Reconstructing Urban Politics With A Bourdieusian Framework

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International Journal of Urban and Regional Research

DOI:10.1111/1468-2427.12174
Reconstructing Urban Politics with a

Bourdieusian Framework: The Case of
Local Low-Income Housing Policy
YONGJUN SHIN
Abstract
This research aimed to reconstruct a local urban politics and develop a
mesomicro-level model of urban politics through a case study, drawing on a
Bourdieusian relational framework. To this end, it investigated the case of local
low-income housing policy inclusionary zoning in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. It
historicized the path of the local low-income policy issue through document analysis and
qualitative media content analysis. Through multiple analyses, the study revealed that
urban politics consists of complex interlinkages among stakeholders with shared values
or interests from different social domains, created in order to dominate the policy issue.
The study further investigated, on the basis of Bourdieus concepts of capital and
habitus, what elicited different political strategies from key community leaders.
Pierre Bourdieus theories have largely been used to assess social issues, particularly
social stratification within macro social structures. There is, however, a great deal of
potential inherent in his theories to guide urban research toward deeper theoretical
explanations (Butler and Watt, 2007; Allen, 2008; Wacquant, 2008; Watt, 2008; Savage,
2011). Indeed, Bourdieu also revealed his concern with spatial and geographic issues
through his various works (Bourdieu, 1999; 2001; 2005; 2008). Current Bourdieusian
urban research deals with a variety of urban issues such as social capital for community
development (Hibbitt et al., 2001; Hoyman and Faricy, 2008; Fallov, 2010), sense of
place (Hillier and Rooksby, 2005), urban lifestyle (Baviskar, 2003; Scheiner and Kasper,
2003), spatial segregation and gentrification (Wacquant, 2008; Pattaroni et al., 2012;
Marom, 2014), urban planning (Edman, 2001; Gunder and Mouat, 2002; Howe and
Langdon, 2002) and urban politics (Huxley, 2002; Gopakumar, 2009; Prieto and Wang,
2010). Nevertheless, there is little research that demonstrates the interdependency and
totality of Bourdieus concepts or provides a systematic Bourdieusian urban research
framework. Instead, most apply a select few of the theories in a fragmented way. Hence,
this study aims to conceptualize a Bourdieusian urban research focusing on local politics
and drawing on Bourdieus relational sociology and theory of practice, which accounts
for human agents practices according to the formula: [(habitus)(capital)] + field
(Bourdieu, 1984: 101).
This project is supported by Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant (H-21538SG) from the US
Department of Housing and Urban Development and the James Carey Urban Communication Award
from both the International Communication Association and the Urban Communication Foundation. The
author is very grateful for the guidance and encouragement received from Dr. Lewis A. Friedland in the
School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of WisconsinMadison. He also
appreciates the helpful comments and suggestions made by three IJURR reviewers toward the revision
of this article.
2014 Urban Research Publications Limited. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4
2DQ, UK and 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA
2 Yongjun Shin
Through the case of inclusionary zoning a local ordinance that requires or

encourages housing developers to make a certain portion of new construction affordable
to low-income households in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, this study reconstructed the
field of urban politics by showing the complex linkages among stakeholders and their
stances on the housing policy issue across different social realms in urban politics by
using two-mode network analysis. It also investigated key stakeholders habitus and
capital to explain their deeper logics of action in urban politics. It is expected that the
study will be able to demonstrate the importance of individuality, or individual politics.
This can help overcome a mechanical explanation of human actions that treats the
individual only as a homophilious agent of a group.
As Bourdieu (1996) points out, constructing a field is an arduous process, in which
initial insights into the principles of relational divisions in fields must be empirically
tested and gradually refined until an objective space is created. Researchers are required
to track back and forth between the construction of a field and the production of relevant
data, always thinking and practicing relationally by using every possible research method
from social network analysis to inferential statistical analyses and ethnography
(Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992). Therefore, rather than using a predetermined research
design and methods, the more we employ various suitable research methods that can help
explain the operating logic in a field, the more accurately we can reconstruct it and the
greater its explanatory power.
In addition, it is always recommendable that in constructing a field we should consider
the historical particularity of its research domain (Bourdieu, 1985; Bourdieu and
Wacquant, 1992). Based on the relevant historical knowledge and its historical
particularity, we are able to identify the organizing principles of a field in its history and
in its relations to the larger fields to which it belongs (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992).
Hence, this study attempts to historicize the research case and then reconstruct the urban
politics within a Bourdieusian framework.
The Madison community and historicizing

the inclusionary zoning case
Madison is the capital of the State of Wisconsin. It became a city in 1856. Yankees from
the eastern states were its first settlers, and they were followed by German, Irish,
Norwegian, Italian, Greek, Jewish and African American immigrants (Historic Madison,
2004). During its first decade as a city, between 1857 and 1865, Madisons politics were
determined by a strong partisan edge; partisan sentiment becoming strained toward the
end of the Civil War (Mollenhoff, 2003). However, during the formative years up to
1920, the modern contours of Madison were shaped a government, university and
industrial town adopting the intervene-and-regulate progressive model and abandoning
the laissez-faire concept of local government (ibid.: 404). Madisons city model was
influenced by the Progressive movement (Mollenhoff, 2003) as its politics were for a
long time under the influence of the famous Progressive Wisconsin politician, Robert
Marion La Follette, Senior (Weisberger, 1994).
Moreover, Madison was well known for its counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s,
when a large number of students at the University of WisconsinMadison and Madison
citizens participated in anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. Madisons municipal politics
is still in part influenced by liberal and progressive ideologies. For instance, Progressive
Dane (PD), a local political party, has produced progressive city council members and
county supervisors and supported progressive public policies, including inclusionary
zoning, while being variously aligned with the Democratic and Green parties.
In terms of the affordable housing situation, housing affordability in the Madison
metropolitan area is relatively low, compared with other metropolitan areas in Wisconsin.
Housing affordability is extremely difficult to examine because many factors such as

2014 Urban Research Publications Limited
Reconstructing urban politics in Wisconsin with a Bourdieusian framework 3
income, credit, job stability, desire for relocation, interest rates, mortgage underwriting
guidelines and proximity to workplace, schools and transportation, come into play.
Madison is known for relatively high land prices, a factor that makes it more difficult to
build affordable houses. In addition, the quality and locations of many of Madisons
affordable houses do not meet an important purpose of inclusionary zoning: to enhance
economic community integration (Morton et al., 2008).
Under these circumstances, Madisons inclusionary zoning (IZ) program was mooted
in 2002 by city council members belonging to local progressive political parties: a
progressive alder was the key advocate. The IZ program was debated as a core local issue
during the mayoral election campaign period in 2003. The leader of an environmental
civic group was elected as mayor. With his progressive political disposition, the mayor,
with the assistance of the progressive alders previous mentioned, proposed a mandatory
form of IZ ordinance.
However, the IZ ordinance was subject to intense politicking among various
stakeholders through its formation and implementation process over several years. As a
result, the IZ issue unfolded in three qualitatively distinctive phases over time: (1) prior
discussion on enactment of a mandatory IZ ordinance before the mayoral election;
(2) controversies over the mandatory IZ after the new mayors election but before his IZ
was enacted; and (3) after IZ enactment and a legal challenge to the IZ ordinance.
During the first phase, the IZ issue was brought up as a main issue in the mayoral
election at the end of the former mayors term of office. Several progressive city council
members suggested creating an IZ program in Madison. An environmental activist was
elected as mayor, promising to create IZ during his term. During the second phase, the
new mayor began drafting mandatory IZ program legislation with a progressive alder, a
few non-profit developers and the citys housing-related staff members. There were
conflicts about the proposal among stakeholders. While the mayor and several
progressive alders supported a mandatory form of IZ ordinance, Smart Growth Madison
(SGM), the most influential ad hoc lobbying association for local developers, backed by
conservative anti-IZ alders, insisted on a voluntary form. Eventually, the mayors
mandatory IZ law passed the city council. The IZ ordinance required developers of
projects of 10 or more units to set aside 15% of the units for people who earn less than
the Dane County median income. The ordinance had two primary overriding goals:
(1) to increase the number of affordable dwelling units in the City of Madison; and (2)
to create mixed-income neighborhoods throughout the city.
During the third phase, however, the IZ law was challenged after its enactment by a
lawsuit from the local apartment owners association and attempts at repeal were
launched by anti-IZ local business associations such as SGM and anti-IZ alders.
Eventually, the mayor amended the IZ law. Most of the local developers tried to avoid
complying with it: several built and sold only 33 IZ units. In the long run, the IZ
ordinance expired by virtue of a sunset clause, after fewer than expected IZ units had
been created.
Reconstructing urban politics in the

Bourdieusian relational framework
Before reconstructing the Madison case with the theorized Bourdieusian urban political
framework, it is necessary to address Bourdieus relational sociology, since the relational
mode of social research works as the foundational principle for conceptualization and
methodology. Bourdieus relational epistemology is epitomized in the statement the real
is relational (Bourdieu, 1998: 3), though he did not actually use the term relational
sociology. In his most renowned work, Distinction: a Social Critique of the Judgment
of Taste, Bourdieu (1984) demonstrates that different tastes or aesthetic dispositions
across social classes obtain their meanings, which have no innate qualities, because each

4 Yongjun Shin
Note: The two different types of circle (solid and dotted) represent two different subelds.
The different letters attached to actors represent different actors or stakeholders. Actors A
and B share the same subeld habitus and capitals while Actors C and D do the same. Actors
A, B, C, and D share the same urban politics eld habitus and capitals.
Figure 1 Relational logic in urban politics (source: Shin, 2013: 273)
taste or disposition verifies its existence only in its relation to others. Hence, a certain
quality of bearing and manners, most often considered innate (one speaks of distinction
naturelle, natural refinement), is nothing other than difference, a gap, a distinctive
feature, in short, a relational property existing only in and through its relation with other
properties (Bourdieu, 1998: 6).
As shown in Figure 1, which depicts an abstract example of urban politics, each actor
has his or her own individual habitus and capitals. Their habitus and capitals are only
identified in relation to other actors habitus and capitals in the same subfield. Actors in
the same subfield share the same subfield habitus and capitals, which are also verified in
relation to the habitus and capitals shared by actors in other subfields. All actors in the
urban politics also share the same field habitus and capitals because they are all engaged
in the politics of the same local community. Therefore, the field habitus and capitals are
regionally created, according to one regions distinction from other regions.
In terms of methodology, while Bourdieu uses research methods eclectically, using
both ethnographic qualitative and statistical quantitative analyses, his primary theory
building relies on a relational mode of quantitative analysis, correspondence analysis,
which is a multivariate statistical technique for presenting a set of data in a
two-dimensional graphical way (see Greenacre, 1983), because it is a relational
technique of data analysis whose philosophy corresponds exactly to what, in [his] view,
the reality of the social world is (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992: 96). Along the same
lines, Galois lattice analysis, often called Formal Concept Analysis, has also been
suggested for urban politics research (Shin, 2013) and organizational research
(Emirbayer and Johnson, 2008) now that it enables us to identify specific connections
between stakeholders and their position-taking on an issue.
Galois lattice is a method of data analysis that identifies hierarchical conceptual
structures among data sets (Wolff, 1993; Priss, 2006). The concept is named after French
mathematician variste Galois, the founding father of Galois theory, a major branch of
abstract algebra (Duquenne, 1991; Freeman and White, 1993). This two-mode, or
bipartite, network analysis can show the structural duality of: (1) the actor-by-event
structure; (2) the actor-by-actor structure; and (3) the event-by-event structure, by
analyzing a two-mode network and representing the network configurations
simultaneously (Freeman and White, 1993).

Intention: empty set of intents
Demonstrating
Volunteering Lobbying Policymaking

Reading Reading
from from
Public Interest Group
intent to Politicians extent to
extent extent
Civic Group
Extension: empty set of intents
Figure 2 A line diagram of position-takings in a hypothetical eld of urban politics (source:

Shin, 2013)
Formal Concept Analysis understands concepts in a context composed of the

relationships between objects and attributes (Wolff, 1993). The cluster of objects is a set
of all objects sharing a common subset of attributes, and the cluster of attributes is a set
of all attributes shared by the cluster of objects. Indeed, from a philosophical viewpoint,
a concept is a unit of thoughts composed of two parts, the extension and the intension
(see Frege, 1949). The extension consists of all objects belonging to a concept, and the
intension is composed of all attributes valid for all those objects. Hence, the interactions
between objects and attributes within a context make multiple hierarchical relations such
as super-concepts and sub-concepts among all concepts, according to containment
relations on the sets of objects and attributes (Wolff, 1993).
There is a simple rule for reading the diagram in Figure 2: a particular object has a
particular attribute if and only if there is an upward-leading path from the circle named
for that object to the node named for that attribute. Vice versa, a particular attribute has
a particular object if and only if there is a downward-leading path from the circle named
for that attribute to the node named for that object. From the example diagram in
Figure 2, we can read that object Civic Group, based on the upward-leading path, has
attributes Volunteering, Lobbying and Demonstration. We can also identify that attribute
Demonstration, based on the downward-leading path, has objects Public, Interest Group
and Civic Group.
Conceptualizing subelds and dimensions in urban politics

As embedded in his relational epistemology, Bourdieus notion of field is a relaxed and
flexible research concept or perspective, which is constrained by its existing social
conditions and is used to assess a certain inquiry domain by considering its historical
particularity while also looking for a universal pattern or rule over various social domains
(Bourdieu, 1985; Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992). Field, which refers to the social arenas
where people struggle with one another to obtain desired resources and power, is
composed of a structure of objective relations between positions of force so that it
undergirds and guides the strategies whereby the occupants of these positions seek,
individually or collectively, to safeguard or improve their position and to impose the
principle of hierarchization most favorable to their own products (Bourdieu and
Wacquant, 1992: 101). Hence, drawing on the Bourdieus theory, urban politics is also
considered as a field in which stakeholders struggle and compete to carry through their
goals for specific urban affairs and eventually dominate the field (Shin, 2013).
As shown in Figure 3, Shin (2013) conceptualized a field of urban politics consisting
of multiple subfields, which are differentiated across social domains, and three
dimensions within it: (1) inter-subfields politics politics between subfields,

6 Yongjun Shin
Note: Letters in the smallest circles refer to individual stakeholders. The different letter
styles in the circles represent shared identities in different subelds (source: Shin 2013)
Figure 3 Three dimensions of urban politics and the eld of urban politics as the space of
positions (source: Shin, 2013: 276)
(2) intra-subfield politics politics among stakeholders within the same subfield, and
(3) intra-field politics politics among stakeholders across different subfields within a
field, mostly in the form of coalition. The framework serves as a preliminary analysis
framework and functions as a tentative baseline for constructing a field of urban politics.
Initially, we can conceptualize a local community as a social space for the local
subfields, or social realms, which, when it comes to local politics, are in general
composed of the local polity, businesses and civic organizations. The subfields compete
or cooperate with one another for survival and reproduction. This is conceptualized as
inter-subfields politics. At a micro level, the struggles among individual stakeholders
within each subfield participating in urban politics are conceived as intra-subfield
politics. In addition, since the interactions and transactions among stakeholders are
intertwined in a complicated way inasmuch as individual stakeholders from the same
subfield also compete or cooperate with stakeholders from other subfields for desired
resources and power, political relations between individual stakeholders across different
subfields are defined as intra-field politics. This preliminary framework gives us a
starting point for constructing an urban politics based on an empirical study through
which unique urban political subfields can be identified and conceived. In order to
reconstruct the urban politics centered on the IZ issue in Madison, this study employed
multiple research methods: document analysis, qualitative media content analysis,
campaign finance analysis, in-depth interviews and statistical business database analysis.
Madisons urban politics networks and their transformations

Put briefly, in the case of IZ, Madison urban politics showed a stronger pro-IZ politics
from the progressive politicians during the policy formation phase, but stronger anti-IZ
politics from the coalition of conservative politicians and local interest groups during the
policy revision and implementation phase.
For the purposes of this study, I inquired into the three subfields (local polity,
businesses and civic organizations) at three dimensions (inter-subfield politics,
intra-subfield politics, and intra-field politics), by using Formal Concept Analysis, which

Robbie Weber Robbie Weber

Austin King Austin King
Paul Van Rooy Bert Zipperer Paul Van Rooy Bert Zipperer
Jim Arts Victor Villacrez Victor Villacrez
N I M Z Jim Arts N I M Z
Bert Stitt Bert Stitt
David Rusk David Rusk
Kathleen Falk Kathleen Falk
Mark Deese Gregory Markle Sarah Davis Jeff Rosenberg Mark Deese Gregory Markle Sarah Davis Jeff Rosenberg
Linda Bellman Linda Bellman
Curt Brink Tom Powell Tom Powell
Sue Bauman Curt Brink
Sue Bauman
Terrence Wall Bill Perkins Stuart Levitan Terrence Wall Bill Perkins
David Hart Stuart Levitan
John McKenzie Dick Pettit David Hart
Judy Olson La Marr Billups John McKenzie
Judy Olson La Marr Billups Dick Pettit
Dave Simon Dave Simon
Gary Gorman Brenda Konkel Brian Bedford Brian Bedford
Delora Newton Delora Newton Gary Gorman Brenda Konkel
Paul Soglin Dave Cieslewicz Paul Soglin Dave Cieslewicz
Note: N = oppose the idea of the IZ program; I = support incentive (or voluntary IZ); M =
support mandatory IZ; Z = support the idea of the IZ program. The left-hand side diagram
shows the entire network within the local polity. The right-hand side diagram shows the
linkages between the local politicians and the position-taking, centered on the former
mayor, Sue Bauman
Figure 4 Madison urban politics within the local polity: politicians and their position-taking
toward inclusionary zoning during the rst phase
can show specific linkages between stakeholders and their position-taking. Through
qualitative media content analysis, I identified stakeholders and four position-takings
with regard to the IZ issue during the entire timeline: support the idea of IZ (Z); oppose
the idea of IZ (N); support mandatory IZ (M); and support incentive or voluntary
IZ (I).
For instance, during Phase 1 of the discussion prior to the enactment of a mandatory
form of IZ ordinance before the mayoral election (as shown in Figure 4), in the political
groups, the former mayor, Sue Bauman, along with other politicians was in favor of a
mandatory IZ law, while she also supported the idea of IZ. This study recapitulates the
key findings in the urban politics networks across the subfields as follows.
Urban politics network within the local polity

In the early stages, during the mayoral election campaign (phase 1), most of the mayoral
candidates were in favor of the idea of IZ (Z). While the candidates had different
perspectives on the type of IZ mandatory vs. voluntary the environmental activist
who won the election supported the mandatory form (M). Many alders also advocated IZ.
A progressive alder, working as the director of the Tenant Resource Center and the
Affordable Housing Action Alliance, was the key proponent. On the other hand, there
were two main conservative alders who opposed the IZ program.
During Phase 2, after the mayor was inaugurated, he formed a strong coalition
network with progressive city alders to create a policy for drafting a mandatory IZ
proposal. The policy proposal was initially drafted by the main progressive alder, many
other city government officials and non-profit organizations. While the city council was
roughly divided into two conflicting groups of alders according to their position-taking
toward the issue, the mayor and the progressive alders maintained a strong cooperative
coalition network.
During Phase 3, after the IZ ordinance was made effective, the ordinance was
challenged by a lawsuit brought by the local apartment owners association and anti-IZ
alders and developers in an attempt to repeal it. The judgment in the lawsuit partially
struck down the ordinance with regard to the issue of rental, and the two main anti-IZ
alders made a proposal to repeal the IZ law. Simultaneously, the mayor attempted to
revise the IZ ordinance with respect to the buying and selling of IZ units. After a
compromise with the anti-IZ coalition networks, the mayors revised IZ was passed by
the city council and committees. However, this study found that, during the revision
process, the pro-IZ coalition network were faced with a conflict between the mayor and

8 Yongjun Shin
the main progressive alder when the former did not recommend the latter to serve on the
citys influential Plan Commission.
The urban politics network within local businesses

During the first phase, most developers opposed mandatory IZ, except for a couple of
commercial developers and a few non-profit developers, who took part in building IZ
units. SGM and another developers association were most strongly opposed to IZ.
During Phase 2, an anti-IZ coalition emerged from both the local polity and the
business groups. SGM submitted a voluntary IZ proposal, co-sponsored by five anti-IZ
alders. This study found that the coalition was indeed derived from an informal social
network among city politicians and local developers. For instance, one of the main
anti-IZ alders acknowledged that she shares her ideas and opinions about city
development and growth with such developers as the SGM president. An analysis of
campaign finance reports has uncovered that many anti-IZ alders were endorsed and
financially supported by the main local realtors association and many realtors.
During the third phase, while numerous individual developers were in favor of the
mayors IZ law and the mayors plan to revise IZ, rather than the proposal to repeal the
ordinance, this study could not identify any networked actions from those developers to
support IZ. In contrast, the main developer organizations strongly opposed the IZ
ordinance and attempted to repeal it along with other apartment owners and realtors
associations. In short, even though the anti-IZ coalitions effort to repeal the IZ law was
unsuccessful, non-cooperation on the part of developers was identified by the IZ
Oversight Committee as one of the main reasons for the failure of IZ.
The urban politics network within the local civic organizations

During Phase 1, many civic activists and organizations supported the IZ program. In
particular, the main progressive alder, as director of the Tenant Resource Center (TRC)
and the Affordable Housing Action Alliance (AHAA), also elicited IZ advocacy activity
from the civic sector. In addition, two non-profit developers supported the IZ program,
and actually built and sold IZ units. However, this study did not find any pro-IZ coalition
network between the organizations led by the alder and the other civic organizations.
During the second phase, while many civic organizations supported the mayors IZ
proposal, some opposed it. For instance, a local independent politician and activist
opposed the mayors IZ plan mainly because he thought that it was merely a bureaucratic
program. Also, a local historic preservation group opposed IZ principally because the
law makes it difficult to protect old buildings.
During Phase 3, following some compromises between the mayors IZ team and the
anti-IZ alders and developers, the mayors IZ ordinance was approved by the city
council. As during the second phase, there were several civic organizations and
independent politicians who opposed the program. In particular, local homeless service
groups and ethnic organizations were not satisfied with it because the IZ law was not
sufficient to address the housing problems of socio-economically, racially and physically
disadvantaged community members. This demonstrates that even in the subfield of civic
organizations there existed different position-takings toward the IZ issue. Their
position-taking seemed to be determined by their different values and public interests.
Therefore, even though IZ was, in general, recognized as a social program partially
dealing with social justice issues, the mayors IZ program was not perceived to be
satisfactory by some civic entities.
In sum, through the analysis, we can understand that a subfield is not composed of
homophilious actors who produce a homogenous opinion or position-taking even though
they hold a commonality to a certain extent in their own subfield. Rather, a subfield also
consists of heterophilious individual actors with different values and stakes, which leads
to intra-subfield politics becoming intra-field politics by creating complex interlinkages

among stakeholders who belong to different subfields, as we saw in the coalition

networks of the key stakeholders across the local polity, local businesses and civic
organizations. Based on these findings, this study further investigated what drove
stakeholders to participate in different urban politics. For this, this research focused on
the stakes, or capitals, that stakeholders sought to obtain in each subfield, and also on
habitus as the ultimate driving force for different choices in position-taking and strategic
action in urban politics.
Capital and habitus as the operating logics in the eld of urban politics
Both capital, which is multi-dimensional, and habitus, which is the unconscious schema
for perception and practice, are inseparable from the concept of field, since a field is a
social space of relations of force among individuals or among groups that possess the
same capital necessary to hold dominant positions (Bourdieu, 1992). In this context,
capital does not simply refer to economic resources; rather, it is embodied in at least three
principal forms: economic, cultural and social (Bourdieu, 1986). The form, the efficacy
and the value of capital vary, contingent on different fields. Hence, we need to assess
various capitals as the energy of social physics (Bourdieu, 1990: 122) in the different
subfields of urban politics, not merely as a medium for social transaction, in order to
systematically understand the dynamics in each subfield. We also postulate that the
stakeholders are likely to act on the capitals they seek to possess. For instance, while the
stakeholders in the subfield of local business groups are more likely to seek economic
capital, local politicians might be more interested in obtaining nonmaterial capital such
as political power.
Nevertheless, the notion of capital is not enough to explain the deeper logic of
stakeholders different choices of action, or strategies, in urban politics even though the
stakeholders pursue the same capital in the same subfield. For this, Bourdieus concept
of habitus is useful, because habitus, or bodily knowledge inscribed in social agents
bodies by past experience (Bourdieu, 2001: 128), serves as the foundational logic of
practice even for calculative, rational activity such as seeking capital in urban politics.
While a field provides objective rules, habitus brings out the actors gut feelings for, and
reaction to, the rules in particular ways (Bourdieu, 1998).
Hence, we presume that those stakeholders who have different habitus end up
choosing different position-takings and strategic actions than other stakeholders in the
same subfield of urban politics. In a retrospective way, we can trace and detect
stakeholders habitus by assessing their position-taking, or choice of action in lifestyle,
education, career, affiliation and so forth, because habitus, as the ultimate logic of
practice, is not something we can measure firsthand (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992). We
can also postulate that stakeholders who have heretical or alternative habitus are expected
to work as challengers or reformers in a subfield of urban politics because they might
seek to introduce alternative standards and stakes against those who defend autonomous
principles of extant judgment in the arena of a continuing collision in the field (Bourdieu,
1992; Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992).
Capitals and habitus in urban politics

In order to investigate the reasons why such urban politics took place, this research
attempted to assess the main capitals that function as steering media in each subfield and
then identify the habitus of some key stakeholders. Theoretically, media are the main
conceptual tool for understanding social integration: different types of media for
example, money, power and communication function to integrate different social
domains (see Parsons, 1968b; 1969; Habermas, 1987). However, media are not always
exchanged to maintain the integration of social systems, but are instead sought as
resources for distinguishing and dominating social positions through struggle. Bourdieu
(1986) addresses this with a different definition: that of capital.

10 Yongjun Shin
Therefore, the two concepts of media and capital ultimately define the same objects,
which are exchanged in social transactions, from different perspectives of social
integration and stratification (Shin, 2009). Indeed, capitals are ambivalent because they
function not only to foster competition and conflict among stakeholders in a field, but
also to uphold the autonomy of a field from other fields. In this vein, this study applies
three different media for each subfield as dominant capitals, which stakeholders in
different subfields seek to obtain. They are power in the local polity, money in the
business groups, and value commitments in the civic groups, as Parsons (1963a; 1963b;
1968a) initially conceptualized. In addition, while this study also attempted to
distinguish key stakeholders habitus, it focused on the progressive politician for her
potential as a reformist in the subfield of local polity.
Capital and habitus in the local polity

As conceptually introduced above, power is primarily shared capital in the subfield of the
local polity, and a shared subfield habitus among local politicians can be distinguished in
relation to other subfields. Obviously, the politicians struggled to gain more political
power in the city council. However, their position-taking and political strategies varied.
We can relate them to their different individual habitus, for the efficacy of habitus
manifests itself through the patterned practices of a human agent (Bourdieu, 1990). For
instance, this study found that, among the pro-IZ alders, a dominant number were either
members of PD or were endorsed by it. Many anti-IZ alders had professions in the
corporate sector these included real estate agent, accountant, laundry business owner,
landscape architect and cleaning contractor. Hence, we can establish a correlation
between alders political and professional backgrounds and their position-taking on IZ.
In other words, while a politically progressive group of alders supported the IZ program,
many anti-IZ alders had professions that were more likely to influence their support for
the market-driven local housing supply.
In particular, the progressive alders unique strategies for urban politics were derived
from her alternative individual habitus, which distinguished her from other local
politicians. We can identify this in her choices of action in higher education, in criminal
justice and law and in organizational affiliations with various progressive, social justice
entities such as PD, the Green Party, TRC, the Social Justice Center, AHAA, etc., which
demonstrate how her alternative habitus was a driving force that led her to choose
distinctive practices to gain political power in the subfield of local polity. The issue of
affordable housing was one of the alders main political agendas for social justice. Also,
in her political strategies, unlike other city council members, the alder actively used
social media such as a blog and personal website to interact with the public about local
politics. She even publicized city politics, including during informal meetings among
various stakeholders. This caused other politicians to perceive her as a maverick alder.
Given these factors, the alder can be defined as a challenger or reformer who has the
potential to engage in urban politics and to bring alternative standards and tactics to the
subfield of local polity.
Capital and habitus in business groups

In order to investigate the subfield of local businesses, centered on economic capital, the
research focused on the types of business involved in construction or real estate using
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes to identify them and found 836
construction-related companies in the Madison area from various business databases.
Through an Analysis of Variance on annual sales across the types of business, this study
found that the circle of non-residential general building contractors makes the largest
profits among local construction-related industries. However, since it also shows the
widest variation, local non-residential building developers vary greatly in terms of
profit-making. Under the configuration of the local construction industry, six housing

developers successfully built and sold a total of 33 IZ-units. Four developers were
commercial builders, and two were non-profit developers.
In terms of urban politics, in the subfield of interest groups, a dominant number of
developers were reluctant to comply with the IZ ordinance. For instance, the former
president of SGM asserted that the citys regulations, including the IZ ordinance, were
the main obstacle to the citys growth and development (T. Wall, personal
communication, 11 June 2009). Moreover, his view of community development was
shared by some conservative city politicians and local developers, who created social
capital among them through an informal social network and eventually generated the
anti-IZ coalition.
Nevertheless, four commercial developers did participate in building IZ units. A
participant developer argued that they wanted to demonstrate that developers cooperate
with city policies and programs (J. Rosenberg, personal communication, 22 May 2009).
He was one of the pro-IZ developers. In that sense, some developers seemed to have
different reasons or logics for participating in urban politics.
However, some stakeholders maintained that the developers who participated in IZ
had different development concentrations. For instance, an urban designer, who had
worked as the vice-chair of the IZ Advisory Oversight Committee, explained:
[The president of Veridian Homes] agreed that there is a need. While some developers
recognized the need, they were more attuned to try to figure out how to make it work than to
find a way not to make it work. A portion of the development community said that there is no
need. That is just a burden, not need. They just look at that from a purely economic standpoint.
How can they get around it? They found loopholes and a variety of techniques to play games
with the system. Others? Like Alexanders case, they may not be able to sell these at the same
market rate, but they can make sales faster and earlier. That is valuable to them. They
recognized that. To them, that is beneficial. I think they thought it was an opportunity (B.
Munson, personal communication, 21 May 2009).
In sum, while some developers participation in developing IZ-units could be partially

addressed as a moral issue like community concern for affordable housing this
research nevertheless identified that economic capital, or money, operates as the primary
driver for the developers position-taking for or against the policy. However, while the IZ
program was perceived as a burden by most developers, some took advantage of it.
Therefore, since money worked as the main capital in the subfield of business groups, it
is notable that different methods to make profits allowed individual business groups to
distinguish themselves from others.
For instance, another participant developer acknowledged that his company had found
a niche market in what other developers eschew, like developments on contaminated sites
or for purposes of historic preservation, while caring about local community issues (J.
Alexander, personal communication, 20 April 2009). It was interesting to find that the
president of Alexander Company holds a BA in political science, unlike other business
owners. Also, his individual habitus was reflected in his community engagements in
alternative urban planning movements such as New Urbanism and sustainable
community development and his affiliations to public education institutions and
philanthropic non-profit organizations.
Capital and habitus in the civic groups

While value commitments are the main capital shared by civic activists and groups, there
are various reasons or logics for participating in civic engagement, as we have seen from
the different conceptions of public interest among the civic organizations engaged in
urban politics. This research assessed how some civic organizers, who played important
roles in urban politics, were involved in their own civic organizations, and accounted for
their choices of action and position-takings on IZ on the basis of habitus. For this, this

12 Yongjun Shin
study conducted in-depth interviews with two non-profit developers who built and sold
IZ units.
The director of Common Wealth Development initially came to Madison from
Baltimore to study social work at the University of WisconsinMadison. Since then, she
has become strongly attached to Madison. After earning her social work degree from the
University of CaliforniaBerkeley, she returned to Madison to take a VISTA (Volunteers
in Service to America) volunteer job with the organization (Morton, 2004). She has been
working for the organization for 28 years. As implied in her educational background and
career choice in social work, her habitus seemed to lead her to engage in the non-profit
sector in order to gain and maintain her capital of value commitments to community
development. Hence, with her habitus and capital, as regards the IZ issue, the director
became actively involved in the policy formation process while working as the chair of
the IZ Advisory Oversight Committee. Her habitus was reflected in her opinion on
affordable housing and IZ. She argued:
What I thought was important is not only that there would be additional housing units
developed but also that there would be integration of people with lower income, mid- or higher
income. To me, that is very important . . . Typically, affordable housing has been concentrated
. . . How do you integrate affordable housing? And I think that is why IZ is important from my
viewpoint (M. Morton, personal communication, 7 May 2009).
Another civic organizer is a retired professor at the University of Wisconsin who has
been heavily involved in volunteer activities. He has tried to focus on building a sense of
community through co-housing development. He has been affiliated with community
outreach and civic engagement activities in co-housing and various volunteering even
after retirement. With his commitment to the civic value of community building, he was
also involved in the IZ formation process while serving on the citys housing committee.
He said about the law:
We tried to get a law that includes people who live in Madison to buy homes with lower income
than average. Not necessarily poor but lower income. And, we have tried to do it in such a way
that they would get good housing but it would not necessarily be the same as other housing. So,
there was one point of view that we should just provide enough subsidies, so the housing is
cheap. I was personally against it because that means that once housing is sold, it is no longer
affordable housing. It is then market-rate housing . . . [Affordable] housing should be [kept]
long term (J. Merrill, personal communication, 22 May 2009).
In short, this study found that these two activists pursued ways to enhance affordable
housing and to support the IZ program. In fact, the two civic activists sought the same
capital as other civic organizations and activists that opposed IZ value commitments
to community development in their case by providing affordable housing and
supporting the IZ program, based on their values, which were embedded in their habitus.
So, even though every civic organization operates on the basis of value commitments
being its main capital, the capital in the subfield of civic organizations is differentiated
and diversified according to each organizations concentration and interest, rooted in
each entitys organizational and individual habitus. As a result, different civic
organizations choose different position-takings and different tactics of civic engagement
tactics toward the same local issue.
Conclusion: research implications

This research reconstructed a particular local urban politics and developed a
mesomicro-level model of urban politics drawing on Bourdieus theories. In order to
map the overall configuration of the main stakeholders and their position-taking on the

IZ issue across the subfields in the relational mode of analysis, the study employed a
two-mode network analysis based on Galois lattice. It demonstrated how the
stakeholders were connected with regard to their position-taking on the issue and how
some coalition networks evolved over time. In addition, it investigated the logics behind
stakeholders choices of action in urban politics and elaborated on them in relation to
capital and habitus. Through the analyses, this research found that the capitals were
differentiated across the subfields and that the stakeholders position-takings and
strategic actions on the community issue were connected with their habitus as a logic of
practice. All these findings encourage us to approach urban politics at a mesomicro
level by heeding the importance of stakeholders individual politics and their subjective
logics of action, which are in part shaped by given conditions and reflected in their
choices of action. Based on the findings, this study theoretically recapitulates two
conspicuous characteristics in the Bourdieusian urban politics model.
First, stakeholders individual politics matter in Bourdieus field theory because
social agents are not particles that are mechanically pushed and pulled about by
external forces, but bearers of capitals, depending on their trajectory and on the position
they occupy in their social domains (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992: 108). Therefore, the
field theory enables us to focus on individual stakeholders in urban politics, their actions,
and the principles behind those actions. In addition, it leads us to pay attention to the
potential of coalition networks among stakeholders across subfields in the form of
intra-field politics that go beyond the inter-subfields politics. In the case of Madisons IZ,
we observed that the IZ program was created by a new mayor and some progressive
politicians and challenged by the anti-IZ coalition, which was driven by some local
developers and conservative politicians. In short, the key stakeholders individual politics
heavily affected the entire local politics in regard to the IZ issue during the whole process
of its formation, implementation and abolishment.
Second, this study pays attention to reform potential in the field theory, which has
tended to be underestimated, because the theory conceives of a field as the locus of
relations of force and not only of meaning and of struggles aimed at transforming
it, and therefore of endless change (ibid.: 103). In other words, while there are central
players in a field, who try to uphold orthodox principles of action, there are also marginal
players who have heretical values and interests countering conventional values and
interests and thereby have the potential to become innovators in the field (Bourdieu,
2004). Therefore, the field theory enables us to discover the individuals or groups who
have alternative or heretical principles in urban politics and the impact they have on the
subfield they belong to. For instance, this study paid heed to the progressive city alder
because her choice of unique strategies for urban politics was driven by an alternative
habitus. On city politics, she said:
I believe that the government should be making sure that everybody has a good quality of life
in the city of Madison, not just for people who have money and who are well connected and
who know how things get done and what things get done. I think the government should be very
open, accessible and transparent for everybody. And, really the way it works is people just like
to work out deals behind the scenes. I dont like to see that kind of stuff happen. And, I just feel
like people who dont have voice in government need to be represented. I hope that to the best
extent I can provide that voice to them (B. Konkel, personal communication, 3 March 2009).
For this reason, she actively utilized social media to engage in local politics, even
publicizing informal talks on city politics. Hence, this study maintains that she holds
reformist potential to affect the dynamic of local politics in the subfield of Madisons
local polity by bringing an unconventional method of informational politics (see
Castells, 2001; Friedland et al., 2007) and her recalcitrant political agendas on social
justice, which are embedded in her habitus, to local politics.
A practical implication of this is that the public can identify potential reformers in
urban politics and collaborate with them to develop effective strategies to participate in

14 Yongjun Shin
urban politics in the public interest. Hence, from a normative perspective, we need to
utilize this urban politics framework as a practice model for the publics strategic
participation in urban politics. For instance, through analysis with the Bourdieusian
framework and multi-mode network analysis, we are able to build a comprehensive
urban politics monitoring system that will enable us to predict possible coalition
networks in urban politics, identify the stakeholders who have alternative principles as
potential reformers, and collaborate with them to develop effective coalition networks.
In the corporate sector, corporate managers utilize stakeholder mapping
strategiesidentifying stakeholders interests and power levels and predicting possible
coalitions by using mapping tools in order to effectively respond to stakeholders
needs and crises (Mitchell et al., 1997; Boutilier, 2009). Likewise, we can actualize an
urban politics monitoring system by creating a database of key community stakeholders
subfields (professions), capitals (interests or stakes), and position-taking (activities
regarding community affairs) in the form of a matrix. We will be able to show the
associations of stakeholders based on their position-takings by analyzing the database
through Galois lattice analysis (see Duquenne, 1991; Freeman and White, 1993). In sum,
public and civic organizations can use this urban politics monitoring system to identify
possible coalition networks according to specific urban issues and seek cooperation with
relevant stakeholders to effectively engage in local politics.
Yongjun Shin (umaysay@gmail.com), Department of Communication Studies, Maxwell

Library, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA 02325, USA.
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