Resisting Redevelopment (Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics)

Winner of the 2021 American Sociological Association Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Charles Tilly Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Book Award
The politics of urban development is one of the most enduring, central themes of urban politics. In Resisting Redevelopment, Eleonora Pasotti explores the forces that enable residents of 'aspiring global cities,' or economically competitive cities, to mobilize against gentrification and other forms of displacement, as well as what makes mobilizations successful. Scholars and activists alike will benefit from this one-of-a-kind comparative study. Impressive in its scope, this book examines twenty-nine protest campaigns over a decade in ten major cities across five continents, from Santiago to Seoul to Los Angeles. Pasotti sheds light on an approach that is both understudied and remarkably effective - the practice of successful organizers deploying 'experiential tools,' or events, social archives, neighborhood tours, and performances designed to attract participants and transform the protest site into the place to be. With this book, Pasotti promises to provide a creative and novel contribution to the literature of contentious politics. Resisting Redevelopment has been reviewed in European Planning Studies, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Mobilization, Regional Studies, Journal of Urban Affairs, Perspectives on Politics, Urban Research & Practice, Urban Policy & Research, Governance, Critical Mass, Contemporary Sociology and American Journal of Sociology. 

Eleonora Pasotti is Professor of Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the author of Political Branding in Cities, (Cambridge, 2009).