Author: jcauva00

Conversing with Goliath: Participation, mobilisation and repression

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Dr Valeria Guarneros-Meza of CURA reports from an ongoing investigation into environmental conflict in Mexico. Outputs from the collaborative research “Conversing with Goliath” have recently been reported in Mexican media, see details below.

 

Despite the normative framework promoting consultation and participation of communities in the implementation of extractive megaprojects, violent conflicts have increased in Mexico since the introduction of the 2013-14 legal reforms of mineral, hydrocarbon and alternative energy projects.

In finding answers to this paradox, the questions that drive this research are: What strategies have been used by the different actors to manage the above mentioned conflicts? How have the different sub-national contexts of government capacity impacted on the strategies followed? What have been the main obstacles and opportunities for implementing participatory institutions? How have informal and illegal practices intersect in these processes? What have been the main results in the economic, environmental protection and rights (human, political, social) spheres?

In the first two years, the project has delivered a comprehensive newspaper review (Jan 2006-Jan2019) of all environmental conflicts published in the Mexican media. An analysis of the results was widely disseminated in Mexican media outlets on 27 February 2019. To read a summary and consult the cartography of over 800 conflicts visit here (in Spanish).

Other outputs from the project include a juridical analysis of all the laws related to the extractive industry in Mexico and the problems of coordination and coherence of such legal framework, available online (in Spanish).  For a brief English summary of the initial findings of three in-depth case studies (Sonora, Tabasco and Oaxaca) of extractive industries and their impact on communities, visit here (pdf).

This project is sponsored by the British Academy-Newton Advanced Fellowship Grant (Ref. AF160219). The lead investigators are: Dr. Gisela Zaremberg (FLACSO-Mexico) and Dr. Valeria Guarenros-Meza (De Montfort University)

Municipalism 2019: An International Exchange

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Registrations are still open  for the 2nd conference on Municipalism, to be held at De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester, 4-5 April 2019. Registrations will close on Monday 1st April 2019, at 17:00 (GMT).

Abstract

In the last decade, austerity has had a significant impact on the local sphere. Budget squeezes, public services cuts and institutional restructuring came along with growing social needs, and local governments have struggled to keep providing the goods and services needed to stay afloat. However, we have also seen how the local sphere can also be an ideal lab for democratic experimentation and social innovation. Spanish, and particularly Catalan cities with Barcelona at the forefront, have been examples of municipal experimentation over the past few years under the idea of the New Municipalism. However, what is New Municipalism? Is New Municipalism an effective answer to austerity? How is New Municipalism delivered?

The Centre of Urban Research on Austerity (CURA) at De Montfort University, Leicester, in collaboration with the University of Girona and the Betiko Foundation, is holding a two-day conference to discuss all these issues on 4th and 5th April 2019. The conference is organised in the form of an international exchange between academics and practitioners. The conference builds on CURA’s  “Municipalism in the 21st century” conference held in June 2018.

Municipalism 2019: an International Exchange programme includes sessions to discuss the concept and definition of New Municipalism, and roundtables where experiences and reflections on how to deliver Municipalism are shared, creating an environment in which cities can learn from one another.

Conference programme

4th April

9:00 am to 9:30 am

Hugh Aston Building Atrium

 Registration and Reception
9:30 am to 11:00 am

Queens Building 1.10

 Municipalism 2019: The State of the Debate

Prof Jonathan Davies (DMU-CURA)

Dr Ismael Blanco (UAB-IGOP)
11:00 am to 11:20 am Coffee Break
11:20 am to 1:00 pm

Queens Building 1.10

 SEMINAR: What is the new municipalism? Theoretical and Practical Approaches

Keynote speaker: Dr Angel Calle (Córdoba University)

Discussants: Prof. Steven Griggs (DMU-LGRC)
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm Lunch Break
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Hugh Aston Building 3.04

 ROUND TABLE: Building counter-hegemony through the new muncipalism

Speakers: Dr Mercè Cortina-Oriol (DMU-CURA), Joan Cuevas (Bofill Foundation – Sabadell City Council), Quim Arrufat (DESC – UB), Dr Bertie Russell (University of Sheffield),

Moderator: Dr Ben Whitham (DMU-CURA)

5th April

9:00 am to 11:00 am

Clephan Building 3.03

 PRACTITIONER ROUND TABLE 1: Delivering New Municipalism: Towards Economic and Social Equality

Keynote Speakers: Pilar Castillejo (Ripollet City Council), Agnès Rotger (Badalona City Council), Cllr Asima Shaikh (Islington Council), Neil McInroy (CLES)

Moderator: Anaïs Varo (UdG)
11:00 am to 11:30 am Break
11:30 am to 1:30 pm

Clephan Building 3.01

 PRACTITIONER ROUND TABLE 2: Delivering New Municipalism:

Re-building Local Democracy

Keynote Speakers: Jose Téllez (Badalona City Council), Ivan Miró (Cooperativist movement Barcelona; Fanny Malinen (Research for Action), Andrew Ross (Unite Community)

Moderator: tbc
1:30 pm to 2:15 pm Lunch
2:15 pm to 3:00 pm

Clephan Building 3.03

 Mapping the New Municipalism: Introducing Atlas del Cambio

Dr Ricard Vilaregut (UdG-CURA) and Dr Ángel Calle (University of Córdoba).
3:00 pm to 3:15:00 pm Break
3:15 pm to 5:15 pm

Clephan Building 3.03

 PRACTITIONER ROUND TABLE 3: Scaling Municipalism: Beyond and above the City

Keynote Speakers: Carles Escolà (Cerdanyola City Mayor), Dolors Sabater (Badalona City Mayor 2015-2018), Cllr Emine Ibrahim (Deputy Leader – London Borough of Haringey), Matthew Brown (Leader – Preston City Council)

Moderator: Dr Adam Fishwick (DMU-CURA)
5:15   pm to 5:30 pm

Clephan Building 3.03

 CLOSING REFLECTIONS AND NEXT STEPS

Prof. Jonathan Davies (DMU-CURA)

 

 

Please follow the CURA blog for confirmation of further speakers and other announcements.

The conference is free of charge, and limited space are available. Please book your place online. Registrations will close on Monday 1st April 2019, at 17:00 (GMT).

 

DMU Doctoral College PhD Scholarships 2019-20

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The Centre for Urban Research on Austerity (CURA) invites outstanding prospective PhD students to apply for a De Montfort University (DMU) PhD Scholarship. We welcome applications from students capable of developing innovative, interdisciplinary and internationally relevant research in any field related to cities, urban living and austerity. We further encourage applicants interested in collaborative projects across research centres.

Applicants interested in working with CURA should, in the first instance, submit a research proposal of up to 750 words, outlining the proposed project and how it fits with DMU and CURA. This should include:

– an overview and research questions,

– an explanation of the intellectual positioning of the project,

– the proposed research methodology and methods,

– link to one or more research areas of urban living, lifelong well-being, creativity in the digital age and social value and/or one or more of the 17 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals

The proposal should be submitted, with a CV, to the Institute Head of Research Students, Dr Adam Fishwick (adam.fishwick@dmu.ac.uk), to identify support and supervision for the project from the Centre.

Once approved by a potential supervisor, the student must submit final scholarship applications to pgrscholarships@dmu.ac.uk by Tuesday 26 March 2019. More details on how to submit applications and what to include in the final submission are available here: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BQL657/de-montfort-university-phd-scholarships.

 

CURA research seminars launched for 2019

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CURA research seminars for Winter/Spring 2019 have been launched, with two CURA members, Dr Jenni Cauvain (@jenniviitanen) and Dr Adam Fishwick (@Adam_Fishwick) with Dr Heather Connolly  (@DrHMConnolly) taking the upcoming slots on February 20th and March 13th respectively. Jenni will be sharing the results of her latest interdisciplinary research into income inequality and segregation in UK cities. Adam and Heather will discuss their new book on austerity and working class resistance, see below for more details.

For enquiries, or to book a place, please contact jenni.cauvain@dmu.ac.uk.

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Income inequality and segregation in UK cities – towards a new research agenda

Dr Jenni Cauvain

Wednesday 20 February 2019, 2.00-4.00pm

Hugh Aston Building, Room 3.96, DeMontfort University

Abstract:

Income inequality and income-based segregation are linked with critical urban studies and practical policy endeavours to build sustainable communities and cities. In the UK, the lack of detailed data on household incomes has previously hindered such efforts. This seminar discusses why income inequality and segregation matter for urban sustainability, and outlines the results of a detailed investigation into household incomes at Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) in the UK for the first time. The empirical analysis uses established measures of segregation; Dissimilarity Index, Gini coefficient and Interaction Index. The focus is on a case study of the city of Nottingham and its wider metropolitan area, but comparative data is provided for UK core cities and selected comparators including Derby, Leicester, Southampton, Cambridge and Winchester. The conclusions draw on a critical perspective on household income statistics and what they reveal about the  hegemonic ideology concerning “problems” in cities being associated with and arising from low income households, rather than from inequality.

The research is an output from the project “Sustaining Urban Habitats – an interdisciplinary perspective” (University of Nottingham) funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

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Austerity and Working-Class Resistance: Survival, Disruption and Creation in Hard Times

Dr Adam Fishwick  and Dr Heather Connolly

Wednesday 13 March 2019, 2.30-4.30pm

Hugh Aston Building, Room 3.96, DeMontfort University

Abstract:

The working classes today are facing a new set of crises around increasing austerity, authoritarianism, exploitation, and surveillance. But in many places, and in many ways, they are resisting. From new forms of workplace organisation, migrant workers challenging their exploitation, struggles against digitalised work, and through alternative forms of grassroots mobilisation, working-class resistance is emerging in new and often unexpected spaces.

Through a range of cases in Europe and from around the world, this book brings radical voices from sociology, political economy, labour relations, and media studies to offer an understanding of the potential of working-class struggles in and against these ‘hard times’. This engaging volume is an attempt to understand how new, dynamic sites of resistance in and outside the workplace are central to the different ways in which workers survive, disrupt, and create new ways of living.

The perfect guide for students and academics looking for a critical and comprehensive collection dealing with contemporary and global cases of working-class resistance.