How can reparative planning be used to counter displacement and dispossession? What lies at the potent intersection of the public realm and informal urbanisms? What paradoxes and possibilities arise as we try to build more constructive public space? These are just a few of the questions we’ll be exploring in the next season of the Cities@Tufts Virtual Colloquium.
Shareable is continuing its partnership with Tufts University’s Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning department on this free lecture series hosted by its chair, Professor Julian Agyeman (Julian is also the chair of Shareable’s governing board).
Cities@Tufts lectures are hosted on Wednesdays from 12:00-1:00 p.m. EDT. We’ll kick off the spring colloquia on January 25 with a lecture titled “Real Estate for Radicals” presented by Erin Graves. Each Cities@Tufts lecture features a 30-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute discussion.
In order to increase the accessibility of this content, Shareable will publish transcripts, audio podcasts, and videos from each presentation. And you can register below to join live!
We’re grateful for the continued support from The Kresge Foundation, Barr Foundation, SHIFT Foundation, and contributions from Shareable readers like you to make this content free and available to all.
Learn more about events in the series below and catch up on all past Cities@Tufts recordings here.
Real Estate for Radicals with Erin Graves
January 25th | 12-1pm EST While a near consensus has developed in the US that there is a housing affordability crisis, it has done so while seemingly circumventing a debate about who deserves housing. This project, Real Estate for Radicals is case study-based research on affordable community-owned housing — co-ops, community land trusts, communes, and squats and their potential to advance housing as a human right.
By studying 5 communities and their residents, Graves will consider the extent to which these urban housing communities advance the principles of equality, liberation, and justice for the residents and the larger community. Graves profiles the history, and lived experiences of residents and explore whether community-owned housing could be a viable third way for those seeking a pause or even a break from market-driven real estate.
Countering Displacement through Collective Memory with Andrea Roberts
February 8th | 12-1pm EST
This talk tracks the history of displacement and dispossession that has led to the destruction, neglect, or dismantling of communities initially designed to protect African Americans from structural racism. Then the author explains how these communities’ unique challenges require new planning and design tools to detect the interplay of historical and contemporary conditions contributing to the cultural erasure of African American placemaking.
Public Space: Paradoxes, Possibilities, and Propositions with Vikas Mehta
March 15th | 12-1pm EST
This is a good time to focus our attention on public space. The climate crisis, the systemic social injustices, and the COVID-19 pandemic demand a rethinking of our largest shared territory. Public space has the capacity, at least in part, to address these crises by being envisioned and manifest as a humane space of community, restoration, and emancipation. In this talk, based on his latest book, Vikas Mehta presents a panoramic view of public space: the inherent paradoxes, as well as the immense possibilities and propositions for a more constructive public space.
Whose Diversity? Race, Space and Planning with Yasminah Beebeejaun
April 5th | 12-1pm EST
Yasminah Beebeejaun is Associate Professor of Urban Politics and Planning at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. Her work is concerned with feminist and anti-racist approaches to planning theory and practice. Her articles have been published in many journals including Environment and Planning C, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Planning Theory, Planning Theory and Practice, and Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. She is co-editor of The Journal of Race, Ethnicity and the City.
Results: Getting Beyond Politics to Get Important Work Done with Steve Kadish & Barbara Kellerman
April 12th | 12-1pm EST
Distilled into a four-step framework, Results is the much-needed implementation guide for anyone in public service, as well as for leaders and managers in large organizations hamstrung by bureaucracy and politics. This talk will invite Steve Kadish and Dr. Kellerman to discuss their book and other relevant insights into collaborative governance and change-making.
Co-Designing Publics: Radical Democracy and Transformative Urbanisms with Aseem Inam
April 26th | 12-1pm EST
Globally, contemporary cities face seemingly insurmountable challenges such as urban inequality, inadequate infrastructure, climate crisis, and increasingly, threats to democracy. In the face of such challenges, Dr. Inam introduces the concept of “co-designing publics” by examining what lies at the potent intersection of the public realm and informal urbanisms.
He contextualizes these discussions by paying particular attention to the cities of the global south because place matters in shaping urban thinking and practice. He concludes with thoughts on the profound implications of co-designing publics for radical democracy and transformative urbanisms.
