Manuel Castells - On Localism

Urban social movements have not disappeared, by any means. But they have mutated. In an extremely schematic representation, they develop along two main lines. The first is the defence of the local community, affirming the right to live in a particular place and to benefit from adequate housing and urban services in their place. The second is the environmental movement, acting on the quality of cities within the broader goal of achieving quality of life, not only a better life but a different life. Often, the broader goals of environmental mobilisation become translated into defensive reactions to protect one specific community, thus merging the two trends. Yet it is only by reaching out to the cultural transformation of urban life as proposed by ecological thinkers and activists that urban social movement can transcend the limits of localism. Indeed, enclosing themselves in their communities, urban social movements may contribute to further spatial fragmentation, ultimately leading to the breakdown of society.

From - Space of flows, space of places (published in Comparative Planning Cultures)