Negotiated spaces” for representation in Mumbai

Ward committees, advanced locality management and the politics of middle-class activism

Bibliographic Data

ID12242585
AuthorsIsa Baud (0000-0001-5801-6193, University of Amsterdam, corresponding author), Navtej Nainan (University of Amsterdam, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume20
Issue2
Pages483-499
Publication date2008-09-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironment and Urbanization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0956-2478 • E-ISSN: 1746-0301
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0956247808096124
OpenAlexW2062385833
LanguageEN
Citations received52
References cited13

In Mumbai, new forms of cooperation between local government and citizens seek to improve local representation and the quality of services. This paper examines which residents are represented or excluded in these arrangements, the mandates and processes by which the arrangements are negotiated and the outcomes. Local representation through elected councillors is compared with that through voluntary neighbourhood groups (Advanced Locality Management groups, or ALMs), which work with the executive wing of local government. ALMs, involving middle-class groups, work on environmental, security and upgrading issues. They are expanding their claim to both political and public space, often excluding “unwanted” people. Elected councillors are channels mainly for low-income groups, addressing issues relevant to municipal services but also responding to personal grievances and concerns. Conflict between political representatives and their parties and ALMs is not unusual. Both of these “negotiated spaces” give citizens some way of holding government to account, although middle-class citizens are finding greater scope for action

CONTEST · Government (linguistics · Local government · Locality · Middle class · Neighbourhood (mathematics · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Representation (politics · Sociology · Work (physics · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Public Administration · Urban and Rural Development Challenges · Urban Planning and Governance

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