How Cities Hold Together

How does crisis reshape urban Life?

Cities are not only shaped by long-term divisions, but also by moments of rupture—wars, violence, and sudden disruptions that unsettle everyday life. Rather than producing uniform cohesion, crises reconfigure urban societies in uneven and often paradoxical ways. My research shows that crisis acts as a structuring force, reshaping patterns of identity, participation, and social interaction across urban populations. Drawing on diverse qualitative and quantitative data, I examine how moments and processes of acute stress transform the relationship between residents, communities, and institutions, revealing dynamics that remain latent under routine conditions.

Across this work, I identify a dual process of social reconfiguration. In “We Are the State” (Urban Studies), I show how crisis activates forms of urban citizenship, as residents assume roles typically associated with formal governance. At the same time, my research on identity and political alignment (European Journal of Political Research) demonstrates how crises reshape the balance between urban and national identities. Complementing this, my comparative analysis of urban responses to crisis (Cities) highlights how participation and governance vary across cities facing similar shocks. Extending these findings, my work on leadership repertoires (Urban Studies) shows how conflict conditions give rise to distinct forms of emergent leadership, as local actors mobilize, mediate, and coordinate collective action across social boundaries. Together, these findings advance a view of crisis as a generative force that simultaneously produces cohesion, fragmentation, and new forms of urban political life.