Urban movements: from identity to glocality

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to examine the transformation of urban movements in the globalization era and their impact on urban production and urban change. We consider that the city is scenario and product of the social relationships, and for this reason we cannot separate the study of social movements from the urban theory Urban Movements in Western Europe are experimenting substantive changes on mobilization agenda, actors’ articulation, action repertory and interpretative frames that organize and make sense of their actions, as (Hamel, 2000; Swyndgedouw, 1997, 2000; Mayer, 1999). We’re changing from one model based in neibourghood associations leadership, local community empowerment and centered on collective consumption sphere (Castells, 1986) to other multidimensional forms of mobilization, more heterogeneous and transcending the localism. In order to examine this transformation, we develop a critical review of Castell’s (1986) social urban movements theory from the glocalization hypothesis (Brenner, 1999), heterogeneus mobilization (Mayer, 1999) and social movements hybridization (Fainstein, 1995). To exemplify this transformation, we consider the evolution of Barcelona’s urban protest.