Archive of cities

Greater Manchester Housing Action is an organisation at the forefront of fighting Manchester’s neoliberal urban development. Members Tom Gillespie, Isaac Rose and Jonathan Silver explore the role that Blairite 'urban entrepreneurialism' has played in both the cynical commodification of Manchester's rich cultural heritage and the burgeoning housing crisis in the city. 

Residents in South Leeds are fighting back against private developers who want to demolish their affordable homes and break apart their community. Community organiser Luke Dukinfield reports on the resistance of local residents in the LS26 Save Our Homes campaign.

Belfast's Titanic Quarter has been heralded as the final act of a city passing from its dark past into its new status as a modern European capital. But, beyond the endless PR copy, what does urban redevelopment like that in Belfast tell us about where power resides in our towns and cities, and about the role of the real estate state in the process of gentrification?

Who are our cities for? A reading list on the geography of inequality, the politics of cities and planning and the fights for more just and sustainable urban environments.

Leslie Kern asks how we can create a feminist city and what tools women can use to support each other.

Leslie Kern discusses the care work and feminized labor that keeps cities running, asking: once the global pandemic subsides, will care work be forced back into obscurity, or will we work to re-organize our cities in ways that support, value, and redistribute care more equitably?

In his new book Capital City, Sam Stein describes how one of the tasks of urban planners is to make capitalist development appear to be in the rational best interests of workers and bosses alike.

Key reading on our cities and the geography of inequality, politics, and identity.