DECOLONIAL THINKING

This chapter analyses the dynamics of diverse urbanisation processes in the South in the context of the global economy based on a new international division of labour and new forms of governance. It takes into account the diverse but relevant development and critical theories, the macroeconomic and social policies implemented by successive governments, the political regimes and changing forms of the state in terms of how open they are to urban popular movements and their claims. It explores the networks of a growing civil society of non-governmental organisations, an uncivil society, and the role played by multilateral agencies and their policies aimed at the urban poor. Finally, following the insights of critical theories, it highlights how the urban poor struggle over, contest, and claim urban citizenship through ordinary and everyday acts of belonging in cities. Special attention is given to three key issues: (i) urban production in terms of capital and labour; (ii) urban development in terms of the dynamics involved in reproducing the workforce and the social conditions of these dynamics—coloniality, social exclusion, inequality, and poverty; and (iii) forms of urban governance, politics, and agency.

As components of the epistemologies of the South, decolonial thought and theories offer us a major challenge to hegemonic knowledge and the production of scientific knowledge. This article provides an overview of Latin American writings in order to highlight the proposals of decolonial authors and feminists.

The chapter aims to present the potential of individual and collective experiences for the joint construction of knowledge and the development of decolonial feminist pedagogies.