Southern Urbanisms

This strand focuses on the spatial practices of the prevalent mode of urbanisation, reframing ‘informality’, to understand the uneven geographies of urbanisation. Example of this is the project where I am Co-I ‘GREAT: Gridding Equitable Urban Futures in Areas of Transition’, funded by UKRI-GCRF, that seeks  to understand the ways in which being on- and off-grid provide an opportunity to rethink the relationship between people and urban infrastructure in Cali, Colombia and Havana, Cuba.

Advocacy in times of crisis is key in the practice of this strand. For instance, I am PI of the project ‘Yangon Stories: Framing Living Heritage as Tool to Prevent Spatial violence’, funded by British Academy, aimed at documenting longitudinally the spatial violence in the city. Giving the changing political context in Myanmar, the project attempts to mobilise action against further spatial violence. Our reports on the ‘Violations of the Right to Adequate Housing after the Coup’, have influenced the statement from the High Commissioner of the United Nations Humans Rights. Likewise our report on ‘Forced Evictions of Squatters during the Coup in Hlaing Thayar, Yangon’ have contributed to general understanding of the escalation of evictions in the news outlet The Guardian.

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