Urban transformations

How do we understand multiple forms of urban life?

Key research questions include:

• How does urbanisation transform social life?
• How do women and men, girls and boys move in and out of poverty in cities?
• How do different forms of economic organisation in the city (re)produce (in)justice?
• How is informality shaped, reproduced and exploited in the city?
• How is the increasing marketisation in the production of (public and private) space impacting on the city? What is the potential for and of public space in the city?
• How are the increasing demands for connectivity and mobility shaping ‘the urban’?

What type of urban political strategies and configurations can lead to the production of just cities?

This question focuses on the varied political processes that contribute to urban transformation. It looks at social mobilization, resistance and collective action of oppressed groups demanding justice but also explores the roles of the state and private sector in reproducing justice and injustice in cities and urban(ising) areas. It engages with questions of urban democracy, citizenship, and governance.

Key research questions include:
 

• How do different forms of political organisation in the city (re)produce (in)justice?

Is ‘urban governance’ a co-opted framework? What are the key arenas of governance in the production of the just city?

Continues DPU’s critique of traditional design and planning. It does so by confronting current practices with different conceptions of the just city and grounding them in a deeper understanding of the formal/informal continuum. Exploring implications for practice, this sub-cluster proposes alternative design and planning methodologies to address transformative change in cities of the global South.