The Political Potential of Urban Informality in the Global North: A Rancièrian Perspective

Niek van de Pas, David de Kort, Martijn Koster and Toon van Meijl
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Niek van de Pas: Radboud University
David de Kort: Radboud University
Martijn Koster: Radboud University
Toon van Meijl: Radboud University

Journal of Developing Societies, 2022, vol. 38, issue 2, 224-243

Abstract: In recent years, a growing number of scholars have highlighted the presence of urban informality in the Global North. Although we applaud this development, we deplore that this body of literature is characterized by analytical ambiguity and fragmented discussions. More specifically, the literature often reduces or repudiates the political potential of urban informality by (a) integrating it into the formal, (b) mobilizing it for policy purposes, and/or (c) designating it as a “policy problem.†In this article, we examine the existing literature and rethink the concept of urban informality by discussing it in relation to Jacques Rancière’s distinction between “police†and “politics.†This distinction enables us to highlight the political potential of urban informality in the Global North.

Keywords: Urban informality; Global North; Jacques Rancière; police order; politics; post-colonial urbanism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jodeso:v:38:y:2022:i:2:p:224-243

DOI: 10.1177/0169796X221089463

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