The power of unlikely connections

Q. Does Cities Methodologies set researchers a challenge to present their work in a way that they might not normally?

Yes, it does. It asks researchers to expose their work in-progress, so that others can see the methods they are adopting, even as they are still being formulated. This is unique, as  architecture and urbanism exhibitions typically give a false sense that the processes through which urban knowledge is produced are seamless. The opposite is true, and we ask exhibitors to let others see the challenges they are facing.

Q. What is the benefit of presenting peer-reviewed work next to undergraduate projects?

There is an irreverence towards conventional hierarchies in Cities Methodologies, and that also includes academic hierarchies. This allows younger, emerging generations of urbanists to come forward. As the book and exhibitions show, they display great energy and flexibility as transdisciplinary thinkers and actors that should inspire us to rethink traditional academic and professional structures. 

Q. What do you think is missing from approaches to urbanism research today?

In Engaged Urbanism, we are particularly interested in the sociopolitical aspects of urban knowledge production and the social life of this knowledge. Given what we deem an over-reliance, in policy and practice, of certain kinds of quantitative data, often taken out of context, our position is that more hybrid and imaginative approaches to research have the potential to lead to better decision-making and, ultimately, more equitable cities.

Q. Over the years you’ve been running Cities Methodologies, what’s surprised you most?

I am struck by the openness of researchers to collaborate and their capacity to speak across disciplines and practices, which have very different languages and rituals, and that on the surface might not seem to connect.

Q. Why publish Engaged Urbanism now?

Governments and other agencies are acutely focused on the future of cities worldwide, as the recent launch of the New Urban Agenda at Habitat III and the Sustainable Development Goals attest. With this in mind, we think it’s an important moment to be making the case for an experimental turn in methods of researching and understanding cities.

In that sense, we think of the book as a kind of handbook of inventive approaches that will inspire researchers, activists, policymakers and service providers everywhere to question hierarchies of expertise, and work with available resources towards knowledge that will lead to improved practice and more equitable cities.