Neofascism is not an anomaly—it is capitalism’s inevitable mutation, an authoritarian adaptation designed to secure power amid escalating crises. As financialized dispossession deepens, cities have become battlegrounds where capital and the state militarize governance, weaponize land, and suppress dissent. Yet, resistance remains fragmented, and without a coordinated anti-capitalist alternative, we risk merely reacting to oppression rather than dismantling it.

In this episode of Cities After, Miguel Robles-Durán introduces Confederal Urban Unions—a material framework that synthesizes municipalist governance, confederal coordination, and Marxist strategies for structural transformation. More than a theory, Confederal Urban Unions offer a practical counterforce to capitalist urbanization, building interconnected, self-governing territories to preempt and dismantle neofascist expansion. If we fail to construct the systems that will replace capitalism, we leave the future to be shaped by the forces that sustain it. The time for resistance alone is over—the time to build has begun.

_______________________________________________________________

Miguel Robles-Durán is an urbanist and Marxist urban theorist working at the intersections of urban political-ecology, unitary urbanism, and the design of social and environmentally just urban processes. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Urbanism at The New School / Parsons School of Design in New York City. Robles-Durán is founding partner and co-director of Urban Front, a transnational consultancy for urban justice. He is also a founding board member of The Shape of Cities to Come Institute, a New York City based co-learning and strategizing platform for urban activism. Robles-Durán's work with the New York City and Rotterdam-based design cooperative Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra) has been influential to the contemporary development of socially-engaged forms of urban practice.

_______________________________________________________________

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#neofascism #politics #cities #marxism #strategy

[S4E01]  Neofascism, Housing & Urbanization 

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Cities After… with Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán. A radical exploration into the capitalist contradictions of our urban world, and the many anti-capitalist futures to come.

In this thought-provoking season premiere of Cities After, Prof. Robles-Durán examines the unsettling convergence of neoliberal urban policies and the rise of neofascist political movements. Over the course of this episode, he delves into how this shift has eroded democratic trust, paving the way for authoritarian populist leaders who claim to defend “the people” while reinforcing market-driven policies that marginalize working-class communities. From gentrification and eviction crackdowns to the privatization of social spaces, the episode dissects the material consequences of neofascism’s urban agenda and its devastating social impact.

Most importantly, Prof. Robles-Durán highlights emerging resistance strategies, including radical municipalism, community land trusts, and cross-border tenant coalitions, as crucial frameworks for rebuilding democratic agency and safeguarding the urban commons. Tune in to hear how cities—battlegrounds of profit and power—can become sites of collective struggle against neofascism.

_______________________________________________________________

Miguel Robles-Durán is an urbanist and Marxist urban theorist working at the

intersections of urban political-ecology, unitary urbanism, and the design of

social and environmentally just urban processes. He is a tenured Associate

Professor of Urbanism at The New School / Parsons School of Design in New York

City. Robles-Durán is founding partner and co-director of Urban Front, a

transnational consultancy for urban justice. He is also a founding board member

of The Shape of Cities to Come Institute, a New York City based co-learning and

strategizing platform for urban activism. Robles-Durán's work with the New York

City and Rotterdam-based design cooperative Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra)

has been influential to the contemporary development of socially-engaged forms

of urban practice.

_______________________________________________________________

Follow Politics in Motion:

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Follow Miguel Robles-Durán’s projects:

Urban Front: http://www.urban-front.com

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The Shape of Cities to Come Institute: http://www.shapeofcitiestocome.org

#politics #cities #urban #neofascist #gentrification

Politics In Motion Live #1: From the Labor Theory of Value to Homelessness. Q&A with David Harvey and Miguel Robles-Durán

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Join David Harvey and Miguel Robles-Duran for a compelling Patreon discussion on the intersections of politics, economics, and society. The conversation begins with the origins and aspirations of "Politics in Motion," setting expectations for the year ahead. A debate emerges on the capitalist characteristics of slavery, challenging traditional Marxist views with recent scholarly insights. The discussion then pivots to comparing the capitalist imperialist tendencies of Russia and China with the USA. Attention shifts to Miguel's work with the Urban Front and The Shape of Cities to Come Institute, followed by a practical dialogue on tracking the metamorphosis of capital. The conversation takes a serious turn with concerns about the link between neoliberalism and authoritarianism, especially against the backdrop of rising global fascism. The pressing issue of homelessness and policy failures in NYC is examined, seeking effective solutions amidst escalating extremism. The session concludes with an in-depth analysis of Marx's theory of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall, exploring its contemporary relevance in capitalist crises. This engaging and insightful discussion is a must for anyone keen on understanding the complexities of our modern socio-economic environment.

Politics In Motion Live is co-produced by Politics in Motion. Politics In Motion is a nonprofit organization founded in May 2023 by Prof. David Harvey and Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán, along with Dr. Chris Caruso, instructional technologist, and noted writer and art curator Laura Raicovich. Our anti-capitalist media platform offers piercing insights and thought-provoking analyses on political, social, spatial, cultural, environmental and economic issues through a range of engaging mediums, including YouTube streams, podcasts, and live events.

If you would like to support this project and see more of Prof. Harvey, visit us at:

https://patreon.com/PoliticsinMotion

Follow Politics in Motion:

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[S3.5E06] Profiting From The Homeless

Cities After… with Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán. A radical exploration into the capitalist contradictions of our urban world, and the many anti-capitalist futures to come.

The number of people experiencing homelessness has been increasing dramatically worldwide. This crisis has worsened in the past decade due to uncontrolled predatory real estate speculation, the harmful privatization of social housing, high levels of inequality, a severe shortage of affordable homes, and the lack of legal and economic support for social spending on basic human needs. Neoliberal capitalism is at the core of this problem. In this episode, Prof. Robles-Durán examines the systemic failure of governments, private-public partnerships, and non-profit organizations in addressing homelessness. This combination has given rise to an exploitative homeless industry that has profited from creating and perpetuating this social misfortune for decades.

__________________________________________________________________________

Miguel Robles-Durán is an urbanist and Marxist urban theorist working at the intersections of urban political-ecology, unitary urbanism, and the design of social and environmentally just urban processes. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Urbanism at The New School / Parsons School of Design in New York City. Robles-Durán is founding partner and co-director of Urban Front, a transnational consultancy for urban justice. He is also a founding board member of The Shape of Cities to Come Institute, a New York City based co-learning and strategizing platform for urban activism. Robles-Durán's work with the New York City and Rotterdam-based design cooperative Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra) has been influential to the contemporary development of socially-engaged forms of urban practice.

__________________________________________________________________________

Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org

Follow Politics in Motion:

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Follow Miguel Robles-Durán’s projects:

Urban Front: http://www.urban-front.com

Cohabitation Strategies: http://www.CohStra.org

The Shape of Cities to Come Institute: http://www.shapeofcitiestocome.org

#politics #cities #culture #marxism #housing

[S3.5E05] Why More Housing is NOT the Fix to the Housing Crisis!

Cities After… with Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán. A radical exploration into the capitalist contradictions of our urban world, and the many anti-capitalist futures to come.

This episode is the second of several to come where Politics In Motion will be re-publishing some of the previous productions that he did on a volunteer basis for democracy@work.

"Housing is a basic human need and the market tends to ignore social needs, as it prioritizes individual profit." - Prof. Robles-Durán

There is a widespread belief that the central culprit of the housing crisis in most metropolitan regions around the world today is the lack of supply. This notion has been well spread by mainstream media outlets and urban professionals, such as urban planners, architects, housing developers, and real-estate agencies. For those disseminating this idea, ending the housing crisis is straightforward: more and more housing needs to be built. In this episode of Cities After.., Prof. Robles-Durán contests this belief, explaining that this solution is built on the false notion of a stable market free of externalities and inherent contradictions. Addressing the housing crisis solely through supply and demand dogmas makes little sense in the era of real-estate financialization and mega-landlords. There is a much deeper systemic issue brewing than simply an unequal relationship between supply and demand. __________________________________________________________________________

Miguel Robles-Durán is an urbanist and Marxist urban theorist working at the intersections of urban political-ecology, unitary urbanism, and the design of social and environmentally just urban processes. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Urbanism at The New School / Parsons School of Design in New York City. Robles-Durán is founding partner and co-director of Urban Front, a transnational consultancy for urban justice. He is also a founding board member of The Shape of Cities to Come Institute, a New York City based co-learning and strategizing platform for urban activism. Robles-Durán's work with the New York City and Rotterdam-based design cooperative Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra) has been influential to the contemporary development of socially-engaged forms of urban practice.

__________________________________________________________________________

Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org

Follow Politics in Motion:

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Follow Miguel Robles-Durán’s projects:

Urban Front: http://www.urban-front.com

Cohabitation Strategies: http://www.CohStra.org

The Shape of Cities to Come Institute: http://www.shapeofcitiestocome.org

#politics #cities #culture #marxism #housing

Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org

Cities After… with Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán. A radical exploration into the capitalist contradictions of our urban world, and the many anti-capitalist futures to come.

This episode is part 2 of 2, where Prof. Robles-Durán attempts a deeper dive into the concept of Municipalism by examining its contemporary application through some key influences, and a few examples, including projects that he has had the privilege of working on. Prof. Robles-Durán also takes this opportunity to build upon Marx’s critique of Proudhon’s Mutualism, and Murray Bookchin's foundational work on Social Ecology to offer a fresh perspective on Municipalism's relevance, and the contradictions it faces as it seeks to address the complex challenges of our modern era. But most importantly, he argues for its theoretical and real-world potential for transforming the 21st century towards anti-capitalist dominance.

Please note that in episode one, where Prof. Robles-Durán laid out some of the core foundational arguments of Municipalism that are essential for following this episode. If you haven’t listened to it, we encourage you to do so before listening to this episode.

__________________________________________________________________________

Miguel Robles-Durán is an urbanist and Marxist urban theorist working at the intersections of urban political-ecology, unitary urbanism, and the design of social and environmentally just urban processes. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Urbanism at The New School / Parsons School of Design in New York City. Robles-Durán is founding partner and co-director of Urban Front, a transnational consultancy for urban justice. He is also a founding board member of The Shape of Cities to Come Institute, a New York City based co-learning and strategizing platform for urban activism. Robles-Durán's work with the New York City and Rotterdam-based design cooperative Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra) has been influential to the contemporary development of socially-engaged forms of urban practice.

__________________________________________________________________________

Follow Politics in Motion:

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Follow Miguel Robles-Durán’s projects:

Urban Front: http://www.urban-front.com

Cohabitation Strategies: http://www.CohStra.org

The Shape of Cities to Come Institute: http://www.shapeofcitiestocome.org

#politics  #cities #culture #marxism #municipalism

Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org

Cities After… with Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán. A radical exploration into the capitalist contradictions of our urban world, and the many anti-capitalist futures to come.

This episode is the first of several to come where Politics In Motion will be re-publishing some of the previous productions that I did on a volunteer basis for democracy@work. The first of these, is without doubt the most personal of all of them. Here, Prof. Robles-Durán threads his experience living in Mexico with violent transformations imposed by the American Neoliberal Order, from the Volcker Shock in 1980, to the North American Free Trade Agreement, and into the post 9-11 border condition in Tijuana. We hope that this episode leaves you with a deeper understanding of American Imperialism, Neoliberalism and how it mirrors through urbanization from within. _________________________________________________________________________

Miguel Robles-Durán is an urbanist and Marxist urban theorist working at the intersections of urban political-ecology, unitary urbanism, and the design of social and environmentally just urban processes. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Urbanism at The New School / Parsons School of Design in New York City. Robles-Durán is founding partner and co-director of Urban Front, a transnational consultancy for urban justice. He is also a founding board member of The Shape of Cities to Come Institute, a New York City based co-learning and strategizing platform for urban activism. Robles-Durán's work with the New York City and Rotterdam-based design cooperative Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra) has been influential to the contemporary development of socially-engaged forms of urban practice.

__________________________________________________________________________

Follow Politics in Motion:

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Follow Miguel Robles-Durán’s projects:

Urban Front: http://www.urban-front.com

Cohabitation Strategies: http://www.CohStra.org

The Shape of Cities to Come Institute: http://www.shapeofcitiestocome.org

#politics #cities #culture #marxism #housing

[S3.5E02] Municipalism pt.1 - On its Anarchist Origins

Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org

Cities After… with Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán. A radical exploration into the capitalist contradictions of our urban world, and the many anti-capitalist futures to come.

This episode is part 1 of 2, where Prof. Robles-Durán discusses a growing trust in left-leaning urban activism towards Municipalist principles. As its name implies, Municipalism is a political ideology that promotes the reconfiguring the local level of government, or the municipality, as the site of political organization and decision-making. Advocating for political power to be held solely by ordinary citizens who are municipally organized and globally connected through confederations. Despite significant planetary challenges and ideological controversies across the left political spectrum, Prof. Robles-Durán is convinced that variations of Municipalist politics are a crucial goal for building an anti-capitalist future. __________________________________________________________________________

Miguel Robles-Durán is an urbanist and Marxist urban theorist working at the intersections of urban political-ecology, unitary urbanism, and the design of social and environmentally just urban processes. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Urbanism at The New School / Parsons School of Design in New York City. Robles-Durán is founding partner and co-director of Urban Front, a transnational consultancy for urban justice. He is also a founding board member of The Shape of Cities to Come Institute, a New York City based co-learning and strategizing platform for urban activism. Robles-Durán's work with the New York City and Rotterdam-based design cooperative Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra) has been influential to the contemporary development of socially-engaged forms of urban practice.

__________________________________________________________________________

Follow Politics in Motion:

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Follow Miguel Robles-Durán’s projects:

Urban Front: http://www.urban-front.com

Cohabitation Strategies: http://www.CohStra.org

The Shape of Cities to Come Institute: http://www.shapeofcitiestocome.org

#politics #cities #culture #marxism #housing

[S3.5E01] The WORK FROM HOME Reset: Office Work and the Looming Real Estate Crisis

Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org

Cities After… with Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán. A radical exploration into the capitalist contradictions of our urban world, and the many anti-capitalist futures to come.

In this first episode with Politics In Motion, Prof. Robles-Durán attempts a retake/update to a previous podcast series he did last year, titled Office Spaces as Homes; This new broadcast is a response to new doom predictions of a collapse of the commercial real-estate bubble and about the active reluctance of many employees to go back to the office.

In the wake of the pandemic, one mode of labor exploitation has gained a remarkable worldwide popularity: Work From Home. In heavily urbanized and service-oriented regions, this prevailing trend has been inciting rampant anxiety among the ranks of municipal officials, urban economists, and the real-estate industry alike. Indeed, as vacancy rates continue to soar beyond the 90th percentile in some regions. In an absurd contradiction to all the vacant spaces, the plight of the homeless has reached dire proportions, leaving a dire need for truly affordable housing. In this compelling episode, Prof. Robles-Durán plunges into the depths of the capitalist undercurrents and some social counter-currents behind this crisis, delving into the ominous consequences and complex future outcome.

Prof. Miguel Robles-Duran’s Cities After… is co-produced by Politics in Motion. Politics In Motion is a nonprofit organization founded in May 2023 by Prof. David Harvey and Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán, along with Dr. Chris Caruso, instructional technologist, and noted writer and art curator Laura Raicovich. Our anti-capitalist media platform offers piercing insights and thought-provoking analyses on political, social, spatial, cultural, environmental and economic issues through a range of engaging mediums, including YouTube streams, podcasts, and live events.

__________________________________________________________________________

Miguel Robles-Durán is an urbanist and Marxist urban theorist working at the intersections of urban political-ecology, unitary urbanism, and the design of social and environmentally just urban processes. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Urbanism at The New School / Parsons School of Design in New York City. Robles-Durán is founding partner and co-director of Urban Front, a transnational consultancy for urban justice. He is also a founding board member of The Shape of Cities to Come Institute, a New York City based co-learning and strategizing platform for urban activism. Robles-Durán's work with the New York City and Rotterdam-based design cooperative Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra) has been influential to the contemporary development of socially-engaged forms of urban practice.

__________________________________________________________________________

Follow Politics in Motion:

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticsInMo...

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Follow Miguel Robles-Durán’s projects:

Urban Front: http://www.urban-front.com

Cohabitation Strategies: http://www.CohStra.org

The Shape of Cities to Come Institute: http://www.shapeofcitiestocome.org

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