Organizing is Not a Silver Bullet

Locating Community Organizing as Part of an Ecology of People Power Strategies that Change Our Cities

Authors

  • Amanda Tattersall University of Sydney
  • Kurt Iveson University of Sydney

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71057/6xjzem75

Keywords:

Community organizing, People power, Barcelona, Cape Town, Sydney, Austin, Mobilizing, Prefigurative, Parties, Strategy, People power strategy

Abstract

In proclaiming the strengths of organizing as a way of making change, community organizing practitioners and scholars can sometimes slip into the habit of seeing organizing as superior to other forms of change. This is particularly true of the Alinsky tradition. As long-time organizers and supportive scholars ourselves, it is something that we are not only aware of but guilty of. This article describes this as ‘silver bullet’ thinking, and we explore its lineages and limits in Alinsky-style organizing. We argue that seeing organizing at the top of a hierarchy of strategies can get in the way of organizers finding common cause with people who use different approaches to making change. As a way forward we place community organizing amongst a broader ecology of urban change practices. The paper introduces the concept of people power strategies, drawn from a seven-year study of urban social change across the globe, and documents five dominant people power strategies in the city – playing by the rules, mobilizing, organizing, prefiguring and running for office. We argue that each of these strategies has distinct strengths and limits and has an important place in urban change-making, and that within this ecology organizing has distinct advantages in developing leaders and building relationships across difference. We end by arguing that an ecosystem approach has the potential to help disorganize and reorganize how organizers relate to and build power with others in the city.

Author Biography

  • Kurt Iveson, University of Sydney

    Kurt is primarily interested in the question of how social justice can be achieved in cities. Within this broad interest, his previous research has focused on two main areas. First, he has examined the significance of the urban public realm for citizenship and democracy. This has included looking at contests over different uses of urban public space, including the politics of protest, graffiti writing, cruising, hanging out, and outdoor advertising. Second, he has explored how urban planning might work better to achieve social justice in cities. In particular, he has considered the ways in which planners should conceptualise, and respond to, different forms of diversity in the city.

Published

2025-03-03

How to Cite

Organizing is Not a Silver Bullet: Locating Community Organizing as Part of an Ecology of People Power Strategies that Change Our Cities. (2025). Community Organizing Journal, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.71057/6xjzem75