EPILOGUE--FROM 'GRAY SPACE' TO EQUAL 'METROZENSHIP'? Reflections On Urban Citizenship

摘要

This epilogue provides an overview and critique of the articles in this symposium, and an invitation to rethink, conceptually and empirically, our urban future. Using examples from cities in Israel/Palestine, it links the articles to the main currents in the literature on urban citizenship and 'right to the city'. It draws attention to several voids in current debates, particularly around the rapid growth of urban informality and the changing nature of globalizing urban regimes. The epilogue introduces the notions of 'gray spacing' to account for recent transformations in these regimes and the rise of 'defensive urban citizenship' under conditions of neoliberal economy and persisting nationalism. It argues for the rethinking of the struggle for urban democracy in terms of 'metrozenship' as a foundation for renewed critical research and political transformation.