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Urban Studies, Vol. 43, No.

4, 745– 765, April 2006

Citizenship Practices and Urban Governance in


European Cities

Marisol Garcı́a
[Paper first received, November 2004; in final form, November 2005]

Summary. This paper presents the theoretical background against which the relation between
citizenship and governance can be explored in European cities. The article revisits the link
between the social and political dimensions of citizenship and the public sphere, emphasising the
participatory paradigm. Moreover, it examines some current citizenship and governance
practices occurring in European cities and neighbourhoods. It argues that the practice of
citizenship has been challenged in European cities not only by the globalising forces which have
contributed to the increasing numbers of denizens, exploited immigrants and the poor, but also
by the implicit changes in collective understanding of social justice. Finally, it critically discusses
the term ‘urban citizenship’ as capturing local participation of citizens in the pursuit of welfare,
recognition and against neo-liberal policies. Instead, the author proposes the term ‘urban and
regional forms of citizenship’ substantiating the continuous relevance of territorial citizenship in
the context of multilevel governance.

Introduction According to this White Paper, ‘democratic


Governance is a negotiation mechanism for governance’ includes the principles of open-
formulating and implementing policy that ness, participation, accountability, effective-
actively seeks the involvement of stake- ness and coherence—principles designed to
holders and civil society organisations reinforce subsidiarity. More specifically, the
besides government bodies and experts. It is White Paper and the current policy practices
a model of decision-making that emphasises of the European Union are reinforcing the
consensus and output and that claims to be role of sub-national organisations and their
participatory. “a binding decision-making in policy implementation. In this European
the public sphere” (as defined by Hoogue environment, urban and regional governance
and Marks, 2003, p. 233). At the European are gaining momentum in European cities
level, it is regarded as a new form of policy (Le Galès, 2002). Debates on local governance
formation. Multilevel governance includes, have been advanced parallel to discussions on
in addition, other government and institutional the local dimension of citizenship framed as
levels, both national and sub-national, and has ‘urban citizenship’ or ‘local citizenship’. This
been formally recognised in a White Paper article highlights these discussions and aims
published by the European Commission.1 to relate the fundamental contribution of
Marisol Garcı́a is in the Departamento de Teorı́a Sociológica, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, University of Barcelona, Avda/
Diagonal, 690, 08034 Barcelona, Spain. Fax: 003493 2007537. E-mail: marisolgarcia@ub.edu. The author would like to thank
Patricia Kennett and the Editors of the Journal of Urban Studies, the anonymous reviewers and Michiel Tegelaars for the construc-
tive and detailed comments on previous drafts of the article; also Guido Martinotti, Roger Frienland and Edward Soja for their
comments on the first draft presented at the International Workshop on “Urban Science Forwards Look” organised by the University
of Milano –Bicocca and the European Science Foundation in Milan, 22 –23 September 2004.
0042-0980 Print=1360-063X Online=06=040745 –21 # 2006 The Editors of Urban Studies
DOI: 10.1080=00420980600597491
746 MARISOL GARCÍA

citizenship dynamic—to promote equal worth role of local institutions and actors. Even if
for citizens and a frame for participation in the largest share of responsibility for the pro-
society—with urban and multilevel govern- vision of social policy falls to the national
ance. The article challenges some definitions governments in the majority of EU member-
of urban citizenship and explores the ways states, regions and cities are gaining more
in which the entitlements and decision- responsibility for the administration of social
making processes of the local dimension of policy resources as well as for the manage-
citizenship are connected to the entitlements ment of services. This context allows urban
and rights from other territorial polities. institutions to undertake initiatives in areas
I will use the concept of public sphere as a such as employment and social inclusion as
tool to exemplify my argument. well as in areas of housing and social services.
Parallel to the expansion of practices of
social and political citizenship at the local
From National to Local Forms of
level, the supranational organisation consti-
Citizenship and the New Governance
tuted by European member-states in the
Environment
European Union eventually undertook the
The strong role played by the nation-state in reterritorialisation of citizenship in two
providing political citizenship and in design- stages: first, in the Maastricht Treaty (1992)
ing and implementing social citizenship with the incorporation of the principle of
through entitlements has not prevented the European citizenship; and, secondly, with
expansion of decentralised mechanisms of the formal acknowledgement of multilevel
decision-making and policy implementation governance by the European Commission in
in most Western nations. As a result, the gov- the White Paper (2001). Even if sovereignty
ernments of cities and regional governments remains in the member-states of the European
have been increasingly involved in social poli- Union, debates and mobilisation for further
cies’ design and supervision. In Europe, extension of political rights to non-citizens
several models of decentralisation crystallised mean that there are signs of an emerging Euro-
in the second half of the 20th century, some pean public sphere which has resonance in the
more distributive than others. The social different territorial levels (Garcia et al.,
democratic model exhibited in the Scandina- 2004).4 How does this new frame affect the
vian countries with universal social welfare practices of social and political citizenship
not only meant more generous policies nation- and the enhancement of life-chances of citi-
ally, but also a wide range of institutions and zens in European cities?
actors implementing social redistribution at The increasing responsibility of local
the local level. In other more federal bodies for social policy requires new insti-
models—Germany, Belgium, Austria and tutional practices to incorporate wider and
recently Spain—there has been ample room more heterogeneous actors. The arrival of
for local decision-making. Germany is a new waves of immigrants in European cities
good example, with important consequences is testing the existing cultural and institutional
as will be shown later on in this article.2 frames. This process of integration of new-
Other welfare regimes have developed comers and the restructuring of social policies
similar practices.3 The common feature is as a result of internal demographic trends are
that citizenship practices (related to welfare both contributing to the emergence of the
redistribution) in the social sphere have been new forms of local governance. There is a
gaining relevance in cities. As a result, there negative effect of this emerging pattern of
has been a wide discussion concerning the local governance: fragmentation of citizen-
local dimension of citizenship (Garcı́a et al., ship entitlements, which could lead to new
1996; Madanipour et al., 1998; Isin, 2000; interurban and interregional inequalities. The
Rogers and Tillie, 2001; Purcell, 2003). incorporation of multilevel governance and
These developments have highlighted the its promotion by the European Commission
CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES 747

can be seen as a way to promote co-ordination development of full citizenship. As civil


and mutual surveillance in order to avoid such rights protect the individual from arbitrary or
danger.5 Does this mean that through multi- discriminatory treatment and as political
level governance there are wider opportunities rights ensure that power is not confined to
for participation for larger numbers of citi- the hands of a few, social rights offset the vag-
zens? Does this participation mean enhance- aries of the free market and correct its inherent
ment of social and political citizenship? This inequalities. When states respond to the basic
article explores these questions in the follow- needs of disadvantaged citizens and when
ing way. First, it presents the theoretical back- they do so universally, without stigmatising
ground against which the relation between those in need, they, through social welfare
citizenship and governance can be explored provision, enable the less fortunate to
in European cities. Secondly, it revisits the acquire the minimum competence required
link between citizenship and the public so that they too may participate—fully and
sphere. Thirdly, it examines some current citi- with dignity—in their political communities
zenship and governance practices occurring in as equals.
European cities and neighbourhoods. Finally, The emphasis in this analysis is on
it ends with a reflection on the variability of minimum competence and participation in
citizenship practices stressing the diverse society.6 In this perspective, welfare entitle-
opportunity structures for citizens’ partici- ments not only protect citizens but also
pation. In the case of governance, democratic enable their participation as full members in
governance is seen as a key conceptual and their political communities. This opportunity
normative ideal type from which other types to participate enhances a sense of belonging
of governance are deviating leading to poor and enables citizens to be active agents of
accountability and therefore being detrimental change. One aspect of Marshall’s theory
to citizenship. most subject to revision has been its historical
linkage with national identity and state sover-
eignty. In current urban societies, this concep-
tualisation has been challenged in the cultural
Citizenship Practices: Equal Worth and
sphere because there is an increasing variety
Participation in Multilevel Governance
of cultures and moralities that required new
Citizenship practices are conditioned and theoretical perspectives and policies (Soysal,
often facilitated by prevailing structures and 1994; Rogers and Tillie, 2001). In the econ-
by the norms and values embedded in those omic sphere, the prominence of cities—
institutional structures. Conversely, insti- especially global cities—has also encouraged
tutional norms and practices can be chal- a questioning of the sovereign state as recipi-
lenged by citizens and residents aspiring to ent of political loyalty (Sassen, 2000; Purcell,
be citizens. In fact, the practice of citizenship 2003). The debate on the resilience of the
is dynamic, as historically rights have been nation-state versus other potential polities is
gained as a result of civic and political mobi- likely to go on (Joppke, 1998; Koopmans
lisation. In this sense, citizenship practices are and Statham, 1999; Morris, 2002). This
mediated by reflexive processes, with citizens debate may be missing the point of the quali-
reinterpreting the basis of their collective life tative transformation in politics and decision-
in new ways that correspond to their evolving making prompted by the restructuring of
needs and ideals (Bellamy, 2001, p. 65). The world capitalism from the 1980s (Brenner,
dynamic character of citizenship was portrayed 1999, pp. 435–439). According to Brenner’s
by T. H. Marshall (1950) in his well-known interpretation, the state ‘rescaling’ is a
work, in which he linked civil citizenship strategy of crisis management. The main
with social welfare. In his analysis, the univer- objective of the state in the present situation
sal provision of education, health, social is to enable competitiveness of cities and
security and welfare benefits leads to the regions that are threatened by loss of
748 MARISOL GARCÍA

comparative advantage leading to decline. As debates; however, the pursuit of social


a result justice and equal worth should take into con-
sideration the participatory paradigm in two
new geographies of urban governance are
interrelated dimensions. These are: the social
currently crystallising at the multiscalar
and the political dimensions of citizenship.
interface between processes of urban
For social citizenship to be realised, a
restructuring and state territorial restructur-
certain redistribution of wealth is needed to
ing (Brenner, 1999, p. 443).
include all members of society so that they
Leaders of cities and regions are reaching can be competent participants in the prevalent
agreements with national governments to way of life of the society in question. This
attract investment that are likely to change involves discussions about which goods are
the priorities of urban governance. Brenner’s to be distributed, how goods are going to be
analysis coincides with Swyngedouw’s allocated, to whom those goods are distributed
empirical data that showed how emerging and with what means. These discussions that
forms of governance in Belgium involved a used to be located at the national level in the
replacement of the “citizen’s state” by a “tech- Fordist period are increasingly developing at
nocratic-managerial-entrepreneurial” one the local level as well as at other levels of
which threatened urban and regional social governance (regional and supranational).
cohesion (Swyngedouw, 1996). I agree with Moreover, political citizenship requires an
this analysis which concludes that urban gov- institutional context that provides mecha-
ernance can no longer be confronted merely at nisms of participation for citizens as well as
the urban level (‘scale’ in Brenner’s and a public sphere that permits debates in which
Swyngedouw’s analysis). However, whereas the standards of citizenship are discussed. In
Brenner and Swyngedouw assume the nega- order to grasp if institutions provide such
tive impact of the new neo-liberal environ- mechanisms, it is necessary to consider the
ment for citizenship practices, the present process of policy formation as well as policy
article aims to explore the resilience of the implementation. As Iris Marian Young
substantive nature of citizenship in providing (1990) has argued “depoliticising the process
new opportunities for social and political par- of policy formation obscures the lack of
ticipation in cities in the context of multilevel democratic decision-making”. The position
governance. I argue that substantive citizen- stressed in this article is that democratic gov-
ship is in any case fragmented by the different ernance should be the target and not just any
priorities societies give to specific policies type of governance. The practice of citizen-
according to their values and ways of under- ship has been challenged in European cities
standing social justice and solidarity. not only by the globalising forces which
The substantive nature of citizenship have contributed to the increasing numbers
involves definitions of social justice.7 Citizen- of denizens, exploited immigrants and the
ship practices are closely related to social poor, but also by the implicit changes in col-
justice as citizenship involves a ‘conception lective understanding of social justice
of equal worth’. People are treated justly (Garcı́a, 2005).
when they are all given the same consider-
ation by whatever body or institution is allo-
The Social Citizenship Dimension
cating resources to them or people are
treated fairly when each gets what he or she Debates on social rights have been prolific in
deserves (Miller, 1995). The fact that public recent years without, however, giving much
institutions are charged with providing attention to the underlying conception of
certain entitlements to the population as well social justice. As decisions need to be made
as being responsible for maintaining defined on the redistribution of resources, each
standards of equal worth has highlighted the society has to discuss what criteria are going
distributive paradigm in social policy to guide policies of allocation of resources.
CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES 749

Walzer’s (1983) pluralistic analysis of the because they locate the citizen at the centre
spheres of justice offers a point of departure of a conception of social justice. The citizen
worthwhile revisiting. In his view, there is not only has a formal status but also holds a
not a universal definition of justice but cre- conception of self as part of the society.
ations of particular political communities.8 Walzer also points to contexts in which insti-
Thus “justice is relative to social meaning” tutions should intervene in order to stop a
(Walzer, 1983, p. 312). Societies can process of increasing inequalities that strike
provide a frame for developing complex specific social groups—such as the young
equality by keeping autonomy among the not fully educated with low levels of compe-
different spheres of distribution of resources. tence in the urban economy. It is morally
In this way, a constellation of spheres of arguable, for example, why university gradu-
justice operates, such as the spheres of secur- ates should have a dominant position in
ity, welfare, work, recognition and political society in relation to groups of youth with
power. In each sphere, there is a certain other qualities. In modern societies
level of distribution of resources from which
someone who sees himself as an underdog
particular individuals and social groups may
across all the particular spheres of justice
gain a position of overall advantage. This
cannot have a sense of himself as an equal
happens when one group accumulates large
citizen, a full member of a political commu-
quantities of a particular good that provides
nity (Miller, 1995, p. 12).
leverage to get more of another good than
this group is entitled to. In order to avoid The existence of rigid hierarchies, which are
some groups acquiring systematic advantage conducive to social closure, not only creates
over others in every sphere, boundaries a sense of discrimination and can be the
between the spheres need to be preserved. It cause of social tension and violence among
is the responsibility of the state to keep bound- some minority groups—as is happening in
aries between the ‘spheres’ so there will be no European cities—but also constitutes an
abuse of power by a particular group. Since obstacle to diversity and complex equality.
“boundaries are vulnerable to shifts in social If we take as given that talents and qualities
meaning” (Walzer, 1983, p. 319), Walzer are not concentrated in particular groups
recommends a practice of alertness to devel- “the politics of complex equality is a wager
oping shifts—for example, on the extent to on the anti-hierarchical effects of autonomous
which formal education and technical distributions” (Walzer, 1995, pp. 290–292).
knowledge become dominant goods and In order to promote ‘communities of equal
provide advantageous positions in society. citizens’ European societies have imple-
mented programmes involving redistribution
In a follow-up, David Miller stresses of resources as well as active policies to
Walzer’s argument that engage citizens falling out of the labour
everyone inside the community must be market system of integration (Gallie and
regarded as a fully fledged member of the Paugam, 2000; van Berkel and Møller,
community, entitled to take part in each of 2002). Some of these programmes have been
the spheres of justice. There cannot be more questioned as a result of different and conflict-
than one class of citizens: people in the pos- ing views concerning the amounts, methods,
ition of metics in classical Athens or guest channels and intended targets of the resources
workers in contemporary Europe, deprived to be distributed. An obvious example of this
of political rights are subject to a kind of is given by the debates between neo-liberal
tyranny that immediately and directly vio- and social democratic positions concerning
lates complex equality (Miller, 1995, p. 4). public welfare expenditure. Political confron-
tation often clarifies the options voted by the
Walzer’s and Miller’s contributions are par- majority of citizens concerning issues invol-
ticularly relevant in today’s urban Europe ving the redistribution of collective resources.
750 MARISOL GARCÍA

As for the methods: it is remarkable that the and even blamed on their bearers and there-
recipients of policy are not even consulted, fore they are not seen as so intimately
let alone given a chance to participate. How related to the political community (Walzer,
can we discern which option is more condu- 1983, pp. 80 –81).
cive to a just society? A basic principle is In addition to all this, there are also differ-
needed to guide societies in working out dis- ent conceptions of justice closely related
putes on distributive criteria in order to pre- with views of equality. The diagnosis of the
serve social justice. One way to work in the problem and the policy choices inform us
direction of achieving social justice is to ask: about those conceptions (Sen, 1992). Sen,
“how will implementing different answers to like Walzer, stresses that the analysis of
a particular question influence our standing poverty is not to be done independently of
as equal citizens?” (Miller, 1995, p. 12). the society in which poverty is being assessed
Societies of equal citizens suffer fractures (Sen, 1992, p. 108). By taking into account the
when sectors of the population are not in a local social context in which poverty is
position to participate fully in the political addressed, we are forced to look at the func-
community where they belong. Two examples tioning space rather than at the income or
are the long-term unemployed and the poor. In commodity space. In this way, we provide a
both these cases, there is not only a lack of sociological approach to the shortfalls of citi-
resources (employment and income) but also zenship by examining the opportunities and
there are difficulties to be in a position to par- constraints people have in participating in
ticipate in institutional arrangements and to their immediate societies (Saraceno, 2002).
have access to resources to change their con- I will come back to this question later with
dition. An accumulation of events in their specific cases.
lives triggers an accumulation of disadvan-
tages that constitute a career of social exclu-
sion (Garcı́a and Kazepov, 2002). Debates
The Political Citizenship Dimension
on allocation of resources for the long-term
unemployed and the poor are often directed The institutional context and the opportunity
to other citizens, such as politicians, tax- structures that this context offers to citizens in
payers, policy-makers and social workers, order to participate in policies that concern
but seldom to the unemployed or the poor their life-chances require an examination of
themselves—a clear sign that they are not the functioning space of both democratic
considered equal citizens. Moreover, there is governance and the public sphere. The
less consensus about how to tackle unemploy- concept of governance is far from straightfor-
ment and poverty than health care, for ward. According to the OECD,
example, in order to provide resources for
Governance: defines the process by which
‘equal citizenship’. One explanation for the
citizens collectively solve their problems
change in redistribution policies concerning
and meet society’s needs, using govern-
unemployment and poverty is that the
ment as an instrument (OECD, 2001, p. 11).
culture of protection is not considered a
Achieving change in the culture of govern-
given and therefore there will be competing
ance requires opening up the process to new
conceptions and, at the end of the day, politi-
actors or ‘stakeholders’ who have a legiti-
cal choices will have to be made (Garcı́a,
mate concern about their role and ‘place’
2005). Since some provisions appear politi-
in the urban area (OECD, 2001, p. 13).
cally more defendable than others, collective
health provision, social security and old age Thus, governance involves the mobilisation of
pensions get more support from the majority social groups, institutions, private and public
of citizens than provisions for the unemployed actors forming alliances and engaging in col-
or the poor. This is because the problems of lective projects in order to adapt to economic
poverty and unemployment can be isolated global changes (Le Galès, 2000).
CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES 751

Governance promises to open up decision- and deregulation. Also, in these territorial


making processes to more participation and areas the tensions brought by the restructuring
in doing so to strengthen democracy. In this of the labour market and of social policies are
sense, governance constitutes an extension to becoming more obvious. Central governments
government-led top –down decision-making have opted for decentralisation of responsibil-
processes based on representation (the ities in the spheres of work and social welfare
so-called aggregative model of democracy). and in the planning sphere. Local and regional
However, the realisation of participatory governments and the so-called growth
democracy is more difficult than it seems. coalitions can gain a prominent role as part-
Social groups differ in their organising ners of local private interests and also of inter-
skills, in the collective capacity of processing national private interests (Jessop, 2003).
information, in communicating with other In the new governance environment,
citizens in the same circumstances. The additional principal actors are designated to
urban literature shows the fragmentation of take part in decision-making. Among these
potential social movements and the resulting are non-governmental organisations, non-
discontinuities in putting forward their profit organisations and community organis-
claims and reaching institutions. Thus in the ations. These actors may be seen as justifying
absence of (adequate) corporate interest rep- the proliferation of governance and as substi-
resentations, participatory democracy could tutes for the state actors who used to manage
lead to élitist democracy or technocracy. welfare institutions. In other words, cities
Only some claims are heard in the public and metropolitan regions are experiencing a
debate while others are lost in the process of process of restructuration between the govern-
political competition. As a consequence, ment, the market and civil society. The bound-
those with the strongest voice and with aries between the three sectors have been
active participation in decision-making pro- weakened. It has been argued, however, that
cesses would not truly represent, or only some practices of urban and metropolitan
partly so, collective interests. Isin has governance have not always embodied the
pointed out, for example, that in the new poli- democratic ideals involved in ‘democratic
tical environment—which he denominates governance’. Not only are there shortcomings
advanced liberalism—there is emerging a in achieving transparency and accountability,
new polarisation in the distribution of econ- but also the strong emphasis on partnership
omic as well as social and cultural capital. and economic development is creating exclu-
This wide polarisation is manifested in the sionary mechanisms in new governance
liberty some citizens have in creating practices in Europe (Geddes, 2000).
options with regard to place of residence, Against all this, and from a normative point
work, education, health and amenities while of view, democratic governance requires
others are finding increasing limitations in democratic ideals and institutions with govern-
pursuing such options (Isin, 2000, p. 162). ments assuming the responsibility “to create
He is not alone in questioning whether the and support civic institutions and processes
shift from government to governance that facilitate the construction, maintenance,
increases the possibility of local democracy. and development of democratic identities”
In fact, it can be argued that there are pro- (March and Olsen, 1995, p. 4). In this
blems of accountability linked to the new sense, empirical analysis is showing that
regional question. As metropolitan cities mechanisms have been introduced in some
develop into city-regions there is more room European cities to facilitate citizens’ involve-
for the private sector to play with diffusion. ment. In Scandinavia, a ‘free local govern-
A number of changes promote the role of ment’ experiment has been set up with its
governance. It has spread in cities and metro- neighbourhood committees and in Britain
politan regions as in these territories actors are some city councils have delegated some of
putting in practice new forms of regulation the municipal tasks to neighbourhood
752 MARISOL GARCÍA

associations under the principle of ‘enabling I depart from Somers’ analysis to develop
authority’ (Le Galès, 2002, p. 238). The point my framework, which will guide the empirical
to stress here is that the practice of democratic cases presented later on.
governance can shape the identities and insti- Current urban societies are considerably
tutions of civil society. more heterogeneous than 18th-century
After this brief consideration of opportu- European local communities and this compli-
nities and limitations of citizenship practices cates the effectiveness of the public sphere as
and governance, the question to address is: a means towards the ‘appropriation’ of rights.
how do they come together? I suggest the Cities compress and intensify social life and at
linking principle is the public sphere. The the same time differentiate, which is not a
public sphere understood here as the area of guarantee of recognition of the ‘others’. More-
social space, defined in terms of processes over, cities create differentiated spaces in
and dynamics rather than of institutions or which the privileged and the underprivileged
geographical borders, in which citizens have hardly meet to discuss the conditions of the
an incentive to lay aside ‘particular’ interests latter—argues Iris Marion Young. The privi-
and to adopt a ‘public interest’ perspective. leged feel their condition as normal and are
It is, in other words, a ‘space’, whose charac- not confronted with the others’ needs, unless
teristics are conducive towards citizenship. A a crisis suddenly exposes the conditions of
public sphere is an open political field in injustice (the New Orleans’ flooding is a
which no person is excluded and in which good example). Thus it is an idealisation to
all issues can be debated (Crowley et al., pretend that the majority of citizens are
2001). One way to evaluate the extent of going to share a common public sphere
democratic governance in cities will be to given social inequalities. As Young argues,
consider the extent to which institutions segregation impedes political communication,
favour a public sphere in which citizens can within the city and between cities within the
argue their cases and present innovative metropolitan and regional spaces. Therefore,
proposals for local practices of citizenship. “citizens commitments and institutional
design” are required to bring recognition in
the public sphere of particular citizens’ and
Citizenship and the Public Sphere
residents’ claims (Young, 1999, p. 245).
The public sphere involves contestation as From a normative point of view, the end
well as participation of citizens who may objective—I agree with Young—should be
engage in a variety of practices. Historically, to create a sense of justice. More specifically,
patterns of citizen formation depended on it requires devising programmes that bring
the public sphere. Somers (1993, p. 589) has more equality and democracy and yet do not
shown that the opportunities offered by the produce a zero-sum game between different
local social environment allowed citizen for- social groups (Fainstein, 1995, pp. 38 – 39).
mation in the 18th century in England. Thus I have been stressing that in contemporary
the different modes of local governance in European cities citizens’ participation and
combination with local community practices contestation are embedded in an institutional
resulted in diverse forms of ‘appropriation’ context which is framed by multilevel govern-
of national laws as citizens’ rights. As ance. This means that citizens’ claims directed
Somers has theorised, it is the process of the to local institutions would often be satisfied
construction of citizenship that informs the through the intervention not only of local
observer if a public sphere is developing and councils but also of other territorial insti-
which direction this takes. In this frame, the tutional actors. This factor can limit the organ-
institutional specificity is of considerable isation of effective participation and ways of
importance because it can open or close the contestation or, alternatively, it can open
public sphere to citizens as well as potential opportunities for social action to develop citi-
citizens (Somers, 1993). In this section, zenship rights. Brenner has pointed out that
CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES 753

rescaling also poses daunting political chal- body of rights. Moreover, as long as social
lenges to progressive forces concerned to policies and urban interventions require
forge a European institutional order based allocation of fiscal resources, other levels of
upon substantive priorities such as democ- government are likely to be involved. In this
racy, equality and social justice (Brenner, sense, the term ‘urban citizenship’ seems to
2004, p. 450). imply that cities can by themselves create enti-
tlements which is not what it is happening in
Accordingly, the competitive environment European cities. In my view, ‘urban citizen-
for growth and efficiency imposed by the ship’ lacks institutional grounding because it
neo-liberal agendas of the post-Keynesian loses the connection between the citizens’
welfare state appears as a hindrance for the objectives (to improve their environment or
development of citizenship practices. to gain recognition, voice and right to partici-
Some authors see the urban origin of pation) and the institutions which have the
groups’ claims as citizenship practices power to grant those rights on a stable basis.
capable of influencing government outcomes My two further objections are first that the
in city politics (Isin and Siemiatycky, 1999). term ‘urban citizenship’ reduces the scope of
These contributions are drawing the con- the public sphere to the local and, secondly,
clusion that the urban context is indeed the that although the analytical frame may reflect
locus where ‘urban citizenship’ is crystallising the Anglo-Saxon context, it does not neces-
in a variety of ways. In this approach, stres- sarily fit the continental European context.
sing cities’ public spheres is a way to counter- To start with, the public sphere is elusive
act the neo-liberal agenda introduced by the and difficult to territorialise because decisions
state and a way to let the voices from below concerning citizens and residents more often
reach the state authorities. Isin (2000) and take place at several levels of governance. In
others have defined ‘urban citizenship’ as a fact, it can be argued neither that all or even
dynamic, contested process and as the prac- many of the local struggles for citizenship
tices through which individuals and groups issues are solved uniquely at the local level
mobilise to claim new rights. Urban citizen- without any intervention of the national level
ship develops when “people of diverse back- of governance (such a demand for social
ground engage each other on a daily basis in housing) nor that the claims for citizenship,
a variety of activities and associations” and which is granted at the national level, are put
when “the rights and responsibilities of forward only in the national arena. On the
citizenship are exercised, civic sentiments contrary, local mobilisation can prove more
are formed and identities are realised” effective in some circumstances. As a result,
(Beauregard and Bounds, 2000, pp. 248– my proposal is to focus on local practices of
249). In this conceptualisation, citizens and citizenship while keeping in mind that the
residents are involved in common pursuits to political community operates also at the
improve their environment and their life-con- regional and at the national levels.10
ditions within the city. I think this line of European cities have political and social
research is extremely fruitful as it provides a structures that continue to be embedded in
body of empirical knowledge on the local generous nation-states capable of structuring
variations of citizenship practices.9 the welfare of citizens, albeit in different
While I welcome the stress put by these ana- degrees according to welfare regime vari-
lyses on the practices of citizenship rather than ations. Moreover, in European cities, public
on a body of rights, I want to point out that services, infrastructure and planning continue
organised citizens and social movements— to be strongly regulated (Kazepov, 2005,
whether claiming recognition or urban p. 13) by the state—at its central, regional or
resources—are directly or indirectly claiming city levels. In order to make sense of the
participation in the design of redistributive citizens’ practices and social policy practices
policies and consequently in the resulting that are developing in European cities, I use
754 MARISOL GARCÍA

the term ‘urban and regional forms of reshaped (Buck et al., 2005). Finally, there
citizenship’. is a case for acknowledging and supporting
‘Urban and regional forms of citizenship’ the involvement of the central state in the pro-
develop when: policy instruments are intro- vision of social citizenship—not only because
duced locally and regionally in order to main- neither cities nor regions have proved to be
tain and/or create social entitlements as a highly redistributive historically, but also
result of citizens’ demands or as a result of because significant income redistribution of
local institutions’ innovative practices; and real income is likely to be more hazardous
when the mechanisms for political integration politically at the city level (Gordon and
provide an open sphere for participation and Buck, 2005, p. 18).
contestation not only for established citizens, In the public sphere, debates about social
but also for denizens. These are forms of citi- and political citizenship require insight into
zenship because they ‘result in diverse forms the way in which appropriate policies are to
of appropriation of national laws as citizens’ be designed to face social risks and how
rights’. In federal contexts, the national laws social action develops in different spatial
may stay at the ‘regional’ rather than nation- forms. Social risks—old and new—challenge
state level. However, the end-result is a vari- the realisation of social citizenship as they
ation in the institutional definitions within can render individuals and families vulnerable
the state, that may have to modify its regu- in dynamic urban contexts. In the first part of
lations or to decentralise regulation compe- this article, I have argued that the risks of
tences to sub-national governments—or, as long-term unemployment and poverty are
is increasingly taking place in Europe, to not necessarily included in public debates.
adopt innovation practices in the form of mul- However, poverty is increasingly entering
tilevel governance. the international agenda of transnational
Urban and regional forms of citizenship are organisations as well as debates in some poli-
also expressions of specific conceptions of tical parties and social forums. The condition
social justice. This is clear in the case of of being poor is often the end-result of a tra-
social policy intervention that aims to jectory of economic precariousness that
prevent people from falling under the renders individuals and families vulnerable
poverty line or to try to rescue those who are as members of society in which they can no
already in a condition of need. Definitions of longer participate as dignified citizens. Post-
social justice, I have argued, are local and industrial societies are exhibiting increasing
are relative to social meaning. However, numbers of poor people, caused by the combi-
since that meaning has been strongly shaped nation of low skills and education, being out
by the Keynesian state contracts (in the of work, which affects income, and having
1950– 80 period), strong expectations, habits weak social ties and not having access to
and values are engrained as to what is fair social protection. I have selected anti-
and as to how to define human dignity. Here, poverty policies and housing as priorities for
the welfare regime analysis is useful because social citizenship.
it provides the frame of welfare values in Poverty and housing issues are potential
which current populations have been socia- spheres for social action to defend acquired
lised. Within Europe, Great Britain has standards of social justice or to promote new
experienced a break of a path dependency in ones in response to emerging risks. They con-
this respect and the population has experi- stitute unresolved historical urban problems
enced a reduction of their social entitlements which, although partially concealed, keep
based on public intervention since late emerging as challenges to citizenship under-
1970s. In continental Europe, however, stood as ‘equal worth’. The cases examined
changes are less obvious. Even in the British here illustrate specific variations in the way
context, the national state has demonstrated these issues have been confronted in European
its grip in the way local policies have been cities. Policies directed to the poor and
CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES 755

housing policies exemplify two urban pro- and emerging participatory democracy after
cesses: one in which recipients of welfare a long period of dictatorial regime.
are treated as clients and the other in which
citizens can be active agents organised to
Social and Political Citizenship Practices
claim a right to the city—in Henry Lefebvre’s
around Social Policy Issues
world. Both policies are subjected to national
as well as regional social contracts. The Although social policy continues to fall under
empirical analysis I present shows that both the responsibility of member states, debates
policies involve multilevel decision-making on social inclusion policies based on specific
and financing. urban practices have had the European Com-
In order to illustrate the effects of anti- mission as a key actor.12 The Commission’s
poverty policies, I rely on an extensive com- main role has been to promote directives as
parative analysis of cities in several countries well as to facilitate information and to
of continental Europe.11 I have chosen the support comparative research. Evaluation of
national context of Sweden, Germany, social assistance has become part of the strat-
France, Italy and Spain to illustrate the differ- egy of social Europe, which favours approxi-
ent governance arrangements following mation among standards of protection in
specific welfare state institutional structures member states and also seeks to raise aware-
and societal configurations. For each country, ness about what is being done and what
two cities have been selected according to could be done to combat poverty. However,
comparative standards (industrialised, size, the diversity of contexts and policies
etc.). The Swedish cities illustrate the social remains an important concern. Atkinson
democratic welfare state, which has promoted et al. (2001, p. 42) have stressed the relevance
a thick ‘social citizenship’; Germany and of analysing the national, regional and local
France, while illustrating conservative conti- variations in order to ascertain how anti-
nental regime patterns, have followed different poverty policies operate and the value
paths of institutional arrangements with regard systems of their institutional framework.
to centralisation and decentralisation of politi- In this section, I examine the relevance of a
cal and administrative power. Moreover, social justice approach to the understanding of
Germany constitutes a special case of state urban and regional forms of citizenship in two
restructuring with the division and reunifica- social policy areas: minimum income policies
tion experience in the 20th century. Italy and against poverty, first, and housing policy,
Spain, included as southern European welfare second.
regimes, also exhibit distinctive peculiarities
in their democratisation trajectories and in Poverty. In the first policy area, I rely on the
institutional decentralisation patterns. study of social assistance dynamics in 13
Concerning the housing question, I have cities within 6 European countries, which
only compared three cities that illustrate the allows for local comparisons within national
two extremes: one represents a strong public contexts (Saraceno, 2002). The countries
and corporatist intervention, while the others under consideration are Sweden, Germany,
exhibit a case of weak public intervention. France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. A systema-
They can be seen as two poles of institutional tic comparative analysis of the frameworks
intervention in social protection. They also and processes of policy formulation and
illustrate the importance of social action in implementation shows that the constitution
changing policy-making decisions. The case of social justice appears to be more robust
of Amsterdam illustrates social action devel- when both national and local institutions are
oped in the context of full welfare capitalism involved in assuming responsibility for the
and consolidated participatory democracy. way in which anti-poverty programmes are
Barcelona and Lisbon illustrate social action organised. In this sense, the Swedish and to
in the context of post-industrial capitalism a lesser extent the German and French social
756 MARISOL GARCÍA

assistance systems are more conducive to of a wide range of training and job insertion
enhancing the urban integration of the assisted programmes, together with unemployment
poor in a frame of multilevel governance. benefits. This factor and the relatively high
There are, however, significant variations threshold of resources results in a high hetero-
between the way in which the two German geneity of claimants (many of them refugees).
cities—Bremen and Halle—organise social Here we have an example of a strong collec-
assistance programmes and the two French tive solidarity model based on thick social
cities—Rennes and St Etienne—whereas the citizenship. This model provides answers to
two Swedish cities—Gothenburg and individual needs, showing a robust practice
Helsingborg—follow national bureaucratic of redistributive justice concerning minimum
regulations more closely and therefore show income policies.
less variety of urban forms. On the other The German social assistance system also
hand, the Italian and Spanish cities included exhibits a relatively high level of generosity
in the analysis—Milan, Turin, Barcelona and but does not offer as much financial support
Vitoria—exemplify systems of social assist- and employment programmes. It operates on
ance that have developed either locally or the principle of subsidiarity, placing consider-
within regional regulation frames. able responsibility on families for the welfare
Local variations appear because the specific of their members. It also demands that benefi-
local economic dynamics provide a variety of ciaries actively look for work. In terms of
life-chances to citizens and residents, in redistributive justice, Bremen is more favour-
general, and to those who fall below the able in as much as the principle of subsidiarity
poverty line, in particular. Thus dynamic is applied less strictly and the employment
local economies such as Milan and Barcelona programmes are more efficient, while in
have offered income opportunities (in the Halle the programme is more rigidly
formal and informal sectors) even to the applied. Moreover, this city is in transition
most vulnerable sectors of society. Local vari- from an environment of relatively low but
ations also exist because the local institutional generalised living standards to one in which
trajectories have been more autonomous in social inequalities and social segregation are
organisation and implementation of the on the increase—a city that demands new
social assistance programmes, or are more or skills and in which some members run ahead
less conducive to co-operation among local and others are left behind. The constitution
actors in order to provide co-ordinated anti- of social justice is, however, robust in both
poverty programmes, including a return to cities in as much as institutions meet the
the labour market. The more institutionalised needs of the population including immigrants
the programmes of social assistance and and refugees.
social welfare are at the national level, the Differences also exist between Rennes and
less relevant is the local organisation. What St Étienne despite the universal French
do these differences involve in terms of system. Both cities apply the principle of indi-
social justice? vidual entitlement and national responsibility.
In Helsingborg and Gothenborg, the benefit The RMI programme is also generous—even
given to social assistance beneficiaries consti- if applicants must be over 25, unless they
tutes a universal right. Moreover, the generos- have children or are pregnant. In Rennes, ben-
ity of the programme is coherent with the eficiaries can use transport free of charge. In
value system that underlies it and that operates this city, integration policies are more com-
on the principle of providing ‘a reasonable prehensive and dynamic and there is a more
standard of living’. This means that benefici- targeted staff to relate with beneficiaries of
aries can stay in the programme as long as social assistance. On the whole, there is a
they need help. However, beneficiaries in higher level of interinstitutional co-ordination
Swedish cities remained only a short time on in Rennes compared with St Étienne. This
minimum income benefit due to the existence case presents an interesting question to the
CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES 757

debate on social justice, concerning the rel- gain autonomy. Two problems emerge from
evance of efficiency as well as of horizontal this model: the first is discretion in institutional
governance in achieving better results. Thus decision-making, which favours divisions
we could ask if a more efficient horizontal between ‘deserving’ and ‘non-deserving’
governance provides not only a better (in this case, young people, who are not eli-
service delivery but also a larger space for gible for minimum income); the second is
entering into the public sphere. From a hori- the prolonged time beneficiaries stay in the
zontal governance perspective, Rennes offers programme as the limited income and limited
ample mechanisms for social integration to efficiency of the training courses do not
those who fall below the poverty line with favour personal autonomy. In contrast with
insertion programmes which subjectively the Catalan programme, the Basque counter-
also satisfy beneficiaries of social policy part offers sufficient resources for decent
(Bonny and Bosco, 2002, pp. 103– 107), living conditions. In the Vitoria case, the
thus leading to a higher level of social justice. municipality has reserved many low-qualified
As we move to the southern European jobs for minimum income beneficiaries com-
cities, the importance of the urban context pleting the training courses. In this city, the
increases. In Spain social assistance pro- supervision of course attendance as well as
grammes have been introduced regionally. In other criteria for benefiting from the pro-
some of these, minimum income support is a gramme are followed more closely and the
social right, in others not. A formal right to programme is on the whole more bureaucratic.
a minimum income, established by the From a social justice perspective, the Basque
Catalan government, does not provide institutional model offers more room for
enough resources on which to survive as this formal social integration with a stronger
income is not particularly generous. Nonethe- emphasis on obligations, whereas the
less, once inside the programme beneficiaries Barcelona model is more diffuse.
can claim support as long as they need it. The In the Italian cities as in the Spanish there
Barcelona context has been developing a are variations in the urban context and in the
collective sense of solidarity to activate content of the programmes. Milan and Turin
resources, such as neighbourhood and formal offer two diverse cases even if both cities
or informal community associations. Social are located in the industrialised north of
workers generally have an understanding Italy. In the first case, the minimum income
approach towards such situations and in programme constitutes in principle a social
order to help as much as possible, they right but in practice does not operate like
provide in some cases one—not only because it has a high level of
discretion concerning who is ‘deserving’, but
advice on job openings both in the formal
also because beneficiaries are subject to
and in the informal economy. They are
receive allowances on condition of available
not strict about the something-in-return
funds. Milan’s social service sector offers
obligation, or about declaring income
only scarce resources to beneficiaries and no
sources from which the recipient is known
openings to employment. In fact, the munici-
to benefit, as long as they do not exceed a
pality takes a residual role in social services,
certain amount. Such treatment expresses
leaving considerable room for action to the
the social workers’ intention to practice
Catholic church organisations and the innova-
a kind of local justice in the face of a
tive approaches of the third sector. The fact
measure they judge insufficient (Bonny
that social assistance is often understood as a
and Bosco, 2002, pp. 109–110).
temporary patch, the need for which can be
In this city, a new definition of social justice surmounted by charity and support from the
emerges in which efforts are combined from third sector, means that the municipality
multiple resources to make the person feel does not lead in affirming a more comprehen-
socially integrated and to help him or her sive definition of social justice in the city in
758 MARISOL GARCÍA

relation to the poor. Moreover, the horizontal ghettos. Local institutions have been either
governance required for maintaining co- active or reactive in such policies. For
operation between civic and Church organis- example, in Barcelona the integrative plan to
ations is not stable. This model leaves the upgrade the Old Town effectively started
beneficiary in a situation of high vulnerability. (although on paper it existed before) at the
Turin, a city with a less dynamic economic time of the preparation for the Olympic
milieu, has a more generous minimum Games with neighbourhood associations
income programme, even if it is not threatening to publicise the poverty conditions
considered a social right. As in Milan and of residents when the city was acquiring inter-
Barcelona, the amount received by benefici- national prominence. In this case, organised
aries is insufficient and needs to be comple- citizens’ practices forced the city council to
mented with other resources from the formal prepare a programme whose main objectives
and informal economy and from charity were the upgrading of the district’s physical
organisations and family support. However, landscape, improving residents’ living
the period inside the programme is one year conditions and transforming this depressed
extendable according to need. Turin also area into an attractive part of the city. This
offers a roster of socially useful jobs for the was facilitated by housing enhancement, job
unemployed, which are a potential source of creation in tourist activities and social services
income for the poor. There is more insti- provisions, while reducing marginal activities
tutional co-operation for assisting the poor in such as drug dealing and prostitution. Partner-
this city than in Milan; in this sense, it is ship was introduced in 1988 as a system of
more like Barcelona in the pursuit of a consen- governance for the restoration process of the
sus on a just treatment of the poor. inner city. The economic involvement of
We return to Miller’s question “how will local civil society (shops, banks, the service
implementing different answers to a particular sector, etc.) was also considered a key
question influence our standing as equal citi- element of the plan. Another key management
zens?” (Miller, 1995, p. 12). The result of innovation to support the restoration of the
comparing the different social assistance district was to build a co-ordinated structure
programmes demonstrates that generosity for autonomous action within the city
and universalism provide a more solid stand council (Garcı́a, 2004). Citizens’ participation
for equal citizens. Conversely, the more took shape through the organisation of consul-
budget constraints there are within a pro- tation procedures in public hearings and in
gramme, the more access to benefits will committees chaired by officials of relevant
depend on the social worker’s judgement city council departments in which leaders of
about ‘how deserving’ a claimant is. In the neighbourhood associations voiced their
cases I present in this article, Barcelona, demands. Moreover, several levels of govern-
Milan and Turin do not show a robust practice ment participated in the implementation of
of redistributive social justice; Vitoria and St the several programmes introduced to
Étienne offer a middle ground; whereas the improve the inner city. Thus the Barcelona
Swedish cities provide the best practice, case illustrates co-operation within a frame
followed by the German cities. The best of hegemonic consensus with a mixed
practices correspond to generous as well as outcome because, although it promoted par-
efficient vertical (Helsingborg, Gothenborg, ticipation, it was not able to stop the negative
Bremen) and horizontal multilevel govern- consequences of gentrification of the inner
ance (Bremen and Rennes). city in the absence of a comprehensive
social housing programme.
Housing. Social policy involving citizens as Similar processes have been portrayed in
active agents has been particularly relevant other cities. In the Lisbon metropolitan area,
in housing redevelopment projects to prevent where civil society associations are highly
the formation and consolidation of urban fragmented and where they operate more
CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES 759

effectively at the neighbourhood level in the and contribute to the debates in the public
absence of opportunity structures for partici- sphere. Thus, in this political context, a parti-
pation at the city level “local welfare policies cipatory culture has emerged that encourages
and the social movements they generated have further participation of new groups, such as
been strategic in fuelling embryonic political ethnic minorities. As Fainstein has put it the
inclusion” for immigrants (Marques and
Dutch state continues to use the instruments
Santos, 2001, p. 166). In fact, in this city,
of physical planning, social welfare
housing restructuring projects have proved
expenditure and a large payroll to maintain
more effective in mobilising low-income
a strikingly high level of equality of con-
sectors of the population than the top– down
ditions among Amsterdam’s residents
programme URBAN, which has tried to
(Fainstein, 2000, p. 106).
establish partnership co-operation with rela-
tively little success. There is not, however, a This is a good example in which practices of
general pattern of successful mobilisation in social and political citizenship have led to
low-income neighbourhoods; on the contrary, citizens’ ‘equal worth’ and have allowed
there are internal as well as external barriers in them to take part in decisions in society.
which the ‘capacity’ of residents to participate Even if the model created in Amsterdam
even with regard to basic needed provisions, has been strongly tested by recent violent
such as housing, is uneven. The more events around issues of cultural and religious
top –down the programme, the less likely beliefs and practices, the particular urban
will be the active participation of citizens form of citizenship based on extensive finan-
(Madanipour et al., 1998, pp. 279– 288). cial redistribution is maintained. This form
A contrasting process of mobilisation has been possible to a large extent as a result
around housing issues is that offered by the of the comprehensive programme of social
Amsterdam case. In this city, the squatter housing implemented for decades, which facili-
movement organised at the neighbourhood tated the construction of a consensus over the
level against the renewal plans put into renovation model of the inner city from the
effect by Amsterdam’s city council in the late 1960s onwards. This consensus emerged
post-war period had considerable resonance. after bitter confrontations between social move-
The movement gained strength during the ments and city authorities (Uitermark, 2004;
1970s at the city level, and to some extent Priemus, 1998). The expression of confronta-
nationally as well, to experience a process of tional social movements and the processes of
fragmentation in the following decade. consensus building indicate the existence of a
Without entering into the question of public sphere. Thus the Amsterdam case illus-
whether the movement or part of the move- trates the relevance of national institutional
ment has been co-opted by the city authorities practices in the design and implementation of
more recently (Uitermark, 2004), the main social housing programmes, which in turn
point to stress here is that contestation to have enhanced opportunities for participation
locally based policies on housing gave room at the urban level—hence an example of
for a negotiated social housing and housing multilevel governance.
rents programme that, although being nation- There is a critical analysis that sees some of
ally funded,13 offered opportunity structures the opportunity structures for participation as
for participation at the neighbourhood and a mechanism for neutralising contestation.
city levels. These opportunity structures Mayer has emphasised this aspect by pointing
have been made use of by sectors of the move- to the negative consequences of German gov-
ment. The outcome has been a replacement of ernmental policies in cities, which discrimi-
technocratic by democratic planning and nate between social groups acting as clients
therefore the movement(s) was able to influ- and social groups that being critical have
ence municipal policy (Pruijt, 2004). Other been ignored in their claims. The first category
minority groups have voiced their claims has been the target of employment and
760 MARISOL GARCÍA

anti-poverty top – down initiatives, such as other northern European cities on opportu-
‘neighbourhood management’ programmes. nities for the voices of social movements to
According to this author, the serious short- be heard as referred to above (Mayer, 2003).
coming of these initiatives is their stigmatis- The strong thesis defended by Koopmans is
ing effect (Mayer, 2003, p. 120). Thus, in that, even if there is room for local variation,
this case, there is no enhancement of ‘equal the stronger factor in political citizenship
worth’, neither citizens nor residents (immi- practices exercised by ethnic minorities
grants) find a real opportunity to take part in continues to be national variation. This
decisions that affect their lives. conclusion is in agreement with what has
been defended in this article, that is: we
have to see how political (and social) citizen-
Social and Political Practices around
ship practices resonate in the public sphere
Political Integration Issues
which, rather than being localised, has a mul-
Whereas the previous section shows in a com- tilevel articulation. Thus it will be more
parative analysis of cities the implications of appropriate to investigate the way multilevel
social policy for social justice, in this section governance is constructed and which spaces
the focus is citizenship as political integration. open up to citizens in the processes of
In a recent work, Koopmans has argued that design and implementation.
A particularly interesting case is Brussels,
citizenship and integration regimes act as a
where a complex policy context has evolved
field-specific political opportunity structure
characterised by multilevel governance. In
that shapes migrant identities and their
this city, two very different approaches to
pattern of organisation and political partici-
the integration of immigrants led by two
pation (Koopmans, 2004, p. 452).
antagonistic communities (Flemish and
In his comparison of cities in Germany, the Francophones) have created particular oppor-
UK and the Netherlands, he has found that tunity structures for immigrants’ claims on
cities of a more liberal stance offer such political rights (Jacobs, 2001; Jacobs et al.,
opportunities for the incorporation of immi- 2004). Whereas the Flemish have promoted
grants in local as well as in national politics. mobilisation and support for self-organised
Differences do exist within countries as well ethnic minorities, the Francophones have
as between countries. In Germany, cities like followed individual assimilation policies.
Berlin and Frankfurt show a much higher This approach has allowed immigrants to par-
percentage of migrants’ claims-making on ticipate in trade unions as well as anti-racist
integration and citizenship rights than cities organisations. On the other hand, immigrant
like Munich, Stuttgart and Cologne. associations are also treated inclusively by
However, when the same analysis is done for Flemish institutions (Jacobs, 2001). Both pol-
cities in the other two countries—Utrecht, icies have become complementary and open
Leeds, Greater London, Rotterdam and up opportunity structures for citizenship prac-
Amsterdam—these show even much higher tices reinforced by national legislation that has
percentages. How do these practices develop? conferred local political rights on immigrants.
According to Koopmans Similar to Brussels, Amsterdam has offered a
variety of policies of social and political inte-
by offering favourable access to the policy
gration to immigrants. In this city, policy
process, and public resonance and discur-
options have changed from addressing group
sive legitimacy to some form of claims-
issues to more recently addressing problems.
making while creating negative stimuli for
An example of the first type are policies to
other forms (Koopmans, 2004, p. 451).
overcome deprivation amongst immigrants
some collective actors and types of claims are by improving their access to goods such as
encouraged to participate. This analysis education and an example of the second type
reinforces previous analyses in Germany and are policies to prevent drop-outs from school
CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES 761

and work activation policies directed towards What will seem paradoxical, however, is
individuals rather than to groups. Further- the current crisis of the Amsterdam model of
more, immigrants have been given local social integration in relation to other urban
political rights, favouring their inclusion in contexts such as Barcelona. What is emerging
the public sphere. Whereas some immigrant in the Amsterdam case is a problem of how to
groups are more active than others, the achieve a consensus on social values as well
relevant point here is that the city offers a as an agreement on a desired level of social
variety of opportunity structures in which justice. As Fainstein has pointed out, “the
immigrants can participate, for example concept of the just city embodies a revived
through participation in advisory councils recognition of the need to formulate social
and other municipal councils (Fenneman and values explicitly” (Fainstein, 2001, p. 885).
Tillie, 2004, pp. 89– 93). Since the 1999 In the current terminology within the EU
decentralisation of local government into this translates into reaching agreement on
districts, these opportunities could become the definition of inclusion—who must be
less equal at the neighbourhood level, but included, at what level and in what relation-
city and national policies towards immigra- ship to the majority of city residents. What
tion are likely to be a strong guarantee for has been happening in most European cities
participation (Kraal, 2001). is a reframing of discourses of social inte-
Finally, the contrasting case of Barcelona gration processes into social cohesion pol-
shows a context with more a recent influx of icies. The problem is, however, that
foreign immigration. Only as late as 1997 emphasis solely on social cohesion often
did the city council acknowledge the need to obscures the realities of social conflict and
create intermediary structures of participation unequal power structures within cities, and
for immigrants. Nonetheless, these remain also legitimises the entrepreneurial state to
structures for consultation on specific pro- the detriment of the enabling state (Fainstein,
blems and social and political integration 2001). The current Amsterdam crisis is,
issues are still very weak. The more active among other aspects, unveiling social tensions
actors are local civil and religious charitable that have developed in a public sphere, in
organisations that help immigrants but do which political leaders have avoided open for-
not confer open structures for political partici- mulations in order to respect the social values
pation (Morén-Alegret, 2001). Barcelona’s of the different cultures cohabiting in the city.
local authorities have openly voiced their Perhaps the city has to come to terms with the
wish to grant political rights in local elections, current unequal power structures and
but during the eight years of conservative acknowledge conflict.
national government this option was fru-
strated. The national law of immigration was
Concluding Remarks
highly restrictive and criminalised a large
number of immigrants by denying them resi- The analysis developed in this article has
dence status. With the new socialist govern- focused on citizenship practices in a multile-
ment, the national immigrant law is under vel-governed urban Europe. By concentrating
revision and a large programme of regularis- the argument on substantive aspects of citi-
ation has taken place giving the regional zenship practices, such as whether these prac-
Catalan government the chance to open up tices lead to social justice and democratic
opportunities for participation, which will governance, we find that some urban contexts
have consequences for the participation by offer wider opportunity structures for advan-
immigrants in Barcelona. This demonstrates cing claims on rights—social and political.
once again the relevance of vertical multilevel In contrast, other urban contexts do not encou-
governance in which national institutional rage citizens to voice their claims in order to
practices shape the way the public sphere participate in society as full members. We
opens or closes to urban practices. have seen that there are national as well as
762 MARISOL GARCÍA

local variations which can be clustered as answers to peoples’ needs, such as minimum
welfare regimes. And that there exists a con- income and housing programmes. Despite
nection between the openness to citizen par- the neo-liberal agenda that permeates
ticipation grounded in previous experiences European policies, state intervention in the
of social citizenship practices and an exten- form of national and sub-national social pol-
sion of the public sphere to new groups, icies continues to guarantee redistribution,
especially to immigrants. Alternatively, although to different degrees. These policies
when such ground has not been consolidated, continue to play an important part in
as is the case in southern European countries, peoples’ expectations and life-chances in
opportunity structures for participation in European cities and are an incentive for poten-
cities are guided by local policies, ad hoc pro- tial migrants from developing countries.
jects or depend on specific leadership. There- However, since social welfare builds on a con-
fore, correlations can be seen between social ception of social justice and this is relative to
entitlements and political citizenship. social meaning, the extent to which the state
Within urban and national contexts, oppor- performs as an enabling institution beyond
tunity structures also change over time and its regulatory function depends on the sense
research conducted in cities with strong civic of justice forged by institutional design and
societies and corporate groups shows that supported by citizens. The state’s resilience
over time there has been an inclination on to support a sense of justice may not be
the part of local authorities to promote some strong in the absence of citizens’ commit-
groups and to marginalise others. City autho- ments to defend equality and democracy. At
rities have been encouraging local consensus the same time, urban analysis shows that
politics and co-operation and at the same social and political inequality is easily
time have discouraged contestation. This hidden in differentiated urban spaces and
type of governance may be falling short of that to enlarge the public sphere through
democratic governance especially if the recognition of new participants not only is
numbers of excluded citizens are on the hazardous but may also involve conflict.
increase as some research is showing with What the European arena is showing is a vari-
growing proportions of poor citizens and deni- able geometry of citizens’ commitment to
zens in cities. Finally, the city and the neigh- solidarity beyond their neighbourhood, city
bourhood are the most immediate arenas for and regional boundaries. However, this does
participation, but the opportunity structures not obviate the continuous relevance of terri-
for such participation need to be supported torial citizenship. With the exception of
by regional and national structures and pol- human rights, all citizenship rights and
icies in order to be more than ad hoc interven- practices are territorially embedded after all.
tions. In this sense, the article has all along
defended the importance of multilevel
governance and offered an alternative Notes
concept of ‘urban citizenship’. 1. The White Paper builds on recommen-
The term ‘urban and regional forms of citi- dations advanced by several working
zenship’ has been suggested here in order to groups set up to prepare this White Paper.
capture social action that, although fragmen- Each working group has delivered it own
report (see European Commission (2001).
ted in form, is taking place in multilevel- 2. This refers to different outcomes on
governed Europe. Organised citizens and political integration issues between Berlin
residents are putting forward a variety of and Frankfurt and Munich, Stuttgart and
claims concerning their environment and Cologne, pointed out at the end of this
welfare as well as civic and political standing. article. The reader may consult Koopmans,
2004, for a detailed analysis.
Urban and regional forms of citizenship also 3. Scandinavian countries have also had a posi-
capture the variety of social policies and tive impact in the European Union. Thus the
policy instruments designed to provide entry of Sweden and Finland in the European
CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES 763

Union has reinforced the defence of the 11. The research was conducted by an inter-
European Social Model at least in the rheto- national team co-ordinated by Chiara Sara-
ric. These countries were particularly active ceno and financed by the European Union
in the project design of the National Actions under the Targeted Socio-economic
Plans for Employment and the National Research Programme (for a more detailed
Action Plans for Social Inclusion, which analysis of minimum income policies in 13
have legitimised the role of cities and cities, see Saraceno, 2002).
regions in designing and implementing 12. For an extensive debate about the limitations
social policies for employment and the of a European social policy despite several
poor. I am indebted to Xavier Prats and important attempts, see Garcia et al. (2004).
Armindo Silva (European Commission) for 13. As Priemus has explained “In the Nether-
this appreciation. lands housing allowances are defined as an
4. The emergence of a public sphere at the instrument of housing policy, for which the
European level has been analysed in the Minister of Housing bears primary responsi-
EU-sponsored project ‘A European Public bility” (Priemus, 2004, p. 708).
Space Observatory: Assembling Information
that allows the Monitoring of European
Democracy’ (EUROPUB). The project has
involved a number of European research References
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