ABSTRACT
To what extent can squatting be studied as an urban movement? How do various theoretical insights from urban sociology and social movements intersect with each other? This chapter introduces the main concepts, assumptions, and theoretical approaches that help to investigate the squatters’ movements in European cities. I suggest adopting a critical perspective in which class analysis and political economy take precedence; however, the incorporation of ‘contentious politics’ and other specific concerns related to the urban and housing questions are also crucial. This engages with a specific attempt at understanding how ‘socio-spatial structural contexts’ shape movements, how agencies and identities of movements unfold within those contexts, and which outcomes are actually produced. I also look at the ‘effective radicalisation’ of urban movements when facing the increasing commodification of housing, gentrification processes, and intersectional injustices (across class, gender, and ethnic lines). In addition, the context of neoliberal urbanism over the last four decades crucially shapes the uprisings of urban movements and their coalitions with other social movements, especially at the peak of protest cycles.
