The Centre for Urban Research on Austerity (CURA) explores the effects of austerity, retrenchment and neoliberalisation on urban living and the responses of urban-dwellers. It is concerned with supporting genuinely sustainable development, the elimination of poverty and inequality, and with giving a voice to those marginalised and dispossessed. The centre welcomes applications from students interested in contributing to a radical, research- informed policy landscape, to enable and empower grassroots democratic participation, and overcome intersecting inequalities in urban contexts.
If you are interested in developing PhD research in a field related to cities, urbanism and austerity, we would welcome an inquiry from you. Please email Dr. Adam Fishwick at adam.fishwick@dmu.ac.uk or Dr. Valeria Guarneros Meza at valeria.guarneros@dmu.ac.uk with a working draft research proposal.
For more information about postgraduate studies at CURA, download our Postgraduate Brochure by clicking on the image below, or for specific admissions enquiries, contact the Doctoral College by emailing pgradmissions@dmu.ac.uk.
CURA has expertise in a variety of fields, disciplines and subjects linked to urban studies, including politics, public policy, sociology, geography, law, industrial relations, business and management. Research interests cover austerity, governance, labour, urban dimensions of racialised inequalities, and revitalizing cities, with four key themes cross-cutting these priorities: the new municipalism, urban informality, intersectionality, culture and Latin American urban studies.
Austerity governance and resistance
- Austerity urbanism and governance under austerity
- Practices of austerity governance
- Spatial governance including neighbourhood and place
- New municipalism
Primary contact
Professor Jonathan Davies
T: +44 (0)116 257 7818
E: jsdavies@dmu.ac.uk
Urban labour
- Labour activism and collective organisation
- Informal and precarious work and everyday life • Urban social movements and resistance
- Extractivism and urban violence
Primary contact
Dr Adam Fishwick
T: +44 (0)116 207 8723
E: adam.fishwick@dmu.ac.uk
Urban revitalization
- Local economic development
- Quality of life and inclusive growth
- Place making, identity, and the living realm
- Culture, arts, and social-culture equity
- The city as a resource
Primary contact
Professor Rachel Granger
T: +44 (0)116 250 6093
E: rachel.granger@dmu.ac.uk
Racialised inequalities
- How austerity is produced through and experienced as racialised violence
- Gendered dimensions of racial inequality
- The racialisation of urban space and resistance
- Structural inequalities intersecting with race – class, gender and disability
Primary contact
Dr Amina Easat Daas
T: +44 (0)116 257 7423
E: amina.easat-daas@dmu.ac.uk