Postcolonial Theory and Urban Studies: a Conversation

Postcolonial urbanism has become a major strand in critical urban research in recent years. Scholars from different regional contexts have proposed concepts and strategies for global urban studies, and argued for the need to analyse the very different trajectories of urban spaces that do not conform to the hitherto dominant Western models of development. It has produced an enormous amount of new knowledge, addressed new problematics, and fundamentally changed the understanding of urban development. It has also led to the development of new tools and methods of analysis. These include, in particular, new comparative approaches that enable further possibilities for analysing and better understanding the diverse and complex contemporary urban world. Postcolonial approaches, moreover, play an important role not only in the analysis of urbanisation in former colonies and other contexts beyond the west, but also in Western metropolises by showing how Europe itself was shaped by colonialism and imperialism.

The goal of this public event is to discuss different positions and practices in postcolonial urban research with a wider audience.