As urban forms globally are becoming fragmented and extended across often vast areas, earlier theoretical analyses of urban politics focussed closely on the municipal institutions and configurations of actors in a North American idiom are increasingly redundant. Attention now needs to be directed to a range of transnational actors and practices, material and financial flows which are key drivers of urban development. Additionally, with rapid urban growth and extending urban territories, new political territorialisations also come into view which opens the scope for more comparative insights across cities. Within this context, (what) can European cities contribute to new conceptualisations of urban politics? The talk will draw on detailed research on a large-scale urban development in London, part of a wider comparative analysis including Shanghai and Johannesburg, to propose ways in which the politics of urban development in Europe might be conceptualized in relation to a wider urban world.
Justus Uitermark and Virginie Mamadouh will reflect and react on Jennifer Robinson’s lecture. The evening will be curated by Richard Ronald.
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