Le Conte de deux cités : Analyse comparative des conflits urbains de Montréal et Valence, 1995-2010

• Published in: The Canadian geographer 2012-04, Vol.56 (1), p.58-79
• Main Authors: Renau, Luis del Romero, Trudelle, Catherine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acteurs; autocorrélation spatiale; Comparative analysis; Conflict; conflits urbains; Geography; gouvernance locale; International comparisons; local governance; Montreal; Montréal; spatial autocorrelation; urban actors; Urban areas; urban conflicts; Valence; Valencia
• ISSN: 0008-3658; 1541-0064
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-0064.2011.00402.x

Metropolization processes at work in contemporary societies produce social and spatial change, which can raise strong opposition from a variety of urban actors, leading to acts of dissent. While such urban conflict has been examined in the past, geographical analysis of urban conflicts as sociospatial processes is more recent. Systematic quantitative research on urban conflict is virtually nonexistent in terms of comparative analysis conducted with an international perspective. Systematic comparative analysis sheds light on the existing relationship between urban conflicts and the socio-territorial contexts in which conflicts emerge and evolve. This article presents a comparative analysis of urban conflict that occurred in a selection of boroughs in two cities characterized by different geographical realities, Valencia (Spain) and Montreal (Canada), between 1995 and 2010. Spatial autocorrelation techniques applied to a conflict database show a significant relationship between the emergence of urban conflict and the spatial distribution of some contextual variables. Indeed, for Montreal as for Valencia, the concentration of urban conflict is the greatest in the most deprived neighbourhoods. Also, regarding the management and regulation of urban conflict, results shed light on important differences between Montreal and Valencia. These differences include the outcome of urban conflicts, repertoire of action of actors involved in conflict activity, and the type of contestation faced by actors who promote the challenged urban projects. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]