[URBANTH-L]CFP: The Sociology of Urban and Regional Development at the ISA World Congress (South Africa)

[Angela Jancius]

ISA World Congress
23-29 July 2006
Durban, South Africa

RC21 Sociology of Urban and Regional Development

14 sessions available + 2 (one business meeting) @ 9th May 2005
Programme Coordinator: Yuri Kazepov (University of Urbino, Italy)
yuri.kazepov at uniurb.it

1. URBAN POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE: CONFLICTING INTERESTS AND CITIZENSHIP

Ian Gordon (LSE, UK) I.R.Gordon at lse.ac.uk

A new conventional wisdom' about the role of cities in an increasingly
competitive international economy suggests that there is a necessary and
observable shift toward more responsive forms of 'governance' at this scale
as a means of securing a required combination of competitiveness and
cohesion. Though the notion of governance is somewhat fuzzy, its key factor
seems to be that of cutting across established models of regulation and of
principles of accountability.
The aim of this session is to dig behind the functionalist and ideological
elements of 'governance' talk, to identify what kinds of related change are
actually underway in the processes of policy, politics and regulation at an
urban scale. Papers are particularly invited which can cast light on:
§         how these vary between societal, institutional and local contexts;
and
§         what the implications of shifts toward some version of governance
are - or could be - for democratic citizenship and how major conflicts of
interest get resolved.


2. RESCALING SOCIAL POLICIES AND THE ROLE OF LOCAL WELFARE ARRANGEMENTS

Attention: Joint Session RC19-RC21

Yuri Kazepov (University of Urbino, I)  yuri.kazepov at uniurb.it
Rianne Mahon (Carleton University, CAN) rmahon at ccs.carleton.ca

In the light of most welfare reform processes the territorial (urban and
regional) dimension is acquiring prominence, not only in terms of
implementation, but also increasingly as a regulating actor with widening
degrees of freedom. Reasons for that are many (decentralisation,
privatisation, new forms of governance,...), but all point to a deep
reorganisation of social policies at the territorial level. Even the EU (in
Europe) is fostering that, trying to gain regulatory terrain. The joint
session aims at looking from different perspectives into this process. What
are the implications of this territorial re-organisation? How does it take
place in different contexts and what are the reasons for territorial
differences? Papers are asked to provide both empirical and theoretical
reflections on the processes with preferably a comparative perspective.


3. LEARNING CITIES: KNOWLEDGE, INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

Alan Scott (University of Innsbruck, AT) Alan.Scott at uibk.ac.at

Cities are in increased global competition with each other. Or perhaps it is
more accurate to say that urban decision makers believe this to be the case
and act accordingly. These beliefs are themselves in part a response to
social scientific debate (and/or rhetoric), in this case to notions such as
'knowledge society'. The result has been an emphasis upon the need to
'position' the city and/or region; to build clusters; to institutionalize
knowledge transfer; to market the locality. Nor is it just major centers or
'global cities' that pursue such strategies and assert their locational
advantages over rivals. Lesser players must do the same, at least within the
national or regional context of inter-city competition.
What are the implications of this renewed emphasis upon knowledge,
innovation and growth? How does it affect key actors within the locality;
not just governing elites, but also universities, research hospitals,
research centers, etc.? Are we witnessing a reconfiguration of the urban
'growth coalition?' Will new forms of urban inequality emerge within and
between cities? Is this a game from which cities outside the 'developed
world' are excluded? This session will seek to address these and related
questions and issues arising from the urban learning imperative.



4. GLOBALISATION AND THE REMAKING OF THE INTERNATIONAL URBAN disORDER

Diane Davis (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, US)
dedavis at mit.edu

The study of globalization's impact on cities has shed new light on such
questions as economic restructuring, metropolitan governance, and spatial
transformation, among other issues. Implicit in many of these studies is the
assumption that globalization is creating a new international urban order in
which cities are key nodes in a highly inter-connected global network built
around a hierarchy of cities reflecting a relatively functional (if not
efficient) socio-spatial pecking order of inter and intra-urban functions
and activities. Less well studied have been the "dysfunctional" effects of
such changes -- or the ways that globalization, either on its own or as
mediated by the aforementioned political, economic, spatial, and cultural
factors, has led to new or more visceral forms of urban conflict and
disorder.   This session seeks papers that examine how globalization
produces disorder and disarray in everyday urban life, either by rupturing
old political, economic, social, and spatial practices or producing entirely
new ones. Among the suggested topics for discussion are: the growing urban
political struggles and social tensions that accompany new immigrant or
labor flows; the increasing use of coercive force (police and/or private
security firms) to manage accelerating social and spatial polarization; the
growing intra-urban conflicts generated by the rapid transformation of land
uses in emergent global cities; the political tensions within discrete
territorial jurisdictions that form sprawling global metropolises; and the
trade wars between global cities or within global city regions.  Papers can
examine the origins or impact of such conflicts -- for cities, for their
citizens, or for future patterns of globalization and urban development.


5. CITIES AS A SOCIAL FABRIC

Patrick Le Galès (CEVIPOF, Paris  F) patrick.legales at sciences-po.fr

Cities and metropolis are being fragmented and reshaped: new groups, new
identities, new socialisation processes are emerging, in a context where
divisions, fragmentation, inequalities, segregation, fragilisation and
precarisation seem to be deeply affecting all categories. Thus, the capacity
of cities to  foster social integration, or social cohesion as some put it,
is questioned in new ways. Urban research has reflected that by focusing on
issues of fragmentation, exclusion. Urban sociology also needs a better
understanding of the processes which allow groups within cities to cohere,
to integrate, to govern as well as to fragment. Papers are asked to explore
both conceptually and empirically how we might understand cities as a social
fabric, within a comparative frame of reference.


6. DECLINING URBAN-RURAL DIVIDES AND URBAN LIVELIHOODS

Alison Todes (University of KwaZulu-Natal eThekwini, Durban)
Todes at ukzn.ac.za

In parts of the developing world, urban-rural divides are declining as
fragmented and impermanent migration occurs in the midst of declining formal
employment, and sometimes stagnant national economies. Urban agriculture is
dispersed throughout the nominally urban areas and increases in scale
towards the nominal urban fringe.
Preconceptions of urban and rural provide a poor guide to these
circumstances. Papers in the sessions are asked to address the underlying
dynamics of urbanisation and migration processes, the relationships rural
and urban areas, and the nature of urban livelihoods in different parts of
the developing world.


7. SLUMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Xolela Mangcu (Human Sciences Research Council, Tshwane, Pretoria)
mangcux at hsrc.ac.za
Ranvinder S. Shandu (Guru Nanak dev University Amritsar, In)
ranvinder at yahoo.com

Slums, which are defined by the limited availability of unsanitary water and
sanitation, little or no waste removal and energy and transport
infrastructure, poor housing, and informal forms of dispute resolution, are
ubiquitous in developing countries.  Slums in their various forms are an
inevitable consequence of, inter alia, insufficient jobs that allow
households to afford better housing and services, inadequate local
government resources and a variety of governance issues.  However,
conditions in slums and the potential for improving these conditions vary
considerably, depending on, inter alia, the pre-conditions for pro-poor
policies, civic action and the responses of households.  Papers in the
session are asked to provide examples of improvements in slum conditions, or
the obstacles to improvements, and also the analysis of the circumstances
that led to these outcomes.



8. THE NEW MEGAPROJECTS: WHAT IS THEIR IMPACT ON URBAN LIFE

Susan Fainstein (Columbia University, NY, US) Sfainstein at aol.com
Fernando Diaz Orueta (University of Alicante, ES) fernando.diaz at ua.es

Critiques of urban renewal and large-scale developments throughout the world
have emphasized their negative environmental and social consequences and
particularly their displacement effects. In the 1980s and 90s, we saw a
decline in such projects in many places, responding to popular protest and
intellectual dissent, along with a new emphasis on preservation. More
recently, however, we see the revival of mega-projects, often connected with
tourism and sports development. This session will present papers evaluating
some of these new ambitious projects in terms of their social and spatial
effects. In particular it will investigate whether these interventions are
reducing or increasing urban inequality. The comparison among different
cities and analyses of the differing roles of the state, the private sector,
and citizen groups provides the basis for understanding the implications of
the new mega-projects.



9. HOUSING AND SEGREGATION IN THE PATHS OF URBAN CHANGE

Hartmut Haeussermann (Humboldt University at Berlin, D)
hartmut.haeussermann at sowi.hu-berlin.de

Residential segregation by ethnicity, race or class is one of the central
issues of urban studies since their beginning. At the end of the 20th
century the thesis of urban 'polarisation'  was widely discussed.  This
perspective was very often related to new city types like the 'global city'.
But this 'theory' has been criticized, and more and more evidence shows,
that the patterns of social and spatial inequality are varying very much in
different countries and cities. This panel should bring together
researchers, who are engaged in empirical work on changes of patterns of
segregation.



10. THE CHALLENGES OF CITY-REGIONS IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD

Attention: Joint Integrative Session RC21-RC24-RC47

Louis Guay (University of Laval, CAN) louis.guay at soc.ulaval.ca
Pierre Hamel (University of Montreal, CAN) pierre.hamel at umontreal.ca

City-regions are increasingly on the top of the agenda of territorial public
policy. This is related to demographic and spatial change, but also to the
expansion of the knowledge economy at a global scale. Beyond the new urban
hierarchy emerging out of demographic and economic changes, environmental
and territorial management issues are becoming paramount and multifaceted.
They are linked to urban sprawl, to the quality of city life as well as to
the capacity of local and metropolitan governments to manage environmental
and territorial controversies. The objective of this panel is above all to
assess the importance of these issues and their relationships to other
aspects of city-region's development in a comparative perspective. In what
terms are  environmental challenges defined by social and political actors
within city-regions? Under what conditions is urban development in
city-regions compatible with environmental protection and territorial
management? To what extent can these issues be considered a main concern of
metropolitan governance? These questions are only a small sample of the
territorial concerns of city regions' development. Nevertheless, we think
that if the development of city-regions is on the urban agenda, these
questions cannot be dealt with without taking into account environmental
issues and territorial management. This is mainly what we intend to explore
in the session.


11. THE CITY OF THE FUTURE: TOWARDS ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE URBAN
DEVELOPMENT

Kuniko Fujita (Michigan State University, US) fujitak at msu.edu

World wide urbanization is clashing with nature's limit. Cities are both
prime contributors to the environmental crisis and testing grounds for new,
eco-friendly practices.  Is an ecologically sustainable urban development
possible?  This panel seeks papers that approach the future city from
perspectives of ecologically sustainability. Contributors may focus on case
studies of environmental policies, politics, and planning but sensitivity to
national and global contexts is also important. Cross-national comparisons
among cities are especially desirable. Local efforts to build solidarity
around environmental issues: establish sustainable industries and
employment; develop greener patterns of consumption and styles of life;
institute incentives to motivate and mechanisms to enforce conservation;
establish compatibility between visions of ecological sustainability and a
more egalitarian and inclusive city; and engage in learning networks with
other cities are among the issues authors might address.


12. URBAN POLITICAL ACTION AND THE QUALITY OF SOCIAL LIFE IN CITIES

Justin Beaumont (University of Groningen, NL) beaumont at frw.rug.nl
Walter Nicholls (California State University, US) wnicholl at csulb.edu

This session addresses the ways that various forms of urban political action
contribute to (or limit) social integration and enhanced quality of life for
more deprived, vulnerable and marginalized people in an era of
globalization. Previous and mostly European investigations on this issue
tend to focus on the character of urban policy interventions at various
levels, the rise of interactive strategies between multiple "urban
governance" agents, the socially integrative function of local welfare
arrangements and area-based initiatives for so-called distressed urban
neighbourhoods. The session confronts the European urban tradition, rooted
partly in Durkheim, with one more closely associated with American political
science. In the spirit of De Toqueville and Dahl, the US pluralist tradition
emphasises the importance of autonomous associations in civil society that
mediate between the individual and the state to ensure the plural and
successive influence of interest groups. Confronting these traditions might
improve our understanding of the relationships between urban political
action, on the one hand, and interventions for social integration and
enhanced quality of life for citizens of cities on the other. The aim of the
session is to critically interrogate and examine relations between urban
political action and its impact on the livelihoods (for better or worse) of
the urban poor. Inviting scholars from a variety of disciplines (urban
sociology, urban planning, urban geography), the session will also benefit
from a growing body of work devoted to urban governance and politics,
democratization and social justice in South Africa. The general question is:
"How do various forms of political action contribute to (or limit) social
integration and enhanced quality of life for more deprived, vulnerable and
marginalized people in cities?" Papers are invited to address these issues
both in theoretical and empirical terms.



13. DIVIDED CITIES: URBAN TERROR AND WARFARE

Hank Savitch (University of Louisville, US) hank.savitch at louisville.edu

This panel will address the rising phenomenon of how cities have become
seats for the exercise of specific forms of collective violence such terror
and warfare. The papers selected for this panel will cover a spectrum of
collective, systematic violence that are unique to cities.  This includes
the rise of terror (defined as deliberate and purposeful efforts to kidnap,
maim or kill non-combatants) the prominence of guerrilla warfare (defined as
armed violence carried out by irregular fighters aimed at other combatants)
and conventional warfare (defined as armed violence between regularly
organized armed forces). Thus, we can include terror stricken cities like
Belfast, Jerusalem, New York and Istanbul) as well as cities that have
recently been sites for guerrilla or conventional warfare (Sarajevo,
Baghdad, Kabul).  Some major themes of selected papers should embrace how
cities have changed over the last 30 years in the wake of contemporary
warfare, the link between some forms of collective violence and
globalization and the spatial implications that stem from this occurrence.
These themes are integral to the quality of urban life and the future of
cities.



14. MULTICULTURALISM AND THE VALUES OF URBAN DIVERSITY

Ash Amin (University of Durham, UK)  ash.amin at durham.ac.uk
John Eade (University of Surrey Roehampton) j.eade at roehampton.ac.uk

Living with ethnic diversity has become one of the key challenges in our
times of growing transnational flow and civilizational clash. Yet, much of
the debate on models of integration, such as multiculturalism, remains
largely at the national level, while the real business of negotiating ethnic
and cultural diversity unfolds at the level of everyday urban practices and
experiences.  This session is interested in exploring how the urban, as
context and as lived arena, shapes performances and attitudes towards the
other. It is keen to explore the relevance of anxiety, hate and suspicion,
but also their opposites in framing practices towards the stranger. It is
also keen to explore normative and policy options at varying spatial scales
of interaction for negotiating diversity in positive ways. Papers may be of
a social theoretic nature or offer grounded evidence from a variety of urban
contexts, especially from the Global South.


15. THE CHANGING CULTURES OF CITIES

Sharon Zukin (Brooklyn College, NY) Zukin at brooklyn.cuny.edu

During the past few decades, cities have been repopulated and re-imagined by
structural changes suggested by the shorthand terms of globalization,
gentrification, and liberalization of markets.  Immigrant quarters have
grown in both historic cores and distant suburbs, world-class buildings
tower over waterfronts and heritage sites, and public spaces such as
shopping centres support the performance of new urban cultures.  This
session invites the submission of 15-page papers that present case studies
of how the cultures of cities are re-imagined in light of these structural,
spatial, and demographic changes.


16. BUSINESS MEETING

Hartmut Haussermann (RC21 President)
Yuri Kazepov (RC21 Secretary)

The balance of the 2002-2006 board activities: facts, figures and prospects

Election of the new board


DEADLINES

1) Potential paper givers should send their abstracts to sessions chair(s)
and in carbon copy to the programme coordinator by November 15, 2005.
2) Chair will make their selection by January 15th, 2006.
3) Authors of accepted papers will have to submit their abstracts to the
Sociological Abstracts web site http://www.csa.com/socioabs/submit.html
within March 31st, 2006. Only abstracts submitted by this web site will be
accepted. In order to submit an abstract, a participant must have registered
for the Congress.
4) Pre-registration deadline for all programme participants (presenters,
chairs, discussants, etc.) is May, 31st, 2006. Otherwise their names will
not appear in the Programme Book and abstracts of their papers will not be
published.


IMPORTANT NOTE

The above list of sessions is tentative since the number of sessions given
to Research Committees depends on membership. All those submitting abstracts
must be (or become) members of RC21. The number of sessions listed is based
on the April 2005 membership. If membership decreases between now and June
15th, 2005 the number of sessions will be reduced accordingly. If membership
increases significantly RC21 will be entitled to one or more additional
sessions. Consequently it is essential that membership be renewed or taken
out before that date. We encourage you to check with ISA Secretariat
isa at cps.ucm.es if you are duly registered at ISA and RC21 Urban and Regional
Development. If not, do so as soon as possible in order for the RC21 to be
allowed to organize the proposed sessions.

ISA membership form is available at
http://www.ucm.es/info/isa/memb_i/index.htm
For any question please inquire with Yuri Kazepov (yuri.kazepov at uniurb.it)