The Production of Space and Governmentality in the Urban Poor’s Claim over Land and Housing
This article explores the politicized process of claiming urban land for housing the urban poor in the metropolitan city of Bengaluru. It is premised on the recognition that space and community are mutually constituted. The entry point of this article to contribute to the discussion of environmental politics in urban India, is the spatialization of the concept of governmentality leaning on Lefebvre’s concept of the production of space. Such an intertwined conceptual lens allows looking at the processes of spatial politics affecting the poor and their insurgent performances in responses to them by tracing possibilities and limitations of mobilization. The politics of accessing land and adequate housing in the city result in specific forms of habitation and lead to particular notions of urban citizenship.
Reading Development 