Abstract

This article distinguishes resident and neighbourhood movements on the basis of their primary purpose: as movements for neighbourhood defence, movements for self-determination, movements for social inclusion, and movements for radical change. Movements for neighbourhood defence are further classified in terms of the primary threat against which the defence is aimed: excessive increases in rent or property tax, evictions, racial oppression, gentrification, privatisation, and loss of amenity or asset value. Particular attention is paid to the tenants' movement, arguing that it is primarily a movement for social inclusion. It is also argued that Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field, and crisis provide an effective framework for making sense of resident and neighbourhood movements