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Urban Democracy and the Local Trap

Author

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  • Mark Purcell

    (Department of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington, 410 Gould Hall, Box 355740 Seattle, Washington, WA 98195-5740, USA., mpurcell@u.washington.edu)

Abstract

This paper argues against the local trap-the tendency to assume that the local scale is preferable to other scales. The local trap is an important problem in the recent explosion of research on urban democracy and citizenship. The paper highlights one strain of that literature, the work on 'the right to the city'. It is argued that the right to the city is highly susceptible to the local trap, although it is not inherently so. As we continue to search for innovative new ideas like the right to the city that can help to democratise cities, it is critical to think carefully and strategically about scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Purcell, 2006. "Urban Democracy and the Local Trap," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(11), pages 1921-1941, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:43:y:2006:i:11:p:1921-1941
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980600897826
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Neil Brenner, 1999. "Globalisation as Reterritorialisation: The Re-scaling of Urban Governance in the European Union," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 36(3), pages 431-451, March.
    2. Lawrence Pratchett, 2004. "Local Autonomy, Local Democracy and the 'New Localism'," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 52, pages 358-375, June.
    3. P M McGuirk, 2001. "Situating Communicative Planning Theory: Context, Power, and Knowledge," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 33(2), pages 195-217, February.
    4. Julie‐Anne Boudreau, 2003. "Questioning the use of ‘local democracy’ as a discursive strategy for political mobilization in Los Angeles, Montreal and Toronto," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 793-810, December.
    5. Mark Purcell, 2003. "Citizenship and the right to the global city: reimagining the capitalist world order," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 564-590, September.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Claire Bénit-Gbaffou & Obvious Katsaura, 2014. "Community Leadership and the Construction of Political Legitimacy: Unpacking Bourdieu's ‘Political Capital’ in Post-Apartheid Johannesburg," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 1807-1832, September.
    3. Mike Hodson & Frank W. Geels & Andy McMeekin, 2017. "Reconfiguring Urban Sustainability Transitions, Analysing Multiplicity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Óscar García Agustín & Martin Bak Jørgensen, 2019. "Solidarity Cities and Cosmopolitanism from Below: Barcelona as a Refugee City," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(2), pages 198-207.
    5. Jean-Paul D. Addie & Roger Keil, 2015. "Real Existing Regionalism: The Region between Talk, Territory and Technology," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(2), pages 407-417, March.
    6. David J. Madden, 2014. "Neighborhood as Spatial Project: Making the Urban Order on the Downtown Brooklyn Waterfront," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 471-497, March.
    7. Verlinghieri, Ersilia & Venturini, Federico, 2018. "Exploring the right to mobility through the 2013 mobilizations in Rio de Janeiro," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 126-136.
    8. Megan Dixon, 2010. "Gazprom versus the Skyline: Spatial Displacement and Social Contention in St. Petersburg," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 35-54, March.
    9. Pereverza, Kateryna & Pasichnyi, Oleksii & Kordas, Olga, 2019. "Modular participatory backcasting: A unifying framework for strategic planning in the heating sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 123-134.
    10. Nihad El-Kayed & Ulrike Hamann, 2018. "Refugees’ Access to Housing and Residency in German Cities: Internal Border Regimes and Their Local Variations," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(1), pages 135-146.
    11. Philipp Horn & Diana Mitlin & Jhono Bennett & Beth Chitekwe-Biti & Jack Makau, 2018. "Towards citywide participatory planning: emerging community-led practices in three African cities," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 342018, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    12. Wendy Mendes, 2008. "Implementing Social and Environmental Policies in Cities: The Case of Food Policy in Vancouver, Canada," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 942-967, December.
    13. Clive Barnett, 2014. "What Do Cities Have to Do with Democracy?," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 1625-1643, September.
    14. Allen J. Scott & Michael Storper, 2015. "The Nature of Cities: The Scope and Limits of Urban Theory," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 1-15, January.
    15. Lelo, Keti & Monni, Salvatore & Tomassi, Federico, 2019. "Socio-spatial inequalities and urban transformation. The case of Rome districts," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

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