Editorial: Social mobilisations and planning through crises

Abstract

Cities are increasingly becoming sites of contestation. Intersecting crises—economic, social, political, and environmental—are shaping urban life and governance. The 2007/08 financial crisis triggered waves of austerity that profoundly restructured urban planning. The COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, inflation, and climate change further intensified urban inequality and precarity. This editorial introduces the special issue which explores how urban social movements respond to these crises. Based on an Early-Career Workshop on Urban Studies (Lisbon, 2022), it highlights the role of grassroots mobilisation and engaged scholarship in shaping alternative urban futures. The articles in this issue examine contestation, co-optation, and innovation in planning, offering a diverse and comparative perspective on planning through crises.