In recent years, the dawn of a new age of planetary urbanization
when the majority of the human race is found in cities has brought
to the fore urban growth and transformation as a subject of enquiry
taking up a central position in the research agenda of geography
and urban studies (Brenner, 2013; Sheppard, Leitner, & Maringanti,
2013). While a well-established tradition has long existed in geography
to tackle the urban question from different angles and with
frequently shifted emphasis, the recent intellectual trend is to see
the growth and transformation of cities as a process inseparable
from the political project of neoliberalizationda tendency to prioritize
the imperative of global market forces, the interests of the
private sector, and the logic of efficiency and competition at the