Theory and Urban Politics

1. Gerry Stoker

Abstract

This article presents the main themes in the theoretical debates taking place in urban political theory. The first debate is around the analysis of community power and its renewal through such theoretical approaches as growth machines and urban regime theory. The analysis of urban protest is a second debate and the author suggests that the renewal of this analysis should come through the investigation of third force organizations, neither private nor public. The third and final debate is that regarding the emergence of contextual theory, including approaches relating to globalization and regulation theory. The article concludes that urban political science has remained open to new theoretical approaches.

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