The logic of informality in shaping urban collective action in the Global South
Year: 2024
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: This chapter analyses the role of informality as central to place-making in cities in the Global South. We focus on informality as a type of ‘logic’ that has a social character, representing a collective way of acting and organising beyond, or despite, the state or as a response to the state’s regulations. Although it is seen otherwise, we argue that in most cases informality is not spontaneous, unplanned or unstructured. On the contrary, there is a very clear logic and social hierarchy that regulates economic and social activities and establishes power relations in space and time. Through collective action, informality can lead to formidable visible outcomes for a community, a city and the state, even if not formally acknowledged. Focusing on housing and land tenure informality, we use examples from our own research to illustrate the concept of informality as locally organised, socially embedded and capable of innovation, creativity, adaptation and rapid responses to crises.
Source: Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks
Authors: Sonia Roitman, Peter Walters
Language: English
Subfield: Urban Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4394933875