Governance Lessons from Urban Informality

Abstract

We locate this issue’s papers on a spectrum of radicalism. We then examine that spectrum, and the governance mechanisms described, through the lens of a significant arena of urban counter-planning: the urban informal economy. Drawing on our own research on self-organization by informal workers and settlers, as well as broader literatures, we suggest useful lessons for reinventing urban governance.

Keywords

• bottom-up
• counter-planning
• governance
• informal economy
• informality
• radicalism
• social movements
• top-down
• urban planning