WHO SAVED THE CITY? Exploring urban activisms in times of austerity in America and Europe and Beyond

Description

Our first symposium will focus on urban implosions, and the effects of crisis in American and European cities. Following the colossal failure and resurrection of neo-liberalism witnessed in the wake of the global financial meltdown of 2007-08, we focus on the structural violence wrought by ‘new’ urban austerity regimes. This workshop maps the localized effects and articulation points of austerity programs in a time wherein many municipal governments are transforming themselves into cost-cutting corporate entities, slashing social welfare and privatising public spaces. We look to connect local struggles to broader structural inequities. In doing so, the workshop will address these overlapping questions: How should we frame the 2008 crisis? What are the local effects of ‘austerity urbanism’? What are the continuities and disjunctions of crisis? Who bears the brunt of cuts to social welfare? Why and how has ‘resilience’ become so central to discussions of contemporary urban politics?

Period	28 Oct 2015
Event type	Conference
Location	Edinburgh, United Kingdom