ABSTRACT Toronto has become one of the showcase cities of transnational urbanism. The Canadian ci... more ABSTRACT Toronto has become one of the showcase cities of transnational urbanism. The Canadian city is the country's most important destination for immigrants from around the world. About half of the city's population was not born in Canada; an equal proportion of the population is non- white. Increasingly, immigrants come from non- European countries, in particular from East and South Asia. The ensuing changes in the city's economic, social and cultural fabric are the subject of this article. The argument—presented in 6 steps—lays out the transnationalization of the urban experience in Toronto, describes the spatial aspects of difference, discusses the respective roles of the inner city and the suburbs in the settlement process, exposes the new social disparities of the immigrant city, points to the new political economy of the demographically differentiated urban region and introduces the terms diaspora and creolization as emblematic for the developments in Toronto. An analysis is presented, which builds on recent spatial and scale theory, urban theory and the theory of everyday life in order to systematize and explain the changes that have been described.
ABSTRACT This article reflects on the results of metropolitan governance restructuring in Canada&... more ABSTRACT This article reflects on the results of metropolitan governance restructuring in Canada's largest city, Toronto, during the ‘long 1990s', the time period roughly between the collapse of international property markets in the late 1980s and the events of 9/11/01. We alsodiscuss more recent developments including the establishment of more moderately liberal and social democratic administrations in Ontario and Toronto. Based on this context, we develop our arguments about globalization and unequal re-scalings, and the re-territorialization of political action and social movements. Through a discussion of the search for new ‘fixes' at the city-regional scale in Toronto, particularly in the sectors of competitiveness, transportation and the environment, we highlight how social movement demands have been rearticulated in the period following revisions of municipal governance mechanisms such as the debates about the municipal charter in Toronto.
This chapter traces the histories of the intersection of urbanization and neoliberalization. It d... more This chapter traces the histories of the intersection of urbanization and neoliberalization. It demonstrates that the current “urban age” has in many ways been a product of, and has been productive of neoliberalization. Urbanization and neoliberalization are material and discursive processes that lead to real (and imagined) constellations through which modern capitalist societies are being reproduced. I look at roll-back-, roll-out-, and roll-with-it neoliberalization through urbanization and discuss variegated forms of neoliberalization. (A chapter for the Handbook of Neoliberalism, Springer, Birch, MacLeavy (eds) forthcoming.
Urban politics has changed during a generation of neoliberalization. This paper argues that next ... more Urban politics has changed during a generation of neoliberalization. This paper argues that next to the notions of roll-back and roll-out neoliberalization, which have been put forward to explain this change, a third concept might be helpful: roll-with-it neoliberalization. The three concepts refer to phases, moments and contradictions in neoliberalization. Roll-with-it neoliberalization captures the normalization of governmentalities associated with the neoliberal social formation and its emerging crises. The paper outlines an immanent critique of roll-with-it neoliberalization to determine possible consequences for urban politics in this current phase: (a) neoliberal governmentality has been generalized to the point that it does not have to be established aggressively and explicitly and (b) the farreaching crises of regulation that have gripped the capitalist urban system as a result of neoliberal roll-out now demand new orientations in collective action that involve both ‘reformed’ neoliberal elite practices and elite reaction to widespread contestation of neoliberal regulation. The paper differentiates two ideal types of urban political discourses at the current conjuncture and adds a progressive alternative that points beyond the neoliberal agenda. While the previous era created governance conflicts around social cohesion and economic competitiveness, the current debate moves to new sectors of social concern, which broaden the agenda of urban politics to encompass fields traditionally not included in considerations on urban political regulation. The paper concludes that while roll-with-it neoliberalization has changed the game and moved the boundaries of urban politics, it has also created new contradictions that demonstrate its own unsustainability as a mode of regulation. As the financial and economic architecture of global neoliberalism fails, and communities world wide are thrown into the maelstrom of crisis, urban politics and the actors that make it need to be reimagined.
This article discusses perspectives of local agency in the age of the world city. It presents a b... more This article discusses perspectives of local agency in the age of the world city. It presents a brief critique of the debate on globalization and posits that globalization makes states. This includes a discussion of the local state as a complex creature of state and civil society, of the regulatory power of the urban and of the world city as a site of the emergence of the postnational state. While it can be argued that globalization hollows out the state and helps facilitate the replacement of state by non-state institutions in the market or civil society, it also creates new forms of states. The state does not wither away but is rather reincarnated in a plethora of forms on many socio-spatial scales. Globalization makes states but these differ from the ones we used to know. This article concentrates on those new forms of governance that occur on the urban level, particularly in so-called world or global cities. It makes the case for the recognition of the urban as a relevant site of the political in the era of globalization. Politics in world cities is concerned with the governance of complexity which can be understood best through a combination of regime theory, regulation theory and discourse theory.
In this essay, we propose the notion of real existing ‘lived’ regionalism as a rejoinder to the n... more In this essay, we propose the notion of real existing ‘lived’ regionalism as a rejoinder to the normative and ideological debates around new regionalism. Regional forms have shown little convergence in this age of globalized regionalization. Instead of an ideational construct or set of predictable practices, we argue that regionalism is a contested product of discourses (talk), territorial relationships (territory) and technologies (material and of power). The concept of real existing regionalism confronts the tensions between the discursive constructions and normative interventions characterizing much current regionalist debate and the territorial politics and technologies reflecting, generating and directing new state spatial strategic choices. The essay demonstrates the utility of the real existing regionalism framework through an analysis of the greenbelt, transport planning and post- suburbanization in Southern Ontario. We argue that regulatory institutions capture the Toronto region in a mix of rhetorical and technological change that complies with neither preconceived notions of regionalization nor the pessimism of total regional dysfunctionality. Rather, the lived experience of regionalization illuminates the emergent assemblages, multiplicity of everyday flows and ongoing multiscalar negotiations of diverse communities that produce the real existing region.
Summary. This paper seeks to understand why secession movements gained momentum in Los Angeles an... more Summary. This paper seeks to understand why secession movements gained momentum in Los Angeles and what their effect will be on regional governance. A brief discussion of liberal theories of secession demonstrates that they cannot explain secession movements at the ...
ABSTRACT Toronto has become one of the showcase cities of transnational urbanism. The Canadian ci... more ABSTRACT Toronto has become one of the showcase cities of transnational urbanism. The Canadian city is the country's most important destination for immigrants from around the world. About half of the city's population was not born in Canada; an equal proportion of the population is non- white. Increasingly, immigrants come from non- European countries, in particular from East and South Asia. The ensuing changes in the city's economic, social and cultural fabric are the subject of this article. The argument—presented in 6 steps—lays out the transnationalization of the urban experience in Toronto, describes the spatial aspects of difference, discusses the respective roles of the inner city and the suburbs in the settlement process, exposes the new social disparities of the immigrant city, points to the new political economy of the demographically differentiated urban region and introduces the terms diaspora and creolization as emblematic for the developments in Toronto. An analysis is presented, which builds on recent spatial and scale theory, urban theory and the theory of everyday life in order to systematize and explain the changes that have been described.
ABSTRACT This article reflects on the results of metropolitan governance restructuring in Canada&... more ABSTRACT This article reflects on the results of metropolitan governance restructuring in Canada's largest city, Toronto, during the ‘long 1990s', the time period roughly between the collapse of international property markets in the late 1980s and the events of 9/11/01. We alsodiscuss more recent developments including the establishment of more moderately liberal and social democratic administrations in Ontario and Toronto. Based on this context, we develop our arguments about globalization and unequal re-scalings, and the re-territorialization of political action and social movements. Through a discussion of the search for new ‘fixes' at the city-regional scale in Toronto, particularly in the sectors of competitiveness, transportation and the environment, we highlight how social movement demands have been rearticulated in the period following revisions of municipal governance mechanisms such as the debates about the municipal charter in Toronto.
This chapter traces the histories of the intersection of urbanization and neoliberalization. It d... more This chapter traces the histories of the intersection of urbanization and neoliberalization. It demonstrates that the current “urban age” has in many ways been a product of, and has been productive of neoliberalization. Urbanization and neoliberalization are material and discursive processes that lead to real (and imagined) constellations through which modern capitalist societies are being reproduced. I look at roll-back-, roll-out-, and roll-with-it neoliberalization through urbanization and discuss variegated forms of neoliberalization. (A chapter for the Handbook of Neoliberalism, Springer, Birch, MacLeavy (eds) forthcoming.
Urban politics has changed during a generation of neoliberalization. This paper argues that next ... more Urban politics has changed during a generation of neoliberalization. This paper argues that next to the notions of roll-back and roll-out neoliberalization, which have been put forward to explain this change, a third concept might be helpful: roll-with-it neoliberalization. The three concepts refer to phases, moments and contradictions in neoliberalization. Roll-with-it neoliberalization captures the normalization of governmentalities associated with the neoliberal social formation and its emerging crises. The paper outlines an immanent critique of roll-with-it neoliberalization to determine possible consequences for urban politics in this current phase: (a) neoliberal governmentality has been generalized to the point that it does not have to be established aggressively and explicitly and (b) the farreaching crises of regulation that have gripped the capitalist urban system as a result of neoliberal roll-out now demand new orientations in collective action that involve both ‘reformed’ neoliberal elite practices and elite reaction to widespread contestation of neoliberal regulation. The paper differentiates two ideal types of urban political discourses at the current conjuncture and adds a progressive alternative that points beyond the neoliberal agenda. While the previous era created governance conflicts around social cohesion and economic competitiveness, the current debate moves to new sectors of social concern, which broaden the agenda of urban politics to encompass fields traditionally not included in considerations on urban political regulation. The paper concludes that while roll-with-it neoliberalization has changed the game and moved the boundaries of urban politics, it has also created new contradictions that demonstrate its own unsustainability as a mode of regulation. As the financial and economic architecture of global neoliberalism fails, and communities world wide are thrown into the maelstrom of crisis, urban politics and the actors that make it need to be reimagined.
This article discusses perspectives of local agency in the age of the world city. It presents a b... more This article discusses perspectives of local agency in the age of the world city. It presents a brief critique of the debate on globalization and posits that globalization makes states. This includes a discussion of the local state as a complex creature of state and civil society, of the regulatory power of the urban and of the world city as a site of the emergence of the postnational state. While it can be argued that globalization hollows out the state and helps facilitate the replacement of state by non-state institutions in the market or civil society, it also creates new forms of states. The state does not wither away but is rather reincarnated in a plethora of forms on many socio-spatial scales. Globalization makes states but these differ from the ones we used to know. This article concentrates on those new forms of governance that occur on the urban level, particularly in so-called world or global cities. It makes the case for the recognition of the urban as a relevant site of the political in the era of globalization. Politics in world cities is concerned with the governance of complexity which can be understood best through a combination of regime theory, regulation theory and discourse theory.
In this essay, we propose the notion of real existing ‘lived’ regionalism as a rejoinder to the n... more In this essay, we propose the notion of real existing ‘lived’ regionalism as a rejoinder to the normative and ideological debates around new regionalism. Regional forms have shown little convergence in this age of globalized regionalization. Instead of an ideational construct or set of predictable practices, we argue that regionalism is a contested product of discourses (talk), territorial relationships (territory) and technologies (material and of power). The concept of real existing regionalism confronts the tensions between the discursive constructions and normative interventions characterizing much current regionalist debate and the territorial politics and technologies reflecting, generating and directing new state spatial strategic choices. The essay demonstrates the utility of the real existing regionalism framework through an analysis of the greenbelt, transport planning and post- suburbanization in Southern Ontario. We argue that regulatory institutions capture the Toronto region in a mix of rhetorical and technological change that complies with neither preconceived notions of regionalization nor the pessimism of total regional dysfunctionality. Rather, the lived experience of regionalization illuminates the emergent assemblages, multiplicity of everyday flows and ongoing multiscalar negotiations of diverse communities that produce the real existing region.
Summary. This paper seeks to understand why secession movements gained momentum in Los Angeles an... more Summary. This paper seeks to understand why secession movements gained momentum in Los Angeles and what their effect will be on regional governance. A brief discussion of liberal theories of secession demonstrates that they cannot explain secession movements at the ...
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Papers by Roger Keil
forward to explain this change, a third concept might be helpful: roll-with-it neoliberalization.
The three concepts refer to phases, moments and contradictions in neoliberalization. Roll-with-it neoliberalization captures the normalization of governmentalities associated with the neoliberal social formation and its emerging crises. The paper outlines an immanent critique of roll-with-it neoliberalization to determine possible consequences for urban politics in this current phase: (a) neoliberal governmentality has been generalized to the
point that it does not have to be established aggressively and explicitly and (b) the farreaching crises of regulation that have gripped the capitalist urban system as a result of
neoliberal roll-out now demand new orientations in collective action that involve both ‘reformed’ neoliberal elite practices and elite reaction to widespread contestation of neoliberal
regulation. The paper differentiates two ideal types of urban political discourses at the current conjuncture and adds a progressive alternative that points beyond the neoliberal
agenda. While the previous era created governance conflicts around social cohesion and economic competitiveness, the current debate moves to new sectors of social concern, which
broaden the agenda of urban politics to encompass fields traditionally not included in considerations on urban political regulation. The paper concludes that while roll-with-it
neoliberalization has changed the game and moved the boundaries of urban politics, it has also created new contradictions that demonstrate its own unsustainability as a mode of regulation. As the financial and economic architecture of global neoliberalism fails, and communities world wide are thrown into the maelstrom of crisis, urban politics and the
actors that make it need to be reimagined.
state. While it can be argued that globalization hollows out the
state and helps facilitate the replacement of state by non-state institutions in the market or civil society, it also creates new forms of states. The state does not wither away but is rather reincarnated in a plethora of forms on many socio-spatial scales. Globalization makes states but these differ from the ones we used to know. This article concentrates on those new forms
of governance that occur on the urban level, particularly in so-called world or global cities. It makes the case for the recognition of the urban as a relevant site of the political in the era of globalization. Politics in world cities is concerned with the governance of complexity which can be understood
best through a combination of regime theory, regulation theory and discourse theory.
forward to explain this change, a third concept might be helpful: roll-with-it neoliberalization.
The three concepts refer to phases, moments and contradictions in neoliberalization. Roll-with-it neoliberalization captures the normalization of governmentalities associated with the neoliberal social formation and its emerging crises. The paper outlines an immanent critique of roll-with-it neoliberalization to determine possible consequences for urban politics in this current phase: (a) neoliberal governmentality has been generalized to the
point that it does not have to be established aggressively and explicitly and (b) the farreaching crises of regulation that have gripped the capitalist urban system as a result of
neoliberal roll-out now demand new orientations in collective action that involve both ‘reformed’ neoliberal elite practices and elite reaction to widespread contestation of neoliberal
regulation. The paper differentiates two ideal types of urban political discourses at the current conjuncture and adds a progressive alternative that points beyond the neoliberal
agenda. While the previous era created governance conflicts around social cohesion and economic competitiveness, the current debate moves to new sectors of social concern, which
broaden the agenda of urban politics to encompass fields traditionally not included in considerations on urban political regulation. The paper concludes that while roll-with-it
neoliberalization has changed the game and moved the boundaries of urban politics, it has also created new contradictions that demonstrate its own unsustainability as a mode of regulation. As the financial and economic architecture of global neoliberalism fails, and communities world wide are thrown into the maelstrom of crisis, urban politics and the
actors that make it need to be reimagined.
state. While it can be argued that globalization hollows out the
state and helps facilitate the replacement of state by non-state institutions in the market or civil society, it also creates new forms of states. The state does not wither away but is rather reincarnated in a plethora of forms on many socio-spatial scales. Globalization makes states but these differ from the ones we used to know. This article concentrates on those new forms
of governance that occur on the urban level, particularly in so-called world or global cities. It makes the case for the recognition of the urban as a relevant site of the political in the era of globalization. Politics in world cities is concerned with the governance of complexity which can be understood
best through a combination of regime theory, regulation theory and discourse theory.