Urban Dynamics and Social Movements

The chapter focusses on urban social movements and the conditions under which such movements emerge. The chapter aims to explore existing scholarship on urban studies and social movements research, first to provide a definition of urban social movements, second to explore how such movements are affected by different social and political contexts, and finally to present two types of urban mobilization that represent two ways to claim the “Right to the City”. The first type of urban movement we consider is related to Locally Unwanted Land Use; the second type is represented by squatted houses and social centers and is often described as more radical in terms of action repertoire and collective identity. The chapter concludes by pointing to the need to bridge the gap between social movements theory and urban sociology in order to produce a deeper knowledge on how urban social movements contribute to transforming the urban space.