ABSTRACT
This chapter postpones the domination/contestation impulse and seeks to take seriously what Jessop and Sum call a third “injunction” toward a “cultural political economy”. It seeks to reveal how informality, rumor and humor are the preferred means to engage in oppositional politics. The chapter investigates the socio-economic inequalities resulting from historically entrenched commodification of Marrakesh’s heritage. Globalization is an historical trend of growing and deepening interconnectedness among people and societies worldwide. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book focuses on the ways in which the city’s residents interpret those urban processes and receive/perceive the changes underway in their neighborhoods. It attempts to disclose the “social structures” of the housing market by focusing on the large-scale housing projects as well as the “niche” housing market of riads. The book also focuses on fragmented, non-confrontational forms of resistance. It explores the processes by which a “Marrakesh identity” is being constructed and branded.
