Global Urbanism aims to explore the heterogeneity/diversity of urban conditions, practices and experiences in different geographical locations. It aims to highlight how contemporary urban theorization reflects (or fails to reflect) this diversity. The theme challenges assumed urban hierarchies and highlights urban practices outside the mainstream state-led and market-led frameworks, particularly activities carried out by people at the urban margins.
Committed to epistemological plurality, global urbanism works towards dislocating urban knowledge production from its current Euro-American centred theorisation. The theme actively seeks to identify and highlight recent conceptualizations and categorizations of urban phenomena by scholars working outside Western contexts such as the Global South, East, and post-Soviet regions. Additionally, it investigates the applicability of these concepts for studying of urban phenomena in Western contexts.
Global Urbanism engages with various comparative urbanisms including South-South and South-North comparisons, and explores new methodologies for knowledge production through differences.
Through our focus within this field, IUR joins academic institutions and collectives working with a “Global Urbanism” perspective in their research activities, educational
programs, and institutional aims. A report that collects these efforts in more detail is available to view here.
