Centre for Urban Policy and Governance (CUPG) , School of Habitat Studies, TISS is extremely happy to share with you the details of its upcoming International Conference titled ‘‘RETHINKING CITIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: URBAN VIOLENCE, SOCIAL INEQUALITY AND SPATIAL JUSTICE” being held in Mumbai from 19TH – 23RD JANUARY 2016 (http://saicinternationalconference.tumblr.com/). The Conference is being hosted by CUPG in partnership with Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano e Regional, Rio and University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban as the culmination of a three year research on “People, Places and Infrastructure: Countering Urban Violence and Promoting Peace in Mumbai, Rio and Durban” funded by the IDRC as part of their Safe And Inclusive Cities project.

The Conference aims to address the question of urbanisation in the global south by providing a platform to discuss the varied and unique experiences of urbanisation that are being experienced and created by different cities of the global south. It will also include voices from the ground to highlight the lived experience of this urbanisation. We anticipate an audience comprising of academics, students, community activists, trade unions, political activists, urban practitioners, state actors, planners, engineers, architects, policy makers, and NGOs who are engaged in research, advocacy, campaigns and movements to promote social and spatial justice in cities situated in the global south. Spread over a total of five days, the Conference promises to be an exciting event. There will be paper presentations and panel discussions, plenaries, masterclasses and roundtables. The organisers also hope to enliven the conference venue through poster and photography exhibitions, and local music.

Some highlights of the programme are:

• FIELD TOURS planned in collaboration with local organisations to showcase projects, spaces, people’s efforts and socio-⁠spatial transformations in and around Mumbai.
• PLENARY SESSIONS with internationally and nationally acclaimed academics and practitioners in the urban domain, with special focus on leading theorists and practitioners from Brazil and South Africa and India.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS ACROSS PLENARIES INCLUDE

• S. PARASURAMAN (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai),
• PATRICK BOND (University of KwaZulu-⁠Natal, Durban),
• CARLOS VAINER (Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano e Regional, Rio),
• TERESA CALDEIRA (University of California, Berkeley),
• KELLY GILLESPIE (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg),
• ABDOUMALIQ SIMONE (Max Planck Institute),
• GAUTAM BHAN(Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore),
• ASHWIN DESAI (University of Johannesburg, South Africa),
• THOMAS ISAAC (CPM MLA Alappuzha, Kerela),
• RAQUEL ROLNIK (University of São Paulo),
• SANDEEP VIRMANI (Hunnarshala Foundation, Bhuj),
• ANANT MARINGANTI (Hyderbad Urban Lab).
  
  

ROUND TABLE ON SOUTH-⁠SOUTH NETWORKING to bring together some of the important strands discussed during the conference, seek collaborations for future projects and build pressure groups to ideate and take forward a transformative urban agenda.

RADICAL PLANNING WORKSHOP focusing on skills and practices and sharing of outcomes of bottom up and participatory approaches to urban planning and governance.

Confirmed speakers include:

• ARVIND UNNI (YUVA, Mumbai),
• FABRICIO LEAL OLIVIERA (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro),
• CHAMPAKA RAJAGOPAL (Egis India),
• DARSHINI MAHADEVIA (CEPT University),
• FARANAK MIRAFTAB (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign),
• DUNU ROY(Hazards Centre),
• DESMOND D’SA (South Durban Community Environmental Alliance),
• EDGAR RIBEIRO ( ex-⁠Chief Planner, Govt. Of India)

CURATED FILM SCREENINGS of contemporary documentaries on urban issues

PHOTO AND MIXED-⁠MEDIA EXHIBITIONS of work by students, research scholars, project outputs etc. that focus on the urban, particularly on what it means to be urban in the global south.

MASTER CLASSES with a few selected academics and urban professionals geared primarily towards enhancing the knowledge and skills of students and practitioners.

CULTURAL PROGRAMMES

All registration details are available at http://saicinternationalconference.tumblr.com/

Students and faculty from TISS interested in participating in the Conference are requested to contact cupg.tiss@gmail.com

We hope to see you at the Conference in January 2016!