It describes the way most poor people are forced to act because they don't have the resources available to buy urban services on the marketplace. It is telling that most progressive NGOs are in fact committed to political agendas that call not for self-help but for greater government aid to grassroots efforts. Another crusade led by the U.S. is for decentralization and local government control. While real decentralization of power is sorely needed everywhere, for the most part the U.S. and the global aid establishment propose decentralization as a cover for national government downsizing, privatization and withdrawal of assistance to low-income communities. The U.S. federal system is often seen as a model for decentralized government.
Home rule is equated with democracy.
Not discussed is how powerful central government policies support private growth. Nor are the racial and class divisions between central cities and suburbs that are reinforced by local home rule. Local and national efforts to improve cities need to be informed by a global vision or we can easily end up endorsing simplistic calls for decentralization and grassroots initiative. Progressive planners should find ways to support local efforts in community development and planning that contribute to broader structural change at the national and global levels. If we are not aware of the global trends and do not act to confront them, our local efforts can solidify the international structure of poverty and inequality.