Workshop: "Planetary Urbanization"

We are pleased to invite you to participate in a half-day inter-departmental reading and discussion workshop on Planetary Urbanization.


Workshop: "Planetary Urbanization"
 

Date: Tuesday, January 14th 2025
Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Location: Sala Montseny (Z/022 - Z/023), ICTA – UAB
 

The goal of this workshop is to collectively explore and discuss the emerging theory of planetary urbanization, examining how it intersects with our individual research and how our work can contribute to its development. PU, at the crossroads of critical urban studies, political ecology, and beyond, provides a powerful framework for understanding the interconnected transformations caused by urbanization on a global scale. These transformations—environmental, social, labor-related, infrastructural, and industrial—are deeply intertwined with extractive and exploitative practices, with significant consequences for biodiversity, cultural diversity, and the capacity of socio-natures to adapt, especially in the context of the climate crisis.

By challenging the traditional urban/rural dichotomy, planetary urbanization emphasizes the territorial and interdependent nature of urban expansion. It underscores how urban demand shapes landscapes, including the hinterlands, the forest, and the sea, often with destructive consequences.

As this theory continues to evolve, a number of critical questions remain:

• How are urban-driven transformations distinct from previous capitalist modes of expansion?
• What social and cultural shifts accompany this process?
• What policies and governance structures are emerging to manage planetary urbanization?
• What material impacts are we witnessing in landscapes, and how can we integrate perspectives from earth and marine marine sciences?
• What are the challenges of power and justice in territories affected by urbanization—whether in agrarian zones, extraction frontiers, or the urban core?
• How are local and transnational communities organizing to resist the impacts of planetary urbanization, and with what strategies?
• How can we amplify the voices of those most affected in this "total struggle against capital"?

These questions are vast, and each one could fuel multiple research projects. However, they speak directly to the broad, interdisciplinary implications of planetary urbanization for our work. We believe that by coming together across departments and disciplines, we can generate new insights that enrich our collective understanding of these phenomena and contribute to alternative, sustainable futures.

This workshop is an opportunity to forge new connections, strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations, and engage in a shared intellectual project aimed at tackling the pressing challenges of planetary urbanization.
 

Programa

• 10.00 - Rebuda
• 10.15 - 11 - Introducció Planetary Urbanisation - Marta Conde & Angelos Varvarousis
• 11.00 - 12.00 - World Cafe Workshop?
• 12.00 - 12.30 - Coffee Break 
• 12.30 - 14.00 - Group discussion