It is not just who you know

Dominant knowledge and civic participation

Bibliographic Data

ID12890752
AuthorsMaria Martinez‐cosio (0000-0003-0136-7229, The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume2
Issue2
Pages123-141
Publication date2006-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Civil Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-8689 • E-ISSN: 1744-8697
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17448680600905924
OpenAlexW1977173034
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited42

Civic participation and its role in increasing social capital is touted as a key element in the regeneration of urban communities. This approaches assumes that urban communities are homogenized collective interests and misses the diversity of interests that capitalize on the growth of institutionally supplied social capital brought about through redevelopment projects. This article examines the participatory processes in a Southern California urban community using social and cultural capital frameworks to show that resident participation is a classed and racialized project that privileges those with dominant knowledge, cultural awareness and language skills. The field of contestation, or the political space developed by institutional players for urban regeneration also plays a key role in determining who participates and how decisions are made. While civic participation is presented as a process that is democratic and open to all, this article argues that participation exists within a cultural context that much like the ‘hidden curriculum’ in education, privileges the knowledge of dominant groups

Capital (architecture · Citizen journalism · Civil society · Context (archaeology · Democracy · Diversity (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social capital · Social science · Sociology · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Law · Public Administration · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Capital and Networks