WORKSHOP, URBAN ACTIVISM Crises regimes and emerging social movements in cities of Southern Europe. Athens. 7.-9.2.2013

Crisis regimes and emerging social movements in cities of Southern Europe

WORKSHOP

Athens 7. – 9. February 2013

An international workshop titled “Crisis regimes and emerging urban social movements in cities of Southern Europe” will take place in Athens from 7th to 9th February 2013. The workshop is organized by Encounter Athens, INURA Athens and the Public Policies and Government Institute of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. It is supported by the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the National Technical University of Athens and it is funded by the Antipode Foundation.

The intention of the workshop is to provide an opportunity for exchanging experiences concerning the impacts of the current crisis in Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish cities and explore alternatives for radical action.

Activists and scholars from Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain who are involved in social movements in their cities or who conduct relevant research have been invited to present their experiences about crisis in the cities of Southern Europe along three workshop themes: a) ultra-neoliberal urban development projects, b) housing in crisis and c) the local as a reference for new mobilizations, solidarity networks and actions. The workshop will also include presentations and discussions about the crisis regimes in South European countries and fieldtrips in Athens. Moreover, Margit Mayer, professor at the Free University of Berlin, and Boaventura de Sousa Santos, professor at the University of Coibra and Distinguished Legal Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will reflect on the workshop’s topics.

Activists, scholars and other interested individuals or groups are welcomed to join the workshop and contribute to the discussions with their experience and comments. If willing to attend, please fill the attached registration form and send it to: encounterathens.mail.

More information: http://urbanrise.net/

Looking forward to seeing you in Athens!

The organizers:
Encounter Athens
INURA Athens
Public Policies and Government Institute of the AUB

URBANRISE_workshop_announcement.pdf

ACADEMICS, CFP: Stadtkolloquium Urban PhD Workshop. UCL, London. 25.-26.3.2013. Deadline: 15.1.2013

*Stadtkolloquium* Interdisciplinary Urban PhD Research Group
4th Annual Workshop 2013 – 25 & 26th March
UCL, London

Call for papers

Stadtkolloquium, in conjunction with UCL’s Urban Laboratory, is pleased to announce its annual 2-day work shop for PhD research students in urban-related disciplines. The workshop will provide an open, informal and intimate space to collaborate and discuss progress amongst peers with regard to topical, theoretical, practical or methodological concerns. We therefore welcome contributions from students at all stages of the dissertation process.

*Stadtkolloquium* aims to create a supportive environment for urban researchers who to develop their work and meet PhD students from other departments and universities. The workshop is unique in that all participants agree to both present their work and support others in doing so in small group sessions. Organizers hope to generate lively round-table discussions on diverse urban questions across various academic disciplines including Geography, Architecture, History, Anthropology, Literature, Cultural Studies, Development Studies, Fine Arts, Environmental Studies, Gender Studies, Health Sciences, Planning, Engineering and beyond.

The four thematic tracks for the 2013 workshop are:

A. Re-thinking urban economies
Explaining the growth and development of cities has been called ‘one of the great challenges for social science’ (Storper, 2011, p.33). But what is specifically ‘urban’ about the range of problems facing economies today? The increasing recognition of the partiality of urban development and growth policies (e.g. global cities; creative cities), the decoupling of economic growth from social and environmental development, the ongoing financial crisis and the emergence of austerity urbanism, as well as decreasing confidence in mainstream economics more generally, suggests that the scope for new ways of theorising, measuring and intervening in urban economies is significant. Contributions are welcomed from PhD students who are exploring some of the diverse ways in which we might re-think urban economies.

Key Words: urban economies; re-thinking economy; global cities; creative cities; ordinary cities; development; well-being; financial crisis; austerity urbanism

Chairs: Alvaro Sanchez Jimenez, Louis Moreno, Myfanwy Taylor

B. Post-colonial approaches to the city
An increasing amount of scholarship (Robinson 2006, Roy 2011) has emerged as a critique of the ways in which cities in the global South have been studied. This session aims to discuss cities in ways that respond to this post-colonial questioning of urban theory. How can concepts that emerged in the South, such as informality, be used in cities of the global North? How can empirical studies of cities beyond the West inform urban theory in general? How do concepts such as neo-liberalism or gentrification, change when examined in a non-Western context? The session is interested in theoretical approaches as well as methods of thinking ‘comparatively’
through both multi- and single case studies.

Key Words: Post-colonial theory, comparative urbanism, sub-altern theory
Chairs: Hanna Hilbrandt, Susana Neves Alves, Tauri Tuvikene

C. Managing the complex city
This session will explore pragmatic responses to the problem of managing cities and urban spaces understood to be complex. Such matters arise in the fields of urban design and planning, infrastructure, municipal governance and policy making where the unexpected, contingent, emergent and the nonquantifiable variously problematise efforts to control, order or regulate urban space and process. The session seeks to facilitate discussion of both empirical case studies and theoretical resources for dealing with such issues in urban scholarship.

Key words: complexity theory, contingency, emergence, urban governance, co-ordination
Chairs: Ine Steenmans, Regan Koch

D. Urban Assemblages
A dynamic worldview of flux and flow, uncertainty and complexity is being recognised more and more across all disciplines (Whatmore, 2006; De Landa 2006; Lash 2006; Deleuze and Guattari, 1987). But can these post-human, relational and flat ontologies cast a doubt at the appropriateness of the city as the unit of analysis for urban research? This track looks at the application of these approaches to specific cases of empirical urban research through attending to the rich array of human-nonhuman, material-immaterial, and mobile-immobile entanglements. It is specifically concerned with the empirical application of theoretical approaches like assemblages, networks, meshworks and constellations to urban research and the methodological and empirical challenges they bring about.

Keywords: Complexity, post-human, relational, materiality, assemblages, networks.
Chairs: Hayley Peacock, Pooya Ghoddousi

The workshop will take place on 25 & 26 March 2013 at University College London. On the first day, each participant will be given 20 minutes to present their work in small groups of 8 people, followed by 25 minutes of feedback and discussion. The second day will be dedicated to a plenary discussion, two keynote lectures and small group workshops based on accepted participant’s suggestions.

Call for papers
If you are interested in discussing your work, please send us an abstract (no more than 250 words) of the project you would like to present. Past participants have presented work ranging from upgrade documents, PhD outlines, sample dissertations chapters and journal papers in progress. Please note that while the intimate nature of the workshop provides a uniquely engaging experience, it also significantly limits the number of proposals we are able to accept. Competition for spaces in years past has been very tight.

In submitting an abstract, please include the following:

  1. title and 250 word abstract
  2. name, university, department, and year of study

Abstracts should be emailed to the respective track email:
Track A: myfanwy.taylor.09
Track B: tauri.tuvikene.10
Track C: ine.steenmans.09
Track D: pooya.ghoddousi.10

For general enquiries please email stadtkolloquium
Deadline for proposals: 15th of January 2013.
A small conference fee will apply (15 GBP).

For more information on *Stadtkolloquium* activities, previous workshops and feedback comments, please visit our website: www.stadtkolloquium.co.uk
and find us on Facebook

Contact – stadtkolloquium

UCL Urban Laboratory, www.ucl.ac.uk/urbanlab

CfP CONF Within the Limits of Scarcity: Rethinking Space, City and Practices. University of Westminster, London, 27.2.–1.3.2013

Within the Limits of Scarcity:
Rethinking Space, City and Practices

27th February – 1st March 2013
University of Westminster, London

http://www.scibe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/cfp_phdconference_scibe.pdf

Keynote Speakers:
Pier Vittorio Aureli, Architectural Association / Berlage Institute
Camillo Boano, The Bartlett – DPU UCL
Ole Bouman, Nederlands Architectuurinstituut
Erik Swyngedouw, University of Manchester

Scarcity is often considered as a fundamental condition of human societies. On the one hand, the state of not having enough has been at the bottom of a variety of strategies and techniques to overcome it; on the other, it has served as an explanatory argument for social order, for distribution or for conflict.
Continue reading “CfP CONF Within the Limits of Scarcity: Rethinking Space, City and Practices. University of Westminster, London, 27.2.–1.3.2013”

CONF ACUMEN: Assembly for Comparative Urbanisation and the Material Environment Digital methodologies for social research on processes of urban landscape development, Leeds, UK, 12.-13.12.2012.

ACUMEN: Assembly for Comparative Urbanisation and the Material Environment
Digital methodologies for social research on processes of urban landscape development

Leeds, UK, December 12-13, 2012.

The deadline for application forms is Friday the 2nd of November.
Registration for ACUMEN costs 25GBP

Link: http://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/research/events/conferences/acumen-assembly-for-comparative-urbanisation-and-the-material-environment/

The number of participants is limited, but we do still actively encourage researchers to apply. We are looking for participants from various disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, incl. sociology, urban studies, archaeology, history, anthropology, architecture/planning, geography, etc., and especially those with an active interest in comparative social and material studies of urbanisation processes through time.
Continue reading “CONF ACUMEN: Assembly for Comparative Urbanisation and the Material Environment Digital methodologies for social research on processes of urban landscape development, Leeds, UK, 12.-13.12.2012.”

SYMP The Making of Modern Ankar: Space, Poitics, Representation, University of Westminster, UK 23.11.2012 2-7pm

An international symposium organised by the Department of Architecture at the University of Westminster in  conjunction with SOAS Seminars on Turkey

The making of modern Ankara is a momentous yet oft-neglected episode in twentieth-century history. The transformation of this ancient Anatolian town into the capital of the Turkish Republic captured the world’s attention during the interwar period, when Ankara became a laboratory of modernism and nation building. Largely designed by European architects, the new capital embodied the reformist ethos of a secular state firmly projected towards the West. Today, as this sprawling city of over four millions seeks to reinvent its identity, its modern development is the subject of growing scholarship and public interest. The half-day symposium brings together a panel of scholars from architecture, planning, art history, heritage, and Turkish studies to revisit the making of modern Ankara in a cross-disciplinary perspective, while also debating its legacy on the eve of the Republic’s 90th anniversary.
Continue reading “SYMP The Making of Modern Ankar: Space, Poitics, Representation, University of Westminster, UK 23.11.2012 2-7pm”

CfP CONF (Re)constructing communities in Europe, 1918-1968. A venture into the discursive practices of community building Radboud University Nijmegen / Utrecht University – Soeterbeeck Study Center, 18.-20.12.2013. Deadline: 1.3.2012

Call for Papers
International Conference
(Re)constructing communities in Europe, 1918-1968. A venture into the discursive practices of community building

Radboud University Nijmegen / Utrecht University – Soeterbeeck Study Center
18-20 December 2013

Theme
Conceptions of community were at the heart of inter- and post-war discourses of (re)construction, both in communist Eastern Europe and the democratic West.
Building on political and scientific discourses of community-building, and infused by the traumatic ruptures in (local) society during the Second World War, the idea of creating and sustaining social coherence became a shared consensus. At various levels, and referring to a variety of collectives, ‘community’ – Gemeinschaft, gemeenschap, communauté etc. – was perceived as imperative for stability, prosperity and welfare. This conference addresses the various discourses and conceptions of community in Europe in from the end of the First World War up until the late 1960s from a multilevel perspective – local, national and transnational – and through a focus on communicative practices. The latter refers to the embeddedness of community discourse in language, but also takes into account how this discourse is – performatively – acted out in social and politico-administrative practices.
Continue reading “CfP CONF (Re)constructing communities in Europe, 1918-1968. A venture into the discursive practices of community building Radboud University Nijmegen / Utrecht University – Soeterbeeck Study Center, 18.-20.12.2013. Deadline: 1.3.2012”

CONF International Conference of the Italian Association of Urban History – Waterfronts Revisited. The Transformation of the Port Cities and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. Rome, Italy. 9.11.2012

International Conference of the Italian Association of Urban History – AISU
Waterfronts Revisited. The Transformation of the Port Cities and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape

November 9, 2012
CNR – National Research Council of Italy
Piazzale Aldo Moro 7 – Rome
Aula Marconi

Organized by the CNR – Institute for the Conservation and Valorization of Cultural Heritage – Rome

Water cities represented a predominant urban form. Since ancient times, the foundation of a city has been linked to the choice of a site close to the water, a river or a natural harbor. Rivers, channels and harbors have determined the birth and the growth of many cities in Mediterranean, European and American or Asian countries up to recent times. Since 1970s, however, deindustrialization resulted in the abandonment of a large number of harbor sites. To face the urban and social decay a movement to revitalize and recover these areas, known as waterfront development, has appeared and gradually grown. Looking back to this experience, we can easily see that the waterfront has been mainly conceived as a separate part of the city, detached from the surrounding
territory and its characteristics, introducing new functions (cultural, leisure, green areas and parks).
Continue reading “CONF International Conference of the Italian Association of Urban History – Waterfronts Revisited. The Transformation of the Port Cities and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. Rome, Italy. 9.11.2012”

PUB PNUK Discussion “Manifesto for Planning and Land Reform” in the UK

From Andy Inch:

Hi all,
Bob Colenutt, Michael Edwards, Tim Marshall and I, with important contributions from other PNUK members at various stages, have been working for some time to put together a ‘manifesto for planning and land reform’. We now have a draft completed which we hope will generate some debate and discussion about the state of planning and the scope for radical, alternative approaches. You can find a pdf version of the manifesto here: http://bit.ly/Vduhe6

We would welcome comments and discussion on it, and are planning to hold events in London and Sheffield in either late 2012 or early 2013 to debate the issues.
We hope to hear from you or see you there.


Andy Inch

PNUK Manifesto November 2012 (pdf)

CONF CfP “Colonial and Postcolonial Urban Planning in Africa” Lisbon, Portugal. 5.-6.9.2013. Deadline: 15.1.2013

International Planning History Society (IPHS) & Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, Portugal

“COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL URBAN PLANNING IN AFRICA”
Lisbon, Portugal 5-6 September 2013

The Conference – Colonial and Postcolonial Urban Planning in Africa – aims to re-examine the history of colonial urban planning in Africa and its legacies in the post-independence period, to learn from contemporary African scholarship, and to discuss how postcolonial urban planning cultures can actually address these urban challenges and contribute effectively for the development of resilient and sustainable cities in Africa.

The Conference, to be held in Lisbon, in September 2013, organized by the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning – University of Lisbon and the International Planning History Society (IPHS), will explore two key themes in the history of urban planning in Africa:

Theme I 19th and 20th Century Colonial Urban Planning in Africa

Theme II Postcolonial Urban Planning in Africa
Continue reading “CONF CfP “Colonial and Postcolonial Urban Planning in Africa” Lisbon, Portugal. 5.-6.9.2013. Deadline: 15.1.2013″

PhD 6 graduate, 2 postdoc, 3 visiting fellowships at TU Darmstadt, Germany from 2013. Deadlines: 7.12.2012

The interdisciplinary graduate program “Topology of Technology” at the TU Darmstadt, one of Germany’s leading Universities of Technology (near Frankfurt), announces up to six doctoral fellowships, starting April 1, 2013, and running for a maximum of 3 years. Furthermore the graduate program announces one postdoc fellowship (2 years) and three visiting fellowships (for a three-month period in 2013).

The program is organized by professors from the disciplines of history, sociology, philosophy, mechanical engineering, computer science, sports science, and planning. It focuses on the relationship between technology and space – at present, in history, and in a possible future.

One of the doctoral fellowships or the postdoctoral fellowship focuses on the field of spatial and infrastructure planning. Potential applicants in this field are expected to do research on the co-evolution of cities and socio-technical systems (energy, water, sanitation, waste, telecommunication, transport) and their sustainable planning and design in an international perspective. For the doctoral fellowship critical studies on the constitution of “smart cities” or “smart energy cities” are of particular interest. Relevant questions include:

  • Which are their underlying conceptual assumptions and contradictions of smart spaces?
  • How are “smart cities” organized in different spatial and institutional contexts?
  • Which are the socio-technical, socio-spatial and ecological impacts of this restructuring of cities and infrastructures?
  • How does the transition towards “smart places” shape the political and economic power relations in cities?
  • Which institutional and technological innovations are required and which are the challenges for urban policy and planning?

Continue reading “PhD 6 graduate, 2 postdoc, 3 visiting fellowships at TU Darmstadt, Germany from 2013. Deadlines: 7.12.2012”