Geography

Place frames: Analysing practice and production of place in contentious politics

Document Type

Book Chapter

Abstract

This chapter concentrates on one particular place-specific movement. It explores the ways movements for a more just city articulate the 'global' in struggles that take place 'locally' and vice versa. Urban movements have also made increasing use of another sociospatial dimension: Networks, which span space and frequently cross hierarchical scales. They build links between local struggles and transnational organizations, between place-based contestation and global NGOs, thereby bringing into contact vastly different movement lexicons and political cultures. Local struggles against corporate urban development and the 'entrepreneurial city', which challenge the make-over of central business districts (CBD) and concomitant gentrification processes, increasingly confront global investors and developers. Local protest is made up by residents of abandoned and deindustrialized districts who contest the effects of neoliberal globalization with strategies as varied as squatting vacant buildings or developing self-help structures. The experiences gained at summit protests as well as those from World Social Forum meetings are brought home.

Publication Title

Spaces of Contention: Spatialities and Social Movements

Publication Date

2016

First Page

85

Last Page

99

ISBN

9781317051763,9780754677789

DOI

10.4324/9781315610191-9

Keywords

gentrification, tourism, neighborhood change, central business district

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS