of Claiming and Expanding Rights, Resources and Recognition at the Local Level  6. Urban Changes and (Sub-)Citizenship in China: Emergence of the Subaltern-Diaosi Subjects  7. Resistance to Urban Restructuring in Turkey  8. The Promise and Practice of Urban Alliances