Work

Growth and flexibility at the margins? The voluntary sector and civil society in post-welfare Portland

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this article, we shed light on the growth and flexibility of the voluntary sector as it responds to the housing crisis in American cities. To do so, we adopt a perspective from the margins of the post-welfare city (using governmentality studies), focusing on obscure grassroots actors at the interface of the state, the voluntary sector and civil society. Based on fieldwork carried out in Portland, Oregon (USA), this article analyzes city code changes and incentives as government technologies, to shed light on how civil society and voluntary organizations operating at the margins are made responsible for providing resources and participating in the response to homelessness, while simultaneously having their practices subjected to control. We argue that, far from being excluded, some organizations at the margins are selected by the state for inclusion in the voluntary sector, while others remain at the margins as a way to delegitimize their own interventions and the way they provide services.

Source: Urban Studies

DOI: 10.1177/00420980251390306

Authors: Antonin Margier, Geoffrey DeVerteuil

Institutions: Université de Rennes, Cardiff University

Language: English

Topic: Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funder: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique