Edinburgh Studies in Urban Political Economy – serie

Taking on Finland as its main case study, Urban Inequality in a Nordic Welfare State investigates urban governance, land and housing policies and the uneven development of the built environment. It analyses city strategies, policy documents and interviews with urban authorities to show how decentralisation, growing inter-city competition and the adopting of economic policies informed by an ideology of efficiency and entrepreneurialism in governance, have prompted the state and cities in Finland to sell public, urban land to get money for public treasuries. It demonstrates how recent transformations in the policies of a Nordic welfare state that have traditionally worked to curb urban inequalities, now allow for them to become exacerbated.

Urban Inequality in Finland investigates urban governance, land and housing policies and the uneven development of the built environment. It analyses city strategies, policy documents and interviews with urban authorities to show how decentralisation, growing inter-city competition and the adopting of economic policies informed by an ideology of efficiency and entrepreneurialism in governance, have prompted the state and cities in Finland to sell public, urban land to get money for public treasuries. It demonstrates how recent transformations in the policies of a Nordic welfare state that have traditionally worked to curb urban inequalities, now allow for them to become exacerbated.

Urban Governance and Contested Market Redevelopment in Ghana explores how urban governance, urban regeneration and urban politics intersect during market redevelopment in cities in Ghana, and Africa more broadly. Utilising market redevelopment case studies in Kumasi, Cape Coast, Ho and Sekondi-Takoradi, Lewis Abedi Asante and Ilse Helbrecht reveal how market traders resist displacement, shape urban governance and challenge modernist urban development.Introducing new frameworks, such as African market characteristics, urban governance as DEDA (decentralisation, entrepreneurialism, democratisation and activism), hybrid entrepreneurial urban governance and politically induced displacement, the book critiques mainstream urban economics and offers a counter-narrative grounded in urban social economics and political economy.

There are around 340,000 Foreign Domestic Workers in Hong Kong, but the ways in which they experience migration is largely hidden in the homes of their employers. This book helps us to understand the complexities of migrant experiences by analysing the socio-spatial consequences that emerge from global migrant labour, and examining the capacity of the disenfranchised to create new spatialities by using public space to resist their disempowerment. This approach gives voice to a phenomenon silenced by the hegemony of mainstream urban economics and, in turn, reveals practices that cut across global labour. By shedding light on the importance of space in moulding these practices and how these practices, in turn, shape space, Kwok demonstrates the power and limits of spatial agency in pushing back against the deleterious consequences of considering labour as another commodity, and reveals what lies behind the curtain of Hong Kong's 'successful' spatial capitalism.

There are around 340,000 Foreign Domestic Workers in Hong Kong, but the ways in which they experience migration is largely hidden in the homes of their employers. This book helps us to understand the complexities of migrant experiences by analysing the socio-spatial consequences that emerge from global migrant labour, and examining the capacity of the disenfranchised to create new spatialities by using public space to resist their disempowerment. This approach gives voice to a phenomenon silenced by the hegemony of mainstream urban economics and, in turn, reveals practices that cut across global labour. By shedding light on the importance of space in moulding these practices and how these practices, in turn, shape space, Kwok demonstrates the power and limits of spatial agency in pushing back against the deleterious consequences of considering labour as another commodity, and reveals what lies behind the curtain of Hong Kong’s ‘successful’ spatial capitalism.

This book investigates the consequences of shifting social responsibilities, new inequalities and the sustainability concerns created by the likely energy transition in Africa to end the fossil-fuel era. Focusing on describing the local realities in a growing coal and energy town of South Africa, Emalahleni, it explores whether a just transition from coal-generated energy is possible and what the local implications will be of this global restructuring of the energy sector. The book also provides an overview of the current situation in South Africa, mining and mining towns and the theory of a just transition and mine closure, in order to present a thorough assessment of the political economy of coal towns.Lochner Marais is Professor of Development Studies in the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State. His research integrates themes of housing policy, health and mining communities.

Assesses the coal industry, theoretical debates about coal, and government's role in a just transition and sustainabilityMade up of 4 chapters laying the conceptual framework and 14 chapters describing the local consequences of mining for a South African medium-sized townAnalyses the current situation of the mining industry: the inequalities it creates, its role in environmental sustainability and health and the implication of mining practices for business and local governmentDiscusses the possible consequences of mine closures and how a just energy transition can be ensured Asks why the mining industry, government and unions promote the open mining townsCoal and Energy in South Africa: Considering a Just Transition investigates the consequences of shifting social responsibilities, new inequalities and the sustainability concerns created by the likely energy transition in Africa to end the fossil-fuel era. Focusing on the local realities in a growing coal and energy town of South Africa, Emalahleni, it explores whether a just transition from coal-generated energy is possible and what the local implications will be of this global restructuring of the energy sector.

Examines how the control of land affects production, profit, prices and inequality in today's citiesFor the first time, this book brings together all of Karl Marx's writings on land, rent and the landed property classShows how Marx's studies of cities in indigenous, ancient, Asiatic, feudal, capitalist and communist modes of production help explain the differences between contemporary cities in the Global North and Global SouthProvides insights into the causes of the problems facing many of today's cities including rampant urban property development, the financialisation of land, land grabbing, urban governance, megacities and climate changeFills a gap in Marxist political economic theory by showing the importance Marx always placed on land as an explanation of capitalist (and other modes of production) and not just on capital and labourBringing together Marx's original writings on land, rent and the landed property class, this book applies them to contemporary cities in the Global North and Global South. The book shows how landed property, and not just labour and capital, directly affects urban economic development, the built environment, urban governance and the quality of life of people living in cities. It also shows how land, rent and class transform cities in different ways depending on the indigenous, Asiatic, feudal, capitalist or other modes of production that mould the form and substance of cities. Presenting a new comparative approach, this book provides novel insights into the origins of, and solutions to, many of today's urban problems including urban enclosures, exclusive property development, the financialisation of land, land grabbing, and climate change.