https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087420940789 Urban Affairs Review 1–41 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1078087420940789 journals.sagepub.com/home/uar Original Manuscript The Spatial Articulation of Urban Political Cleavages Jan Doering 1 , Daniel Silver 2 , and Zack Taylor 3 Abstract Synthesizing and extending multiple literatures, this article develops a new approach for exploring the spatial articulation of urban political cleavages. We pursue three questions: (1) To what extent does electoral conflict materialize between rather than within neighborhoods? (2) How salient are group, place, and location in defining urban cleavages? (3) How do these sources inflect one another? To answer these questions, the article analyzes a novel longitudinal database of neighborhood-scale mayoral voting in Chicago, Toronto, and London. We find strong evidence of spatially articulated cleavages: in each city, voting patterns are equally or more geographically concentrated than the non-White population, income, and poverty. While group-based interests define Chicago’s cleavage structure, place and location are paramount in Toronto and London. We conclude by proposing a research agenda for investigating the spatiality of urban politics and advancing a preliminary typology of urban political cleavages and the conditions under which they may arise. Keywords political cleavages, urban politics, political geography, local elections, neighborhoods 1 McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 2 University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 3 Western University, London, Ontario, Canada Corresponding Author: Zack Taylor, Department of Political Science, Social Science Centre, Western University, Room 4166, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2. Email: zack.taylor@uwo.ca 940789UAR XX X 10.1177/1078087420940789Urban Affairs ReviewDoering et al. research-article 2020