Socio-technical practices for just cities: E&U special issue celebration
A special issue of Environment & Urbanization exploring socio-technical practice was celebrated online.
Photo: Jhono Bennett
This event presented the online celebration of a special issue of Environment & Urbanization exploring socio-technical practice: a form of urban practice in which technical knowledge from architecture, planning and related disciplines is mobilised in allyship with communities.
The special issue examines how practitioners collaborate with residents, grassroots organisations and social movements to support more just cities, while critically engaging with questions of power, knowledge, and legitimacy.
Contributions highlighted a diversity of practitioner experiences, demonstrating how technical expertise can be brought into dialogue with community-led priorities to co-develop strategies, actions and advocacy. The issue also foregrounds practice-based research, emphasising the reciprocal relationship between reflection and action in socially transformative urban practice.
The event will showcase key insights from the issue, provide a platform for discussion among contributors and explore emerging debates on the role of socio-technical practice in addressing urban inequality, displacement and climate challenges.
This event was organised by IIED, in collaboration with the University of Sheffield School of Architecture and Landscape and the Urban Institute, and the University of Cape Town School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics.
Speakers
- Beatrice De Carli (moderator), University of Sheffield (UK)
- Tanzil Shafique (moderator), University of Sheffield (UK)
- Talita Gonsales, Universidade Federal do ABC (Brazil)
- Marie Huchzermeyer, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)
- Aravind Unni, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (India)
The event was designed for urban researchers, practitioners, students and policy professionals interested in collaborative, community-led approaches to building just cities. It would appeal to anyone working at or exploring the intersection of professional expertise and socially transformative urban practice.
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Contact
Abisola Adefioye, project manager (core funding group)
