ABSTRACT
Residents create political moments by mobilizing around very specific issues affecting them. Political moments contrast with other kinds of organizing that are often privileged in studies of social movements. This chapter argues that political moments can secure durable changes that give a wide range of poor people access to city resources. It explores the conditions that create opportunities for political moments and then the kind of organizing that comprises them. The chapter then explains how these kinds of opportunities and organizing combine powerfully to mobilize poor communities and secure short- and long-term gains. It illustrates these arguments through the specific conflict: a redevelopment plan for a poor Philadelphia neighborhood at the turn of the millennium. Political moments' specific and fleeting nature can make it possible to mobilize individuals and organizations that might be hesitant to engage in politics. The specific framing and short-term time frame, therefore, have actual, often positive, consequences for who is mobilized.
