Conference: Claiming the City – Civil Society Mobilisation by the Urban Poor


Half of the world’s population lives in cities, and a
growing proportion – today one billion – lives in “slums” and informal
settlements. Many of the urban poor engage in collective strategies to secure
their housing, earn a living, and defend their interests. Their claims on the
city often conflict with the demands of other urban groups over access to
resources, space, and power. They also challenge the definitions of urban
authorities and city planners regarding which claims are to be seen as
legitimate.

This conference will focus on informal and formalised
networks and associations of urban poor – as well as other civil society
organisations working in support of their claims – and their significance for
strengthening people’s political, social and economic position in the city. We
invite researchers and students, actors within international development
cooperation, activists, and others with interest in the issues to participate.

Keynote lectures:

Urbanisation from below

David
Satterthwaite, Senior Fellow, International Institute for Environment
and Development, UK

The right to the city: Principal issues


Lorena
Zárate, Habitat International Coalition (HIC)

Claiming the city

Representatives from organisations of urban poorin Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the US,
describing their work on different dimensions of urban poverty and
claims-making:
– Community-driven, city-wide upgrading of slum housing
– Informal economic strategies: street vending and waste
picking

Municipal urban planning together with urban poor


Twolocal authoritiesfrom different continents (to be confirmed)

Towards an inclusive urban planning


Diana
Mitlin, Professor of Global Urbanism, The University of Manchester, UK

Conference chair: Henning
Melber
, Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Uppsala, Sweden

Topics to be addressed during the afternoon parallel
sessions are:

Sessions with introductory
speakers:

Working with social mobilisation among urban poor:
What are the main challenges for donor-driven NGOs?

Chair and introduction: Diana Mitlin

Panel with organisation representatives from day 1 (to
be confirmed)

Climate change adaption and disaster risk prevention
by urban poor: Community action and municipal governance

Presentations: David Satterthwaite
Organisation representative from day 1 (to be confirmed)

Sessions with paper
presentations:

Contested urban visions in the global South

Chairs and introduction:
Ilda Lindell, Stockholm University, Andrew Byerley, Stockholm University,
Onyanta Adama, Nordic Africa Institute, Sweden

Violence and urban politics (paper
session)

Chair and introduction:Steffen
Jensen, Danish Institute Against Torture (DIGNITY)

Participants will be asked for parallel session group preferences upon
confirmation of registration. Information about session groups will be
continually updated on our conference website www.claimingthecity.se

Time: April
16-17, 2013

Venue:
Missionskyrkan, S:t Olofsgatan 40, Uppsala

Registrationno later than March 15, 2013 to mia.melin@csduppsala.uu.se

For more information, please
see the
conference web site, www.claimingthecity.se 

or, contact mia.melin@csduppsala.uu.se or heidi.moksnes@csduppsala.uu.se

(Suggested hotel across the street from venue: Hotel
Uppsala, see conference website for information)

There is no conference fee, and lunches and coffees
are free for registered participants.

NB! Participation only the second day is not an
option.

Welcome!

Deadline for submission of abstracts for parallel
sessions is February 8, 2013.
Authors will be notified of abstract acceptance by March 4, 2012. Read more at 
www.csduppsala.uu.se/civsoc/

* To download the Preliminary Programme, click here.

* To download the Conference invitation, click here.

Mia Melin

Uppsala Centre for Sustainable Development

Uppsala
University

Villavägen
16

SE
752 36 Uppsala, Sweden

Ph:+46-18-471
6851

www.csduppsala.uu.se