Opening the urban "black box" The role of the local context in urban protest Anna Subirats Ribas Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Florence, 25 March 2020 European University Institute Department of Political and Social Sciences Opening the urban "black box" The role of the local context in urban protest Anna Subirats Ribas Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Examining Board Prof Donatella della Porta, SNS/formerly EUI (Supervisor) Prof Claire Colomb, UCL Prof László Bruszt, CEU/formerly EUI Prof Eduardo Romanos, UCM © Subirats Ribas, 2020 No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Researcher declaration to accompany the submission of written work Department of Political and Social Sciences - Doctoral Programme I Anna Subirats Ribas certify that I am the author of the work "Opening the 'urban black box'. The role of the local context in urban protest" I have presented for examination for the Ph.D. at the European University Institute. I also certify that this is solely my own original work, other than where I have clearly indicated, in this declaration and in the thesis, that it is the work of others. I warrant that I have obtained all the permissions required for using any material from other copyrighted publications. I certify that this work complies with the Code of Ethics in Academic Research issued by the European University Institute (IUE 332/2/10 (CA 297). The copyright of this work rests with its author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This work may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. This authorisation does not, to the best of my knowledge, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that this work consists of 90.311 words. Signature and date: 2 March 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Absract………………………………………………………………………………..iii Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………...v List of figures……………….………………………………………………………..vii Introduction…………………………………………………………………………....1 Chapter 1. Exploring the ground: urban conflict and the local context…………...…11 Chapter 2. Analytical Framework and Methodology………………………………...45 Chapter 3. Local Context in Barcelona……………………………………………....73 Chapter 4. Local context in Turin……..…………………………………………....103 . Chapter 5. The Urban Conflict……………………………………………………...139 Chapter 6. Framing Strategies……………………………..………………………..169 Chapter 7. Organisational forms in urban protest………………………………..…195 Conclusion……………….………………………………………………………….215 Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………225 Bibliography…………………………………………………….…………………..241 i ii ABSTRACT This thesis analyses urban protest actions in the context of austerity urbanism in Southern Europe, attempting to better understand the conditions that lead to the mobilisation of urban protestors. To date, the literature on urban movements has tended to analyse the effect of macro-forces in transforming the urban environment, finding in them an explanation for protest. By contrast, local contexts – the political and institutional environments in which urban protest emerge – has been relatively unexplored. This is the case despite the fact that, empirically, we see significant variation in local protest despite similarity in the macro-problems effecting residents’ lives. Barcelona and Turin are examples of two cities that share many similarities in terms of large-scale processes and phenomena but nonetheless differ markedly in terms of the characteristics of their respective urban mobilisation. Both cities have transformed their economic model over recent decades, moving from an industrial base to the promotion of cultural and knowledge-based economic activity. Barcelona and Turin have also made notable efforts to promote themselves internationally with the aim of attracting foreign investment. Recently, both cities have been acutely affected by the financial crisis, suffering severe housing crises and being subject to fiscal constraints and austerity cuts. At the same time, both cities have a strong tradition of urban protest. Taking existing urban studies literature as a starting point, all of these factors would lead to an expectation of similar levels and forms of urban mobilisation in Barcelona and Turin, but this thesis shows that urban mobilisation in the two cities differs in significant ways. This thesis explores the ways in which local contexts may be important in shaping expressions of urban protest. In doing so, I use protest event analysis and content analysis methodologies to collect, map and analyse 852 protest actions of urban movements in Barcelona and Turin between 2011 and 2015. Drawing on the broader literature on social movements, I argue that the nature and structure of local institutionalised power are important and under-studied aspects of the dynamics of urban protest. More broadly, the thesis suggests that in order to understand urban protest, it is necessary to look beyond the particularistic qualities and fragmentation of iii a highly place-embedded activism and consider it in the deeper context of the local political process. iv AKNOWLEDGMENTS Over the course of this thesis I have experienced momentous changes in my life; I have lived in three different countries, met an extraordinary, diverse collection of new people, met my partner and had two children. Many years have passed since I began this long process and it is impossible to gather all the feelings and thanks that I would like to share. I would, however, like to mention a few of the people without whom this thesis would never had got close to this stage. I have always found it difficult to focus on a single thing and, throughout my life, I have often regretted committing to too many things at the same time. Doing the thesis while starting a family has proved to be challenging, to say the least. I am now left with a bitter-sweet feeling. On the one hand I feel bad about not having completed this thesis in a more straightforward way, without asking so much support from those around me. On the other hand, I feel proud and happy; I look around and I have somehow managed to create and raise two little people at the same time as researching and writing this thesis. I have certainly not done it alone. First of all, I want to thank my supervisor, Donatella della Porta; no-one better than her could have supervised this research. Over the last (eight!) years, she has been supportive, empathic, and very, very patient. I will always be grateful to her for giving me the opportunity to be at the European University Institute (without much background in social science) and, since then, for guiding me through the process. She has provided me with advice, suggestions and, at times, the pressure that were needed while also empowering me to develop my research autonomously. The thesis has been written and re-written in Florence, Newcastle and Barcelona. In Florence I spent four incredible years surrounded by amazing friends, colleagues and the EUI community in general. The experience in Florence has been truly life-changing for me, and I learnt so much from the multi-national and inter-disciplinary environment while working towards my PhD. I especially thank Juan, Ilaria, Daniela, Ludvig, Albert, Quique, Lucrecia, Itzea, Martín, Maca, and many others for making my years in Florence inspirational and enjoyable. v In Newcastle I spent long periods writing while my partner’s family took care of my children; thank you Diane, Tom, Frances, Molly and Elsa for being supportive, understanding and generous with the help I needed. Most of all, thank you for the love you gave to Miquel and Tomàs while I worked and that I know you will always give them. I The final years of the writing of this thesis have been spent in Barcelona. I thank my friends here for understanding why they never see me. I also especially want to thank my family. My parents and sisters – Joan, Carme, Clara and Berta – have been extremely supportive. Not only have they supporting me practically, but the way that they approach life and never stop doing things has always been an inspiration to me. Finishing this PhD is, to a great extent, thanks to them. Finally, this thesis would never have been possible if it were not for Patrick, my partner in this and in everything else. Thanks for the nights, the days, the meals, and everything else. This thesis is dedicated to Miquel (3 years old) and Tomàs (11 months), who until now have lived their whole lives with this thesis and still do not know what their mum is like when she doesn’t have to work all the time. One of the games Miquel has played over the past year is to ‘write a book’ on his computer, just like me. I look forward to all the games we will play together as a family in the years to come. vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Spain, 1995-2015. Figure 2. Number of urban-type protest events. Event-count data aggregated on annual basis. 2011-2015. Figure 3. Distribution of urban-type protest events according to issue-areas of protest. 2011-2015. Figure 4. Number of urban-type protest events. Event-count data aggregated on a monthly basis. 2011-2015. Figure 5. Number of participants in urban-type protest events. Participants-count data aggregated on a monthly basis. 2011-2015. Figure 6. Distribution of repertoires of action in urban-type protest according to levels of disruptiveness, 2011-2015. Figure 7. Distribution of protest events by repertoires of action. 2011-2015Figure 8. Trigger of urban protest in Barcelona and Turin (2011-2015). Figure 8. Distribution of protest events by targets of action. 2011-2015. Figure 9. Trigger of urban protest in Barcelona and Turin. 2011-2015. Figure 10. Protest events disaggregated by scale of reference, Barcelona and Turin.