The Municipalist Moment in Los Angeles

Abstract

Experiments in municipalism and the reclamation of the common(s) have been slow to develop in North America and yet one is emerging in Los Angeles. The city is inhospitable to the majority: growing numbers of unhoused residents are swept off the sidewalks to be incarcerated, while Black and Latine families are subjected to racial banishment and pushed to the periphery. The fragmentation of the built environment of the city is mirrored in the inability of social movements to come together. Divisions are made to weaken constituent power and to pit groups segregated by race and place to fight for meager resources. A network of social movement organizations, under the name of Los Angeles for All, is attempting to establish collective action plans, governance, and infrastructure to build power from below. The long-term vision is to replace the status quo with a directly democratic polity and solidarity economy. The presentation will explore how the common(s) and public goods can be managed in a transformed city and will reflect on how governance and institutions can transition to this municipalist model.