I The Horizon of Activism Today(Lieven De Cauter)1. The Positive Power of Protest(Activism Explained to Young People) 142. The Four Fundamental Conceptions of the Commons 243. On the Elusive Nature of the Urban Commons 324. A Small Theology of Civil Disobedience 405. Language and Power 506. Final Thoughts on Art and Politics 567. The Toxic Magic of the ‘Congo Style’ 628. Stories for the End of the World 709. Farewell to the Anthropocene 82II Forms and Constellations of Activism(Gideon Boie & Lieven De Cauter)Forms of Activism as Democracy in the City.An Introduction for Young Architects1. What is Activism? 992. Political Activism 1033. Urban Activism 1124. Architectural Activism 1325. Activist Architecture 146Three Space-Time Constellations of Urban andArchitectural Activism in BrusselsIntroduction1. The North Quarter and the Modernist Tabula Rasa 1652. The Bourse and the Right to Centrality 1733. Tour & Taxis and the Possibilities of Temporary Occupation 1854. Postscript on Activist Institutions 1905. Prolegomena to a ‘Metabletics of Activism’ 194III The Struggle for Road Safety. The Case of Brussels(Gideon Boie)Introduction1. Five Seconds for a Child’s Life 2032. Civil Obedience in Road Safety Activism 2073. You Can’t Solve Road Rage with a Lick of Paint 2114. Participation Is Not a Technical Detail 2155. Redistribution of Public Space Is Good for Public Health 2206. Resistance Comes from Within 2247. A Hopscotch Is Not a Parking Space 2288. Car Envy in the Climate Regime 2329. The Epistemological Delirium of Road Safety Deniers 23610. The Right to the Street 24111. The Cleaning Lady Also Likes Bionade 24612. First Give Me Back My Bike (Epilogue) 251Acknowledgements 254Origin of the Texts 260verrassend overzicht van activisme in het stedelijk domein en inspirerend pleidooi voor activisme als een vorm van ‘bottom-up’ democratie

• Surprising perspective on the state of activism in the urban domain
• Inspiring plea for activism as a form of ‘bottom-up’ democracy

The Activist City highlights different forms of civic protest: political, urban and architectural activism. Political activism mostly takes place in the city, urban activism has the city as its topic. ‘Architectural activism’ sounds like a paradox as architecture is on the side of money and power and activism opposes these. But over the last years we have seen architects engaging with the skills of their discipline within urban activism and even see forms arising of what could be called ‘activist architecture’.

The first part of this book evokes in several essays the broad context of activism today, with a focus on ecology and the commons. The second part contains an introduction to the idea of activism as democracy in the city, focussing on the three different shapes it takes. The final part reconstructs the struggle for road safety in Brussels (a constant reference point in the book) as a situated commitment spanning over years as well as a concrete form of urban activism.

The authors, who have been teaching and writing together for years on these topics, consider activism as an important element in bottom-up urban democracy and the struggle for a more social, just and sustainable society.

Gideon Boie is an architect and philosopher, teaching at the department of architecture of KU Leuven, Campus Brussels. Discursive Architecture is his latest book in English.

Lieven De Cauter is a philosopher and art historian, who has been teaching in several institutions (PARTS, Berlage Institute, RITCS), and is now retired from the same university. Ending the Anthropocene is his latest book in English. Both authors work and live in Brussels.

The Activist City biedt een verrassende blik op de stand van activisme in het stedelijk domein. Het is daarnaast een inspirerend pleidooi voor activisme als een vorm van ‘bottom-up’ democratie die politiek, architectuur en stedenbouw inzet in de strijd om een socialere, rechtvaardiger en duurzamere maatschappij.