ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role that the political opportunity structure played in the mobilization process of the Aged Temporary Housing Areas protest. It argues that together these three aspects determine the potential for a social movement to become involved in the political system and to have an effect on policies. The chapter considers the actors involved in the articulation channels. It examines the relationships between the ATHA protesters and the actors involved in the polity. The chapter contends that the political conditions in this period were not as favourable for the urban movements as they had been in the previous period, because the political rights movement gradually detached itself from the urban movement. It argues that in the early 1970s, the Housing Authority had both an economic and a political function: it was a strategic means by which the government could minimise its spending on public housing, and counter public protest.
