In the span of a decade, city legislation on workplace pay and basic economic rights has gone from improbable to commonplace. This surprising development upends decades of conventional wisdom that warns reformers against attempting to address structural inequalities at City Hall. Why do demands for $15 minimum wages and basic income pilots succeed where smaller demands once failed? At stake in this question is the future of cities as sites of protest and reform. Professor Doussard will show how changes in the organization of the state, the economy and social movements make cities the primary site for challenging inequality. This focuses our attention on communities, movements and institutions commonly overlooked in the study of U.S. politics.