Rethinking Urbanism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garth Myers
Keyword(s):  
Urban Studies ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
Human Migration ◽  
Cape Coast ◽  
Urban Theory ◽  
New Era ◽  
Economic Relationships ◽  
Global North ◽  
The Many

This book asks two broad central questions: what has shaped contemporary urbanism and urbanization on the planet, and what are the shapes that urbanism and urbanization take? It tackles these questions in six content chapters. The first two chapters after the introduction address these central questions by analyzing discussions of processes and patterns of urbanism and urbanization. The other four chapters explore aspects of grand shaping forces: colonialism and imperialism; human migration and movement; trade and economic relationships; and policies and politics. It concentrates on Hartford, Zanzibar Port of Spain, San Juan, Cape Coast, Dakar, and three cities in China’s Pearl River Delta (Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou). These urban areas are used as starting places for conceptualizations built from postcolonial and southern thinking. The goal lies in providing practical, empirical illustrations and thick descriptions of the applicability of postcolonial and southern thought for addressing this new era, which the contemporary literature that sprang from the French urbanist Henri Lefebvre’s (1970: 113) hypothesis of ‘the planetary nature of the urban phenomenon’ terms the era of ‘planetary urbanization’. This book builds on the many recent works of postcolonial and southern urban studies contesting the universalizing and reductive tendencies of global North urban theory.

scholarly journals Die Emergenz der Masse – zur Urbanität im globalen Süden

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Dirksmeier
Keyword(s):  
Urban Studies ◽  
Judith Butler ◽  
Global South ◽  
The South ◽  
Urban Theory ◽  
Peter Sloterdijk ◽  
Mechanism Of Interaction ◽  
Global North ◽  
Build Environment ◽  
The Right

Abstract. The potentiality of crowds, in terms of possibilities for achieving a livelihood in the big and dense cities, gains centre stage in contemporary urban studies dealing with the global South. These emergent effects of crowds act as dissociation of further work in urban theory from the global North that often displays a universalistic claim. However, contemporary urban theory both from the global South and North has astonishing less to say about internal processes of crowds that could be interpreted as emerging effects. The paper analyses the work on crowds by Peter Sloterdijk and the performative theory of assembly by Judith Butler in terms of theoretical possibilities to enrich contemporary thinking on urbanity in the South. The paper accentuates two important arguments for urban theory that could be fit into existing work in the field. Sloterdijk emphasises the “affective synthesis” of crowds and the build environment as an important mechanism of interaction between crowds and urbanity, whereas Butler elaborates the performative effect of crowds to articulate the right of owning attested rights.

Theorizing Regulation-in-City for Homeless People’s Subaltern Strategy and Informality: Societalization, Metabolism, and Classes With(out) Housing

2021 ◽  
pp. 089692052110205
Author(s):  
Mahito Hayashi
Keyword(s):  
Urban Studies ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Urban Metabolism ◽  
Class Relations ◽  
Housing Consumption ◽  
Urban Theory ◽  
Critical Urban Theory

This paper aims to expand critical urban theory and spatialized political economy through developing a new, broad-based theoretical explanation of homelessness and the informal housing of the deprived in public spaces. After reviewing an important debate in geography, it systematicallyreasserts the relevance of class-related concepts in urban studies and, mobilizing post-determinist notions, it shows how a class-driven theory can inform the emergence of appropriating/differentiating/reconciliating agency from the material bedrock of urban metabolism and its society-integrating effect (societalization). The author weaves an urban diagnostic web of concepts by situating city-dwellers—classes with(out) housing—at the material level of metabolism and then in the sociopolitical dynamic of regulation, finding in the two realms urban class relations (enlisted within societalization) and agency formation (for reregulation, subaltern strategies, and potential rapprochement). The housing classes are retheorized as a composite category of hegemonic dwellers who enjoy housing consumption and whose metabolism thus appears as the normative consumption of public/private spaces. Homeless people are understood as a subaltern class who lacks housing consumption and whose metabolism can produce “housing” out of public spaces, in opposition to a hegemonic urban form practiced by the housing classes. These urban class relations breed homeless–housed divides and homeless regulation, and yet allow for agency’s creative appropriation/differentiation/reconciliation. This paper avoids crude dichotomy, but it argues that critical urban theory can productively use this way of theorization for examining post-determinist urban lifeworlds in relation to the relative fixity of urban form, metabolic circuits, and class relations.

scholarly journals Ensuring Sustainable Urban Transformation in Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-224
Author(s):  
B. Setiawan ◽  
Tri Mulyani Sunarharum
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Third World ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Third World

Of the many important events that occurred in the two decades of the 21st century, the process of accelerating urbanization—especially in third-world countries—became something quite phenomenal. It's never even happened before. In the early 2000s, only about 45 percent of the population in the third world lived in urban areas, by 2020 the number had reached about 55 percent. Between now and 2035 the percentage of the population living in urban areas will reach about 85 percent in developed countries. Meanwhile, in developing countries will reach about 65 percent. By 2035, it is also projected that about 80 percent of the world's urban population will live in developing countries' cities.

scholarly journals URBAN STUDIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THEORIES OF VISUAL PRACTICES

2017 ◽  
pp. 93-97
Author(s):  
A. M. Tormakhova
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Monumental Architecture ◽  
The City

One of the leading trends in contemporary cultural studies is the appealto the field of visual. Thepurpose of the article is to investigate the range of problems associated withthe existence, functioning of various visual practices in the urban space and the disclosure of the specifics of communication carried out through their intermediation. In urban space, there are many forms, such as monumental architecture, urban sculpture, outdoor illumination, landscape art, street art, graffiti and others. These artifacts are the subject of cultural research within different disciplines - aesthetics, cultural studies, design, and art. It may be noted that in recentdecades, significant development gets such a direction as Urban Studies, in which the focus of research serves the city. The methodology of the study includes an appeal to an interdisciplinary approach that relies on the achievements of practical cultural studies, Urban studies,and aesthetics theory by Ukrainian and Western authors. Scientific novelty consists in analyzing the connection ofactual visual practices presented in the urban space and forming of Internet activity, which facilitates the mutual influence of these spheres one on another. The author noted that urban space is gradually becoming not only interactive, but also fully assuming the characteristics of WEB 2.0, which means active rethinking and transforming the environment, urban residents involvement in decision-making that becomes a norm of everyday life. City is a kind of text that reflects changing tastes, politicaland economic factors in visualform. Town and city public spaces play an important role in shaping the interaction within society. One of the pressing problems of practical cultural studies in general and urban areas in particular, should be integrated into organization of the urban environment and design the image of the city. The practical significance lies in the fact that the results of the research can beused in developing the urban sphere in particular and in actualizing the issue of organizing the urban environment and constructing the image of the city.

scholarly journals Māori Urban Migrations and Identities, ‘Ko Ngā Iwi Nuku Whenua’: A study of Urbanisation in the Wellington Region during the Twentieth Century

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Erin Keenan
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Migration ◽  
World War ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
The Past ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Many ◽  
Migration Experiences

<p>Māori urbanisation and urban migrations have been the subject of much discussion and research, especially following World War Two when Māori individuals, whānau and communities increasingly became residents of towns and cities that were overwhelmingly Pākehā populated. However, Māori urbanisation experiences and urban migrations are difficult topics to address because kaumātua are reluctant to discuss ‘urban Māori’, especially considering its implications for Māori identities. The original contribution this thesis makes to histories of Māori urban migrations is that it explores these and other understandings of urbanisations to discover some of their historical influences. By discussing urbanisations directly with kaumātua and exploring historical sources of Māori living in, and moving to, the urban spaces of Wellington and the Hutt Valley through the twentieth century, this thesis is a ‘meeting place’ for a range of perspectives on the meanings of urbanisations from the past and the present. Although urbanisation was an incredible time of material change for the individuals and whānau who chose to move into cities such as Wellington, the histories of urban migration experiences exist within a scope of Māori and iwi worldviews that gave rise to multiple experiences and understandings of urbanisations. The Wellington region is used to show that Māori in towns and cities used Māori social and cultural forms in urban areas so that they could, through the many challenges of becoming urban-dwelling, ensure the persistence of their Māoritanga. Urbanisations also allowed Māori to both use traditional identities in urban areas, as well as develop new relationships modelled on kinship. The Ngāti Pōneke community is used as an example of the complex interactions between these identities and how many Māori became active residents in but not conceptually ‘of’ cities. As a result, the multiple and layered Māori identities that permeate throughout Māori experiences of the present and the past are important considerations in approaching and discussing urbanisations. Urban Māori communities have emphasised the significance of varied and layered Māori identities, and this became particularly pronounced through the Māori urban migrations of the twentieth century.</p>

Current debates in urban theory from a scale perspective: Introducing a scenes approach

Urban Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 1487-1497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cary Wu ◽  
Rima Wilkes ◽  
Daniel Silver ◽  
Terry Nichols Clark
Keyword(s):  
Urban Studies ◽  
Urban Theory ◽  
Urban Scenes ◽  
The World ◽  
Geographical Scale ◽  
The City ◽  
Review Current ◽  
Hierarchical Scale

Cities, all over the world, have become more diverse than ever. This poses great challenges to urban studies and theorising. In this article, we review current debates in urban theory through Howitt’s (1998) three-facet conceptualisation of geographical scale and find that urban theorists have high levels of disagreement on the areal (scale as size), the hierarchical (scale as level) as well as the dialectical (scale as relation) aspects of the city. We show that, if urban theorists are to find a common approach to the city, we should contemplate: 1) what cities to study; 2) from which geographical level(s); and 3) how the city relates to other entities. We illustrate how the theory of urban scenes could potentially be used to address these debates in urban theory.

E Bario Project

2004 ◽  
pp. 115-131
Author(s):  
Poline Bala ◽  
Roger W. Harris ◽  
Peter Songan
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
The People ◽  
The Many

This chapter highlights an initiative by a group of researchers2 from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) to connect villagers in the remote and isolated village of Bario to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), which include computers, telephones, the Internet, and VSATs. This project has eased the information flow in and out of Bario, affecting the well-being of the people by providing a means to keep in touch with friends and relatives in urban areas. The response of the Bario community has been positive, but the objective of the e Bario project is more ambitious than to just provide access to the Internet, computers and other related technologies. The main objective is to identify opportunities for remote and rural communities in Sarawak to develop socially, culturally and economically from the deployment of the technologies. The results of the initiative are expected to demonstrate the many ways in which ICTs can be used to improve the lives of marginalized groups, specifically, here, the rural and remote communities in Malaysia. However, to ensure that the objectives will ultimately be met, the team has had to search for an appropriate methodology that will ensure the full benefits of the initiative to the community. This chapter describes and discusses the approaches adopted, emphasizing the benefits of a close association between the researchers and the community as well as the adoption of suitable participatory methods for engaging with the needs and opportunities that were discovered.

Urban Politics and Policy in a Southern Urban Planet

2020 ◽  
pp. 155-178
Author(s):  
Garth Myers
Keyword(s):  
Urban Studies ◽  
Urban Politics ◽  
Global South ◽  
City Government ◽  
New Towns ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Global North ◽  
Policy Mobilities ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation Strategies

This chapter examines the urban studies literatures on urban politics and policy mobilities, from postcolonial southern perspectives. Analysis of urban politics is in flux within global urban studies. For years, the predominant focus of global North urban studies in analyzing urban politics resided with understanding growth machines and urban. Recently, there has been a general change in focus from discreet units at scale (i.e. a city government) to a ‘relational’ approach. What does this work look like, viewed from the global South? How do urbanists from the global South or those focused on its cities approach these arenas of scholarship? The chapter seeks answers to these questions with specific policies in mind. specific policies examined include participatory budgeting, bus rapid transit, enclave urbanization (new towns or satellite cities), sister city relationships, and climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Case study material from Hartford, San Juan, Zanzibar and Dongguan helps to show different ways in which South-South connectivities shape politics, governance and urban cultures at both ends.

The Dress of Democracy: One Size Does Not Fit All

2020 ◽  
pp. 49-90
Author(s):  
Herman Wasserman
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Government Control ◽  
Media Freedom ◽  
Global North ◽  
The Media ◽  
Universal Truth ◽  
The Many ◽  
Normative Models ◽  
Increased Pressure

This chapter considers the link between media and democracy, which is often assumed to be a self-evident and universal truth. The chapter argues that the mismatch between normative models derived from the Global North and the lived realities in African societies is evident in many cases where media have failed to keep governments to account, where the media served sectional interests, and where media ethical norms imported from elsewhere did not adequately speak to African lived experiences. The chapter also notes the many cases of democratic regression in African societies, where the resurgence of authoritarian tendencies has increased pressure on media freedom and consequently on the ability of media to contribute to democratic debate and the deepening of democratic culture. The chapter uses Zimbabwe as an illustration of such repressive government control over the news media that has given rise to alternative forms of media.

An Alpine Energy Transition: The Piave River from Charcoal to “White Coal”

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-710
Author(s):  
Giacomo Bonan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Railway Network ◽  
Economic Relationships ◽  
Italian Case

Abstract This article analyzes the environmental history of the Industrial Revolution by examining the evolution of the usage and management of the waters of the Piave, a river stretching from the eastern Alps to the Venetian Plain. In the preindustrial period, the Piave played a fundamental role in defining the flows of raw materials and energy in the region, representing the main route for transporting timber—the most important resource of the time—from Alpine forests to lowland urban areas. The onset of industrialization, especially the development of a railway network, undermined both this role and the economic activities that had been based on the exploitation of Alpine forests. The subsequent rise of hydroelectricity transformed the Piave from a transport route to an energy source. This transformation caused, in a shift applicable to more than just the Italian case, a redefinition of the social and economic relationships between upland and lowland areas: after the energy transition, the Alpine region ceased to be a constituent part of an interdependent system and instead became a periphery to an urban core.

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