Odporność miast i nowe polityki miejskie

Urban Resilience and New Urban Policies The article analyses new urban policies and the question of urban resilience. The author focus on two case studies: the examples of “superblocks” idea in Barcelona and the idea of “15-minute city” in Paris. Both initiatives are now becoming model solutions, providing inspiration for other cities adapting to the new challenges. Moreover, both cities in the middle of the 19th century, as a result of the revolutionary reconstruction of the urban fabric, have also become model examples for other cities and symbols of the new urban way of life. The analysis, based on such examples, allows the phenomena to be explained in a long-term perspective, indicating the role of the city and urbanity in the process of initiating social change processes.

Continuity and Change of Urban Policies in São Paulo: Resilience, Latency, and Reanimation

It is usually considered that urban policy change happens gradually or abruptly, provoked by coalition shifts, political pressure, or by agenda changes in public policies. However, a broad set of urban policies in São Paulo, Brazil shows the relevance of the third kind of oscillating trajectory not yet accounted for by the literature. Departing from compared urban policies in São Paulo, this article shows incremental progressive trends due jointly to political competition (pushed by progressive governments) and policy production itself. While some programs entered the agenda to stay, others swung between implementation, latency, and reanimation. To investigate these processes, we compare four programs—(a) in situ slum upgrading and (b) bus integration (gradually imposing themselves), (c) cooperative housing construction, and (d) bus lanes/corridors (oscillating between latency and reanimation). The results challenge explanations of urban policy change, contributing to closer dialogues between urban studies and political science.

Theatre Associations in Working Class Neighbourhoods: between Politicisation and Public Action

For about thirty years now, in the context of urban policies, number of theater associations carry out projects in working-class neighborhoods providing active participation of their inhabitants. Based on an ethnographic survey in France and Italy, this article highlights the discursive politicisation processes within these associations. Participatory theatre provides a framework a priori conducive to generate “public spirited-political conversations”. However, these processes can be hampered by a set of public funding constraints.

The making and unmaking of Tarlabasi, Istanbul: an account of territorial stigmatisation

Territorial stigmatisation has been drawing attention in the past decade as an important concept in analysing the bad reputation of run-down neighbourhoods and how this bad reputation is used and produced by state agencies. Especially, the links between territorial stigmatisation and urban policies that are followed by state-led gentrification processes have been an emerging discussion in this analysis of understanding the phenomenon of stigmatised places. This paper aims to examine the links and relationships between the concepts of territorial stigmatisation, state-led gentrification and state power in the neighbourhood of Tarlabasi in historic Istanbul. The questions this paper responds to through the analysis of Tarlabasi are: What were the motivations of agencies of power to mobilise stigmatisation of Tarlabasi during urban renewal projects? Why did territorial stigmatisation increase during processes of state-led gentrification? How did the inhabitants of Tarlabasi behave in the face of increased stigma? The paper concludes with reflections on the use of territorial stigmatisation as a tool and accelerator for urban renewal/regeneration/transformation projects as well as its use as a mechanism by which to procure consent from the public.

Sanctuary Cities in Europe? A Policy Survey of Urban Policies in Support of Irregular Migrants

Irregular migrants tend to live in dense urban settings. Cities therefore formulate various policies in support of irregular migrants. Given the US phenomenon of sanctuary cities, the study of these policies has been rather US-centric so far. This letter examines urban policies in support of irregular migrants in Europe's 95 largest cities. Only 27 per cent of European cities formulate these types of policies. We discovered two relevant policy categories: status and services. Only five cities formulate policies that aim to award irregular migrants with a (more) secure status, and 24 cities formulate policies that facilitate access to city services. Our mixed-methods analysis suggests that status policies take advantage of policy-making discretion whereas service policies hinge on the availability of local resources. Yet, there are no simple explanations for the observed policy diversity that is the product of place-based policy-making.

European Integral Urban Policies from a Gender Perspective. Gender-Sensitive Measures, Transversality and Gender Approaches

Integrated policy strategies represent an increasingly popular approach in urban development and gender policies. This article analyses the integration between integral urban policies and gender mainstreaming in the European Union. A specific analytical proposal is elaborated and applied to urban policies promoted by the EU in Spain between 1994 and 2013. The Comparative Urban Policy Portfolio Analysis is used to study the inclusion of gender-sensitive policy measures in local project portfolios, their transversality across policy sectors, and the relevance of two main approaches to analyse them. The results show that integral urban development programmes have incorporated gender-sensitive policy measures. Results also show a low level of transversality focused mainly on social integration, although they combine objectives focused on a women-centred approach to classical areas of gender inequality affecting women, i.e., employment, education, health, and a gender approach focused on new welfare challenges linked to care and defamilisation. These results show the relevance of analysing gender approaches included in integral urban policies to comprehend the character of their gender mainstreaming and their potential effects on more gender-equal cities.