III Midterm Conference of ESA RN37 (Urban Sociology)
III Midterm Conference of ESA RN37 (Urban Sociology)
Published 22 December 2017 in: News, Konferencje
Inequality and uncertainty: current challenges for cities
III Midterm Conference / European Sociological Association – Research Network 37 (Urban Sociology)
Madrid (Spain), UNED, 27-29th June, 2018, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Abstract Submission: https://
For the third mid-term conference we propose inequality and uncertainty as terms to guide our reflections about urban realities. Both inequalities and uncertainties impact everyday practices, individual and communal identities, fears and (im)possibilities, as well as visions of the future. Both are clearly evident in today’s urban contexts.
It is not possible to ignore the fact that cities are not only moving, vibrant and flourishing spaces, promising hope for better quality of life, but also accumulate and reflect significant problems. We need to recognise the complexity of economic, political, social, cultural and environmental mechanisms, which strengthen existing inequalities and add a great deal of uncertainty to life in cities and urban spaces of the globalised world. We want to gain a better understanding of the impact and consequences of inequality and uncertainty on the urban arena as much as the responses to current challenges in terms of both informal and institutional practices.
Inequalities and uncertainty as the key-questions of the conference can be discussed in the relation to the following topics:
1. Visibility and invisibility of urban inequalities and uncertainty
2. Individual and collective strategies of coping with contemporary urban challenges at the neighbourhood level
3. Class, gender, age and ethnicity as factors of inequalities and uncertainty
4. Urban policies and institutional effectiveness in times of crisis
5. Social responses to crisis – from everyday life practices to contemporary urban social movements
6. Spatiality and the new geographies of inequalities and uncertainty
7. (Im)mobility of urban inequalities – urban inequalities of (im)mobility
8. Urban sustainability and global environmental crisis
9. Innovative methodological contributions of urban sociology for studies on social inequalities and uncertainty
In this conference we also wish to celebrate and bring into the discussion the works of two social scientists who greatly contributed to Urban Sociology and Urban Studies in general: Lefebvre and Simmel. In that sense, we propose two additional topics:
10. Reading Henri Lefebvre’s “The Right to the City”, 50 years later.
11. Georg Simmel (1858-1918): reflecting on his multiple contributions for Urban Sociology
We welcome proposals exploring theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues. An abstract in English of maximum 300 words should be submitted by esarn37.hypotheses.org from December, 4th to January, 28th. Papers will be grouped thematically by the programme committee.
We look forward to welcoming you at the RN 37 mid-term conference.
Check our blog: https://
The Programme Committee
Marta Smagacz-Poziemska (Jagiellonian University, Poland)
Maria Victoria Gómez (UC3M, Spain)
Patrícia Pereira (CICS.NOVA, FCSH-UNL, Portugal)
Laura Guarino (DISPO-UNIGE, Italy)
Sebastian Kurtenbach (Bielefeld University, Germany)
Juan Jose Villalon (UNED, Spain)