Contesting neoliberal urbanism in Glasgow's community gardens: The practice of DIY citizenship

Crossan, J. , Cumbers, A. , McMaster, R. and Shaw, D. (2016) Contesting neoliberal urbanism in Glasgow's community gardens: The practice of DIY citizenship. Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography, 48(4), pp. 937-955. (doi: 10.1111/anti.12220)

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Abstract

In this journal, it has been suggested that citizens practising community gardening “can become complicit in the construction of neoliberal hegemony”. Such hegemony is maintained, it is argued, through the day-to-day work of neoliberal citizen-subjects, which “alleviates the state from service provision”. In this paper we acknowledge that community gardens are vulnerable to neoliberal cooptation. But, even where neoliberal practices are evidenced, such practices do not define or foreclose other socio-political subjectivities at work in the gardens. We contend that community gardens in Glasgow cultivate collective practices that offer us a glimpse of what a progressively transformative polity can achieve. Enabled by an interlocking process of community and spatial production, this form of citizen participation encourages us to reconsider our relationships with one another, our environment and what constitutes effective political practice. Inspired by a range of writings on citizenship formation we term this “Do-It-Yourself” (DIY) Citizenship.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Crossan, Dr John and Cumbers, Professor Andrew and McMaster, Professor Robert and Shaw, Professor Deirdre
Authors: Crossan, J., Cumbers, A., McMaster, R., and Shaw, D.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
Journal Name:Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:0066-4812
ISSN (Online):1467-8330
Published Online:28 January 2016
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2016 The Authors
First Published:First published in Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography 48(4): 937-955
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

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