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 theconference 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