Praktyka Teoretyczna (Jan 2010)

Politics for cities, cities for the political. About possibility (and necessity) of radical urban politics

  • Wiktor Marzec

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14746/prt.2010.1.6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 1, no. 0
pp. 81 – 92

Abstract

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Essay faces the problem of determinacy of global capitalism processes for the reality of urban political life. The city is naturally communitarian form of human life and seems to be the place where radical pro-community politics could be undertaken. Already existing and operating forms of power could fruitfully influence the city social relations. Values and norms of conduct are broadly delegated on the urban space and materiality, thus conscious shaping of city space has severe consequences for community life. If a crisis of the political partly has its roots in metamorphoses of the cities, then also remedies, rising from the urban materiality and reestablishing political subjects, could be thought. City, as most real place of political life could be either reduced to the aggregate of consumers or reestablished as a political community. Due to this is the place where undesired course of action could be stopped, hence precisely here the radical democratic politics can emerge.

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