Book Review: Making a Scene: Urban Landscapes, Gentrification, and Social Movements in Sweden

Abstract

This book contributes to the understanding of autonomist and anarchist movements in Sweden ’ s three major cities – Stockholm, Göteborg, and Malmö – around 2010. It focuses on the movements ’ spatial dimensions and, in particular, the effects of gentri fi cation on the development of far-left urban activism. Creasap takes a cultural and geographical approach by centring on ‘ social movement scenes ’ – de fi ned as unstable networks and processes connecting physical spaces and activist groups. The analysis concludes by comparing the scenes in each city – a strong scene in Malmö versus a fragile one in Stockholm and a ‘ fl edgling ’ and more exclusionary one in Göteborg. Creasap ’ s concise and clear writing style helps readers follow the storyline and makes the sociological picture of the activist scenes more palatable for a wider, non-academic audience. The book also enriches the literature by analysing urban activism and radical politics in Sweden at a very speci fi c historical period, including squatting attempts, which is not common in social movements research. Theoretically, the book suggests the notion of ‘ scene ’ to bridge urban sociology and social movement research. Notwithstanding the book ’ s valuable contribution, my review will also raise some critical issues that might help further investigations along this line. First, the author uses the introductory chapter to present