Politics and possibility on the metropolitan edge: The scale of social movement space in exurbia

Both the suburbanization of poverty and the growth of suburban social movements have been the focus of much academic discussion of late, even if these two discussions are not necessarily linked. One area that has been relatively underresearched when it comes to both phenomena are exurban regions, critical spaces of change and crisis, in particular in upmarket regions like those in Northern and Southern California. This paper presents a case study of the 'social movement space' of eastern Contra Costa County, on the edge of the San Francisco Bay Area. It argues that not only did propoor, socialjustice- oriented movements arise over the past decade in response to changing geography, they exhibited a form of 'scalar promiscuity' which differs from the regionalization of social movements or other forms of 'scale jumping' well known in the literature

Planning the Barrio: Ethnic Identity and Struggles over Transit-Oriented, Development-Induced Gentrification

I argue that ethnic identity formed the basis of collective actions against transit-oriented, development-induced gentrification in three Latino barrios in Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Diego. I demonstrate how these barrios relied on ethnic identity as a basis for mobilizing political capital, grassroots actions, and symbolic capital. Ethnic identity helped Latinos in these barrios create meaningful spaces of participation that transformed these transit investments into community-driven projects and encouraged opportunities for community benefits