Liberal Citizenship: Medieval Cities as Model and Metaphor
Loren King
In a recent article in Space & Polity, Nezar AlSayyad and Ananya Roy draw suggestive analogies between medieval urban forms troubling contemporary realities, such as gated enclaves impoverished squatter settlements. Invoking the city an analytical device, they show how several prevalent practices of citizenship are tension with, sometimes flatly contradict, liberal complacencies democratic hopes. However, this suggests that there is another story to be told, using some cities invoke critical ends. The narrative highlights ways which certain spatial civic might enrich aspirations, helping us re-imagine at least two core values citizenship.
Space and Polity