Who owns our cities – and why this urban takeover should concern us all | Cities

La #privatisation sans précédent de la #ville la vide de sa diversité et la désurbanise donc : long texte de Saskia Sassen revenant sur un mouvement qu’elle juge inédit de reconfiguration.

But an examination of the current trends shows some significant differences and points to a whole new phase in the character and logics of foreign and national corporate acquisitions. (...)
The sharp scale-up in the buying of buildings (...)
The extent of new construction (...)
The spread of mega-projects with vast footprints (...)
The foreclosing on modest properties (...)

▻http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/nov/24/who-owns-our-cities-and-why-this-urban-takeover-should-concern-us-all?C

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b44868b2484e2f9b6f1b21fbbb4e32939729beb7/0_200_3000_1800/master/3000.jpg?w=1200&q=85&auto=format&sharp=10&s=286e5e57f2358ce8fd8356c915af90d0

The foreclosing on modest properties

Who owns our cities – and why this urban takeover should concern us all | Cities | The Guardian

▻http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/nov/24/who-owns-our-cities-and-why-this-urban-takeover-should-concern-us-all

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b44868b2484e2f9b6f1b21fbbb4e32939729beb7/0_200_3000_1800/master/3000.jpg?w=1200&q=85&auto=format&sharp=10&s=286e5e57f2358ce8fd8356c915af90d0

Does the massive foreign and national corporate buying of urban buildings and land that took off after the 2008 crisis signal an emergent new phase in major cities? From mid-2013 to mid-2014, corporate buying of existing properties exceeded $600bn (£395bn) in the top 100 recipient cities, and $1trillion a year later – and this figure includes only major acquisitions (eg. a minimum of $5m in the case of New York City).

#urban_matter #villes #agglomérations

I want to examine the details of this large corporate investment surge, and why it matters. Cities are the spaces where those without power get to make a history and a culture, thereby making their powerlessness complex. If the current large-scale buying continues, we will lose this type of making that has given our cities their cosmopolitanism.