In this seminar series, we address the broader actors, circuits, and geographies involved in the circulation and mobility of urban models in and from Latin America. Together the seminars investigate the role of a range of actors, including experts and politicians, but also alternative actors such as those involved in urban social movements and alternative networks of “experts”, that are interwoven in policy mobility processes. In concrete terms, we will hold four seminars: Circulations of social urbanism and informal settlement upgrading: Between alternative and mainstream urban models (Mexico City, October 26-27th, 2023), Gender and care: New agendas in the formation and circulation of urban policies in Latin America (Bogota, March 20th and 21st, 2024), Alternative circuits and stakeholders (Buenos Aires, May 2024), and Theory and practice: Moving the conversation forward (100% virtual, June 2024).
The first seminar, Circulations of social urbanism and informal settlement upgrading: Between alternative and mainstream urban models will be held on October 26th and 27th, 2023 at the Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Mexico City Campus and online. Social urbanism is a policy of urban interventions adopted at the beginning of the 2000s in Medellín to foster urban equity through the strengthening of institutional, physical, and social infrastructures in marginal areas of the city. This seminar will explore social urbanism as a model, critically analysing its mobility from Medellin to other cities across Latin America while looking at alternative and emerging models related to poverty and informality. Furthermore, the seminar will explore alternative policies from the global South, asking what new South-South policy circulations suggest about the role of Latin American urban models. A site visit to explore the uptake of social urbanism in Mexico City will be included as part of the seminar.