VIRTUAL Manchester Livable Cities

Abstract

Contemporary urban transformations reveal a structural tension: processes of urban valorisation are increasingly countered by deep socio-spatial asymmetries. Far from being a transient condition, this dynamic outlines a “new urban question” in which inequality is not a residual outcome, but an intrinsic driver of development. This paper analyzes how selective governance integrates diverse urban fabrics — from post-industrial sites to public housing estates — into deeply differentiated global regeneration agendas. While strategic nodes benefit from investments aimed at capital accumulation, vast portions of the city remain trapped in conditions of vulnerability that conventional design practices fail to address. Within this framework, space emerges as an active political device: through mechanisms such as exclusionary zoning and infrastructural disparity, the physical form of the city materializes power relations and crystallizes social distances. In response to these dynamics, urban livability must be reclaimed from real estate market logics and reaffirmed as a collective right. The paper argues for moving beyond fragmented, project-led approaches driven by profit, promoting instead strategies that recognize the civic responsibility of design. The ultimate goal is to rethink urban transformation as an act of spatial democracy, capable of bridging the divide between space and the social body through equitable access to the resources of urban life.