Zérah Marie-Hélène auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access This article questions the participatory dimension of urban governance in Mumbai. Based on surveys of a number of participatory projects for urban services, it compares the differentiated impacts of participation in middle-class colonies with those in slums. Results demonstrate that changing citizen-government relationships have led to the empowerment of the middle and upper middle class who harness the potential of new 'invited space' to expand their claims on the city and political space. In contrast, the poor end up on the losing side as NGOs function more as contracted agents of the State than as representatives of the poor. Direct community participation empowers influential community members, small private entrepreneurs and middlemen, and contributes to labour informalization. Ultimately, these processes consolidate a form of 'governing beyond the State' that promotes a managerial vision of participation and leads to double standards of citizenship. specialized 102 40 5 853-877 2009 0012-155X https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010048413 0012-155X [F B010048413] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010048413 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2009/12/010048413.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2009-12-21 2017-08-23 fdi:010048413 fre