Changing La Chureca: Organizing City Resilience Through Action Nets

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the literature on city organizing, an important yet under-researched area in the intersection of organization theory and urban studies. The concepts of the city and change, translation and action nets are fundamental to this analysis. The study takes as its object the collective process of organizing the change of La Chureca, the rubbish dump of the city of Managua, Nicaragua. Through its translation into a global spectacle of degradation, La Chureca has become a flagship for urban change projects. La Chureca is referred to as an example of an ‘uncanny place’. In association with urban social movements, these uncanny places are strong catalysts for mobilizing urban change and resilience. The article concludes by discussing the revival of the local in Latin American cities and the permeation of the historical role of urban movements as agents of change in the processes of urban governance and managing resilience.