Space, power, and justice: the politics of building an urban justice movement, Long Beach, California, USA

Abstract

Cities are places where individuals emerge from their private spaces, connect with each other, form solidarities, politicize themselves, and begin to think as a group with distinctive interconnected interests. The politicizing effects of cities, particularly around social justic organizing, is not uniform across space. Long Beach, CA, USA is an unexpected case, a city with a long history of conservative politics. As recent as 2007, the pro-growth coalition blocked challenges to its neoliberal strategy; by 2014 a social justice turnappeared possible. This study makes three claims. 1) Cities are part of broader urban spaces that can foster social networks within and across cities. 2) Interaction between regional progressive and city networks can facilitate mobilizations in cities without a history of progressive politics. 3) The effective leveraging of relationships and resources requires local leadership imbued with a thorough understanding of the city’s history.

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