CFP: Special Issue on Commodification, Urban Space and Ethics

Special Issue on Commodification, Urban Space and Ethics

An online workshop will take place on Oct 29 before collecting the papers for the issue.

Editors/Organizers: Yusuf Yüksekdağ (Istanbul Bilgi University) and Bilge Serin (University of Glasgow)

Description

“A commodity appears at first sight an extremely obvious, trivial thing. But its analysis brings out that it is a very strange thing” (Marx, 1990, XVIII)

We invite conceptual, empirical and ethical studies engaging the commodification in/of urban space and its ethical implications, broadly defined. These may be around the themes and the questions below, but not limited to:

• Conceptual perspectives and theoretical approaches on commodification (pertinent to urban spaces)

• Ethical and transgressive perspectives on contemporary urbanization practices including gentrification, smart cities, privatization or remunicipalisation of services

• Case studies on commodification and decommodification in urban space

• Commodification in urban space facilitated by new or emerging technologies (e.g. smart cities)

• Primitive accumulation/accumulation by dispossession via privatization of public services and spaces and the ethical implications attached to these practices

• Commons and commoning in urban space and their future

• Emerging commoning and mutual aid in urban space, especially during the pandemic, their potential and ethical implications

• Platforms, their potential for commoning in urban space, and their ethical implications

• Future of commodified or decommodified urban spaces, key infrastructure and practices 

Format of the Publication

This call is for a Special Issue on Urban Space, Commodification and Ethics. We aim to hold an online workshop on the 29 th of October 2021 (subject to change) in order to facilitate discussion among the authors. The workshop will be a medium for the authors to debate their argument with each other as well as making themselves familiar with other papers through the paper presentations. The target journal will also be decided during the workshop. After the workshop, the authors will have 3-4 months to finalise the papers (deadline: 28th of February 2022).

Please send the abstracts around 400 words to [email protected] and [email protected]. The abstract should clearly state the aim, methodology and position/theoretical approach of the research.

The deadline for abstract submission is the 15th of September 2021.

Notification of abstract selection results: 24 th of September 2021.