Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Merging the radical ecology of Britain's powerful anti-road-building movement and the carni-valesque nature of the countercultural rave scene of the early 1990s, Reclaim the Streets (RTS) became a catalyst for the global anti-capitalist movements that came to light during the Seattle World Trade Organization (WTO) protests of 1999 . Combining a radical ecological and social critique with creative forms of direct action and a dedication to non-hierarchical organization, the group's innovative tactics inspired a new generation of radical activists in the global North. As part of Britain's brutal neoliberal restructuring, Margaret Thatcher dismantled public transport and launched a colossal road-building program, claiming that nothing must obstruct “the great car economy.” As new road schemes spread across the country, a small group of individuals got together in 1991 and set up RTS, which claimed on its flyers that it was “FOR walking, cycling, and cheap, or free, public transport, and AGAINST cars, roads, and the system that pushes them.” Beginning with the capitalized “FOR” was a clear declaration from a group that would go on to build forms of politics that prioritized creating visions of the world they wanted over protest and confrontation. An exemplary action became the guerilla, nighttime painting of cycle lanes on the city's roads. The group temporarily dissolved as its participants ... log in or subscribe to read full text