[URBANTH-L]2nd CFP: Inequality, Inclusion and the Sense of Belonging

[Angela Jancius]

Dear Colleagues,

We have extended the session submissions deadline for a 2009 Sao 
Paulo conference till December 7th, 2008. We'd like to encourage you 
to send your session proposal to Eduardo Marques. The world economy 
is under recession. You may be facing a hard time as resources and 
budgets that you could rely upon to attend international conferences 
may be rapidly shrinking. Nonetheless, if you can, your contribution 
would be greatly appreciated. If you can't, would you encourage your 
colleagues and friends to do so? I have attached the session call below.
Thank you.

Best,
Kuniko Fujita
President ISA-RC21

The conference theme is Inequality, Inclusion and the Sense of Belonging.
Rationale: Cities have experienced considerable cultural, political 
and economic change during the past few decades. The roles performed 
by social actors and by the state have diversified rather than 
weakened, as was predicted by some in academic debates. Spatial 
segregation has changed less than was forecast in the literature but 
the social meaning of segregation varies depending upon demographic 
and social structure. The idea of polarization remains strong but it 
is now clear that this is too simple a concept to grasp the diversity 
of urban situations. Nevertheless, inequality remains a central 
feature of societies, although inequality is now more fragmented, and 
more associated with specific groups. Class identities have also 
changed, and in a broader sense, so too has the way people understand 
their participation in society. Social inclusion remains a key 
material, symbolic and political issue in a variety of national 
situations, although also marked by local features in each case. In 
countries where the issue of inclusion was considered to be resolved, 
at least politically, some social groups have experienced a declining 
sense of involvement in society, reposing the problem of social 
belongingness. Social configurations have become significantly more 
heterogeneous, combining local historical, spatial and political 
factors with economic and political elements of broader amplitude. 
This conference intends to address these issues in a 
transdisciplinary way, focusing mainly on their association with 
social inequalities and with the identities that mark contemporary cities.

The call for session proposals: We'd like to solicit session 
proposals related to the conference theme. We also welcome other 
urban topics. Followings are some examples. Please send your session 
proposal with its title and short description (within 150 words) to 
the Sao Paulo conference committee (isasp2009 at cebrap.org.br) with a 
copy to Eduardo Marques (ecmarq at uol.com.br) by December 7th, 2008. 
We'll start the call for papers on January 10 and ends on April 30, 2009.

* The new direction in urban inequality and poverty
* The new interpretation of urban inequality
* Comparative perspective on poverty
* The sense of belonging to neighborhoods and cities
* The state and urban inequality and poverty
* Urban mixed policies
* Comparative urban policies on inequality and poverty
* Urban justice and public policies
* Urban environment
* Urbanism and urbanization in history
* Configuration of urban spaces
* Territory, culture and identities
* Actors and political conflicts
* Space, networks and scales