This article analyses the relevance of the concepts of neighborhoods and civic practice in relation to urban politics. It examines how the democratic potential of neighborhoods and the realities of sociospatial inequality can be reconciled, and highlights the interplay between policy, agency, and inequality at the neighborhood level. The article also explores the three perspectives on neighborhood politics through a comparative historical analysis of empirical developments and academic work in the United States and Europe.

This article analyses the relevance of the concepts of neighborhoods and civic practice in relation to urban politics. It examines how the democratic potential of neighborhoods and the realities of sociospatial inequality can be reconciled, and highlights the interplay between policy, agency, and inequality at the neighborhood level. The article also explores the three perspectives on neighborhood politics through a comparative historical analysis of empirical developments and academic work in the United States and Europe.