The development of Berkeley, Califomia's protected manufacturing zone is an intriguing case of a progressive urban social movement within the context of economic restructuring. While the neighborhood contained all the elements that usually lead to gentrification (industrial flight, high land values, anti-manufacturing sentiment, and wealthier "inmovers"), the process was reversed after a unique community-based economic justice coalition negotiated with local residents, developers, and city officials to institute a protected manufacturing zone. Activists pursued a strategy of retaining manufacturing as part of a larger goal of preserving the city's racial, ethnic, and class diversity and constructed their movement by consciously linking cultural and material politics. This case shows how community mobilization can disrupt what appears to be an inevitable process of capital disinvestment.
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