This edited volume advances our understanding of urban activism beyond the social movement theorization dominated by thesis of political opportunity structure and resource mobilization, as well as by research based on experience from the global north. Covering a diversity of urban actions from a broad range of countries in both hemispheres as well as the global north and global south, this unique collection notably focuses on non-institutionalised or localised urban actions that have the potential to bring about radical structural transformation of the urban system and also addresses actions in authoritarian regimes that are too sensitive to call themselves "movement". It addresses localized issues cut off from international movements such as collective consumption issues, like clean water, basic shelter, actions against displacement or proper venues for street vendors, and argues that the integration of the actions in cities in the global south with the specificity of their local social and political environment is as pivotal as their connection with global movement networks or international NGOs. A key read for researchers and policy makers cutting across the fields of urban sociology, political science, public policy, geography, regional studies and housing studies, this text provides an interdisciplinary and international perspective on 21st century urban activism in the global north and south.

Housing markets were at the centre of the recent global financial turmoil. In this study, a multidisciplinary group of leading housing analysts from the USA, Europe, Asia and Australasia explore the impact of the crisis within and between countries.

As the economy and society of China has become more diversified, so have its urban neighborhoods. The last decade has witnessed a surge in collective action by homeowners in China against the infringement of their rights. Research on neighborhood governance is sparse and limited, so this book fills a vital gap in the literature and understanding.The authors reveal how the Chinese authorities have themselves become increasingly sensitive to the potential risk of collective actions becoming destabilizing forces in urban arenas. This thought-provoking book looks at both the theoretical and empirical underpinning of the self-governance of homeowners and their collective action, as well as control mechanisms in neighborhood governance. The book offers a window through which contending issues, such as changing state-society relations, rights-based social movements and the emergence of civil society, can be further explored. Neighborhood governance is a multifaceted concept that cuts across academic disciplines and intersects an array of policy areas. Therefore this book will find a wide audience amongst public and social policy academics, particularly those with an interest in urban studies, governance and Asian cities, as well as politics. Contributors: W. Breitung, H. Chai, J. Chen, L. Chen, Y. Chen, Y. Gui, S. Guo, R. Huang, Y. Jiang, W. Ma, B.L. Read, X. Sun, J. Tang, J. Wang, Y.Wu, N.-M. Yip

Young People and Housing brings together new research exploring the economic, social, and cultural challenges that face young people in search of permanent housing. Featuring international case studies from Asia, Europe, and Australia, Young People and Housing is a collection of groundbreaking work from leading scholars in housing policy. Younger generations across a wide range of societies face increasing difficulties in gaining access to housing. Housing occupies a pivotal position in the transition from parental dependence to adult independence. Delayed independence has significant implications for marriage and family formation, fertility, inter and intra generational tensions, social mobility and social inequalities. The social and cultural dimensions are, of course, enormously varied with strong contrasts between Asian and Western societies in terms of intergenerational norms and practices in relation to housing. Nevertheless, younger households in China (including Hong Kong), Japan, the USA, Australasia and Europe face very similar challenges in the housing sphere. Moreover, concerns about the housing future for younger generations are gaining greater policy and popular prominence in many countries.

Housing markets were at the centre of the recent global financial turmoil. In this study, a multidisciplinary group of leading housing analysts from the USA, Europe, Asia and Australasia explore the impact of the crisis within and between countries.

Young People and Housing brings together new research exploring the economic, social, and cultural challenges that face young people in search of permanent housing. Featuring international case studies from Asia, Europe, and Australia, Young People and Housing is a collection of groundbreaking work from leading scholars in housing policy. Younger generations across a wide range of societies face increasing difficulties in gaining access to housing. Housing occupies a pivotal position in the transition from parental dependence to adult independence. Delayed independence has significant implications for marriage and family formation, fertility, inter and intra generational tensions, social mobility and social inequalities. The social and cultural dimensions are, of course, enormously varied with strong contrasts between Asian and Western societies in terms of intergenerational norms and practices in relation to housing. Nevertheless, younger households in China (including Hong Kong), Japan, the USA, Australasia and Europe face very similar challenges in the housing sphere. Moreover, concerns about the housing future for younger generations are gaining greater policy and popular prominence in many countries.

This edited volume advances our understanding of urban activism beyond the social movement theorization dominated by thesis of political opportunity structure and resource mobilization, as well as by research based on experience from the global north. Covering a diversity of urban actions from a broad range of countries in both hemispheres as well as the global north and global south, this unique collection notably focuses on non-institutionalised or localised urban actions that have the potential to bring about radical structural transformation of the urban system and also addresses actions in authoritarian regimes that are too sensitive to call themselves "movement". It addresses localized issues cut off from international movements such as collective consumption issues, like clean water, basic shelter, actions against displacement or proper venues for street vendors, and argues that the integration of the actions in cities in the global south with the specificity of their local social and political environment is as pivotal as their connection with global movement networks or international NGOs. A key read for researchers and policy makers cutting across the fields of urban sociology, political science, public policy, geography, regional studies and housing studies, this text provides an interdisciplinary and international perspective on 21st century urban activism in the global north and south.

This book examines the active role of urban citizens in constructing alternative urban spaces as tangible resistance towards capitalist production of urban spaces that continue to encroach various neighborhoods, lanes, commons, public land and other spaces of community life and livelihoods. The collection of narratives presented here brings together research from ten different Asian cities and re-theorises the city from the perspective of ordinary people facing moments of crisis, contestations, and cooperative quests to create alternative spaces to those being produced under prevailing urban processes. The chapters accent the exercise of human agency through daily practices in the production of urban space and the intention is not one of creating a romantic or utopian vision of what a city "by and for the people" ought to be. Rather, it is to place people in the centre as mediators of city-making with discontents about current conditions and desires for a better life.