Bridging across difference in contemporary (urban) social movements: territory as a catalyst

Abstract

This editorial introduces a collection of papers that contributes to two strands of debates: the transformation of urban- and place-based social mobilizations; and the relationships and collaboration between highly diverse groups coexisting in a particular place. The introduction develops the three sets of questions that underpinned the collection (which take us to Istanbul, Madrid, Berlin and the territories surrounding Montreal and Boston): (1) Which kind of urban or territorial issues, processes or threats act as trigger/catalyst for the emergence of new coalitions between highly diverse individuals, groups or existing movements? How does urban space, or the ‘territory’ more broadly, act as a politicizing force in the process of formation of such highly diverse mobilizations? (2) Who are the actors of those diverse mobilizations? To what extent do they span across class, migration status, ethnic and other forms of social divisions, and point to cooperation between the ‘materially dispossessed’ and ‘culturally disenfranchised’? (3) How do heterogeneous groups bridge across their differences in the process of mobilization and activism, and which challenges do they face in so doing? Which repertoires of contention and modes of action do the diverse components of the mobilization bring with them? How complementary or conflicting are they?.