Turf politics
Turf politics describes the set political strategies used by coalitions of residents, local governments, and other groups to assert control over a physical and social environment, particularly within a neighborhood. This place-based activism is using the neighborhood identity to create collective-action frames. The term in this meaning was introduced by Kevin R. Cox in his "Social Change, Turf Politics, and Concepts of Turf Politics". In a neighborhood context, the "turf" extends beyond property lines to encompass public spaces like parks, streets, and schools, as well as the intangible sense of community character. Turf politics is a part of the broader politics of place.
At its core, turf politics is a manifestation of territoriality, a concept in human geography where individuals and groups either seek to establish defended spaces they perceive as their own to protect their collective consumption from outsiders or mobilize for growth to defend their places against disinvestment.
The term "turf politics" is also used for the bureaucratic organizational politics that lead to turf wars as well as backroom negotiation on distribution of authority during the formation of an executive body.Key dimensions
The nature of turf defense greatly varies with the type of neighborhood: while affluent places focus on peaceful exclusion of undesirable traits, in the poor neighborhood the exclusion of others can be enforced by youth gangs and quite violent.Competition for resources
A significant driver of turf politics is the competition for scarce resources, "collective consumption" of valuables like education and physical amenities. This includes tangible assets like parking spaces, municipal services, and access to quality schools, and intangible ones such as a neighborhood's reputation and perceived safety. These conflicts often manifest as Not In My Back Yard movements, where residents organize to prevent the introduction of land uses they deem undesirable, such as homeless shelters or industrial facilities, which they believe will negatively impact their turf.Identity and belonging
Neighborhoods are often central to residents' sense of identity. Turf politics can, therefore, become a struggle over who belongs and who defines the neighborhood's character. Conflicts can arise between long-term residents and newcomers, different ethnic or socioeconomic groups, and renters versus homeowners. These struggles frequently play out in debates over gentrification, historic preservation, and the cultural practices deemed acceptable in public spaces. The negotiation of public behavior can be a form of turf politics, where established norms are defended against perceived outsiders.Informal governance
Beyond formal political processes, turf politics operates through informal channels of social control. This can include neighborhood block clubs bargaining for public services with political structures, street-corner gangs warding strangers off their "turf", informal groups putting social pressure on individuals who violate community norms. As a result, "defended neighborhoods" are socially constructed and maintained through informal turf politics that regulate the social order outside of official government channels.