CFP: Philosophy of the city: an interdisciplinary approach

Recerca Journal, edited by the Philosophy and Sociology Department at Jaume I University, Spain.

Research group: http://eticaydemocracia.uji.es/en/

More info: http://www.e-revistes.uji.es/index.php/recerca/announcement/view/21

Call for Papers PHILOSOPHY OF THE CITY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

Among the many characteristics that define cities, there is currently much concern over those that underlie situations of injustice. Rapid socio-cultural, political, technological and economic changes, especially those brought about by the dictates of neoliberal ideology, are frameworks used to justify these situations. A critical perspective must be regenerated in order to tackle the antagonisms that arise from conflicts of interest in the city.

Changes in human practices have shaped a scenario that Harvey refers to as “social acceleration”, characterised by the contraction not only of physical distances, but also of economic transactions, which pose genuine challenges for contemporary cities. These challenges are clearly manifested in the ambivalence about the utopia felt by citizens who want to take advantage of the technological and economic opportunities presented to them, but at the same time are disenchanted by the difficulties in attaining the benefits of this progress promised by welfare capitalism.

This landscape, which has engendered a certain climate of citizen disillusionment, is also behind the emergence of prolific and thought-provoking debates on the city, as demonstrated by deliberations on the issues of cosmopolitism, the (un)governability of the city, the possibility of succumbing to technocratic governance or the defence of the right to the city. This growing body of critical studies is undergirded by normative criteria about ideals of the city that seek to combat its dehumanisation. In response to this social reality, the idea of justice from authors such as J. Habermas, A. Sen and Boaventura de Sousa, together with philosophical, sociological or urban proposals on the idea of justice in the city from scholars such as Lefebvre, Harvey, Marcuse and Fainstain, constitute some of the classic initial frameworks that might contribute to analysis of the current tensions cities are experiencing.

This issue aims to provide a space for reflection on the foundations that can support critical frameworks of the contemporary city, but also guide the complexity of relationships and interests that arise within it, particularly those due to the impact of politics, economics and technologies and the way they affect citizens’ lives.

1 Critical theories of the city

2 Ethics of the city

3 Cities and resistance

4 The city and urbanism

5 The city and social movements

6 The city as public space

7 Urban justice

8 The identity of the city

9 The city and common goods