Under what conditions can urban activism generate opportunities for emancipatory collective action in cities governed by oligarchic political systems? Based on an empirical investigation of urban activism in Beirut (Lebanon) since 2006, and inspired by urban social movements’, urban politics’ and municipalism analytical frames (Nicholls et al. 2013; Nicholls and Uistermark 2017; Ozdemir and Eraydin 2017; Domaradzka and Wijkstrom 2016; Dikeç and Swyngedouw 2017), this blog argues that three elements determine the organization of collective action for emancipatory politics in cities.