Reconsidering neoliberal urban planning in times of crisis: urban regeneration policy in a “dense” space in Lisbon

Abstract

In this article, I contribute to recent debates about the concept of neoliberalism and its use as an explanatory concept, through the analysis of urban planning and regeneration policy in Lisbon amidst crisis and austerity. Suggesting a look at neoliberalization from a threefold perspective-the project, governmentalities, and policymaking-I analyze how current austerity-policy responses to the European economic crisis can be understood as a renewed and coherent deployment of neoliberal stances. The article presents implications for urban planning in Lisbon and thus suggests an exploration of the negotiations and clashes of hegemonic neoliberal governmentalities and policies with the local social and spatial fabric. For this exploration, I select a "deviant" case-the Mouraria neighborhood, a "dense" space in which the consequences of policies diverge sharply from expectations. In conclusion, I suggest that neoliberalization (in times of crisis) should be understood as a coherent project compromised by a set of highly ambiguous governmentalities, which bring about contradictory policymaking at the local level.

Operationalising Resilience within Urban Planning – Bridging Theory and Practice

“…He proposes that pre crisis politics of the 21st century was accentuated rather than weakened by the crisis, a proposition supported by Tulumello (2016), who argues that current austerity-policy responses to the crisis can be understood as a renewed and coherent deployment of neoliberal stances.…”

Questioning Planning, Connecting Places and Times: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…All in all, Doyle's approach resonates with the idea that neoliberalism should be understood, in its contradictory and paradoxical dimensions, through the connections between the global project and the local implementation of policies (cf. Tulumello, 2016). In this respect, we believe the next necessary step would be that of questioning the multi-scalar dimensions of the concept of urban resilience itself, which, Doyle's review shows, is global in the discourse, but quite local in practice and theorisation, having been generated in a context where neoliberalisation is particularly advanced, the UK.…”

“…What meanings and relevance has 'resilience' assumed in other contexts, such as Southern Europe, where neoliberalisation is a less advanced, albeit incipient and lately turbulent, process (cf. Baptista, 2013;Le Galés, 2016;Tulumello, 2016)?…”

Comparative planning and housing studies beyond taxonomy

“…First, one single case can be sufficient to call into question conventional wisdom (Flyvbjerg, 2006), for instance, by showing how a taxonomy cannot accurately describe that very case. This is particularly relevant when studying contexts that have long remained at the 'borderlands' of mainstream theorisation (Baptista, 2013;Tulumello, 2016b). Secondly, the analysis of a single case study over a long time-span can produce more nuanced theorisations and avoid recourse to shallow culturalist explanations of the divergence of certain national contexts from normative ideals produced elsewhere (see Tulumello, 2016a, pp.6-7).…”

“…First, comparative exercises have so far failed to define the country's planning system in the light of conventional taxonomic categories (see Campos and Ferrão, 2015). Secondly, reflecting on Portugal's awkward place in comparative planning research (and, more broadly, on the country's position at the 'borderlands' of urban theory, see Baptista, 2013;Tulumello, 2016b) can enrich and de-parochialise our theoretical understanding of the phenomena under observation -such as the idea of 'sociology at world scale' proposed by Robinson (2011).…”