The City and its People: Civic Engagement Strategies for Residents

Discussions about urban governance often overlook the role of city residents, concentrating instead on developers, politicians and municipalities. Even the research that has considered residents has fallen short in explaining the interests that spur on residents’ civic engagement strategies with city government and property development processes. Sociolegal approaches, and in particular the study of legal consciousness, can contribute to our understanding about the role of civic engagement in urban governance by emphasizing the relationship between law and social and collective identities. This presentation focused on the case of a neighbourhood civic movement in Toronto and its residents’ strategies to influence local governance and development.