ABSTRACT
Many movements have shown that they are not merely passive victims of neoliberal globalization, that they are able to understand what is going on and to react creatively and effectively to the changing governance environment. This chapter offers a case study of one such movement in Seattle, the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition (DRCC), which is working to increase popular control over a Superfund cleanup of the city's main river. The case emphasizes the complex, contradictory, and contingent nature of neoliberal governance. It shows how even though paths to popular power are being closed off, innumerable openings also exist that organized and capable movements can use to their advantage. The case of the DRCC also points to the potential of the right to the city as an idea that can help hold together the broad coalitions without reducing them to homogeneity.
