Local development versus neoliberal globalization project: reflecting on market-oriented cities

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this article is to discuss what has being disseminated and reproduced as local development, seeking to understand the problems arising from this phenomenon, particularly highlighting the promotion of market-oriented cities. We question the processes of development and public policies, advancing in the debate based on Karl Polanyi’s double-movement thesis duly revisited and updated historically and geographically. As contributions, we highlight the engagement with de-coloniality to treat temporal and geo-epistemic gaps of the Polanyian thesis. In addition, it is possible to identify that the Polanyian counter-movement depends on the actions of several social actors, with emphasis on societies and governments, through public policies.