USF International Workshops: states, markets, and variegated urban growth machines

Events 21st September 2021

The Urban Studies Foundation is excited to announce two additional virtual events planned for October and November 2021. The first two USF International Workshops (13th October and 17th November) will showcase the research outputs of International Fellows around the world. Links to sign-up for these events may be found below, and the USF invites participation from scholars and practitioners around the world.

With, without and/or against the state? Exploring the (re)production of space in the Global South [13/10/21]

This USF International Workshop (13th October 2021, 13:00 UK time) will feature five presentations on the production of urban space in the Global South, which involves a web of complex relationships between state and non-state actors. Presentations will feature research from five USF International Fellows: Dr Jie Shen (School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University), Dr Ofita Purwani (School of Architecture Universitas Sebelas Maret, Indonesia), Dr Wangui Kimari (Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town), Dr Lina Martinez (POLIS, Universidad Icesi, Colombia), and Dr Gilbert Siame (Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Zambia). The workshop will be chaired by Professor Hyun Bang Shin (LSE), USF Trustee.

Sign up here!

Hosted by the LSE Southeast Asia Centre (SEAC), in collaboration with the LSE Latin America and Caribbean Centre (LACC) and the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa (FLIA), presenters will introduce case studies from Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, allowing audience an opportunity to reflect upon the ways in which the (re-)structuring of urbanising space involves the selective use of state power or lack thereof. Presenters will be discussing how the state continues to have its presence felt in urban development processes in Asia (China and Indonesia) and how important it is to shed light on the contextual experiences of informal workers (Colombia) and communities and civil society (Uganda), while acknowledging the significance of countering dominant narratives that criminalise marginalised populations (Kenya).

States, markets and variegated urban growth machines [17/11/21]

This USF International Workshop (17th November 2021, 13:00 Brasília time) will feature four paper presentations on states, markets and variegated urban growth machines in the Global South. The event will feature research from four USF International Fellows: Dr Melih Yeşilbağ (Department of Sociology, University of Ankara, Turkey), Dr Dinorah Gonzalez (Universidad Iberoamericana, Tijuana, Mexico), Dr Beatriz Rufino (College of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo, FAU-USP, Brazil), and Dr Daniel Sanfelici (Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil). This workshop will be hosted by the UFABC, São Paulo (Brazil), and chaired by Professor Jeroen Klink (UFABC), USF Trustee.

Sign up here!

The neo-liberalisation and financialization of urban spaces have still predominantly been framed around the conceptual and empirical perspective of the Global North. While the number of case studies from the Global South has undeniably been growing, there is less work that moves on to show that how these obviously different Southern trajectories might contribute to the development of a more global perspective on urban studies. The objective of this workshop is to make a first step into the direction of such a more ambitious agenda “with a Southern flavour” based on ongoing research supported by the USF. For that purpose, presentations will focus on case studies from Turkey, Mexico and Brazil.