Abstracts
Abstract
This research represents a discursive-comparative analysis aiming to understand the current urban neoliberal condition in the Arab world in terms of the circulating patterns of urban transformation. The research introduces and suggests a discursive framework in which various neoliberal projects could be examined and evaluated against one or more of the following indicators: urban lifestyle, emancipatory neoliberal discourse, claims to social sustainability, socio-spatial politics and dynamics, governance and place management, changing role of the state, and circulation of neoliberal practices. The research applies and benefits from a reconciliation between neo-Marxist theories of political economy and poststructuralist approaches related to the art of governance. However, in doing so it relies mostly on one body of theory, namely, neo-Marxist theories considering neoliberalism as a class project of social exclusion. The framework of analysis is applied to the following three case studies in Amman: high-end business towers, gated upper-middle class communities, and low-income housing projects. In general, these projects, despite their emancipatory rhetoric, led to geographies of inequality and urban disparities within the city of Amman.
Keywords:
- Urban neoliberal condition,
- socio-spatial politics,
- social sustainability,
- urban governance,
- Arab cities,
- Amman
Résumé
Cette recherche représente une analyse discursive et comparative visant à comprendre l’actuel courant néolibéral urbain dans le monde arabe en termes de modes de circulation de la transformation urbaine. L’article introduit et suggère un cadre discursif dans lequel des projets néolibéraux pourraient être examinés et évalués par l’un ou plusieurs des indicateurs suivants : mode de vie urbain, émancipation du discours néolibéral, revendications à la durabilité sociale, politiques et dynamiques socio-spatiales, gouvernance, gestion des espaces, l’évolution du rôle de l’État, et la circulation des pratiques néolibérales. Cette recherche applique et bénéficie d’un rapprochement entre les théories néo-marxistes de la politique économique et les approches poststructuralistes associées à l’art de gouverner. Toutefois, elle repose essentiellement sur un ensemble de théories, à savoir, les théories néo-marxistes considérant le néolibéralisme comme un projet de classe de l’exclusion sociale. Le cadre d’analyse est appliqué aux trois études de cas suivantes à Amman : les tours d’affaires haut de gamme, les quartiers résidentiels fermés (gatedcommunities) de la classe moyenne-haute, et les projets de logements sociaux. En général, ces projets, de leur rhétorique émancipatrice, ont conduit à une géographie inégale et aux disparités urbaines dans la ville de Amman.
Mots-clés :
- Courant urbain néolibéral,
- politiques socio-spatiales,
- durabilité sociale,
- gouvernance urbaine,
- villes arabes,
- Amman
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Appendices
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