ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns an urban movement and its role in urban politics. An urban movement is conceived here as an individual organization ‘which makes urban demands whatever their levels and effects’. The chapter discusses the significance of the study of urban movements. Agents involved in the market are oriented to the pursuit of profit, while the political and administrative institutions regulate the operation of the market and urban life. Community arises in order to protect itself from exploitation by the market and domination by the political system. In the United States where the structuralist Marxist tradition was less influential, the organizational and mobilization aspects of urban political movements received more attention. The chapter argues that the low level of actual participation renders difficult the use of some forms of polite and disruptive politics, such as large-scale petitions and demonstrations. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
