[Kaupunkitutkimus] Fw: Legal Geographies Mini-Symposium II: Public Space

[Päivi Rannila]

Dear colleagues,

Please see below the cfp for the Legal Geographies Mini-Symposium II: Public Space.
Looking forward to your abstracts!

Päivi Rannila,
University of Turku


Call for papers:

LEGAL GEOGRAPHIES MINI-SYMPOSIUM II: PUBLIC SPACE

University of Turku, Finland
January 26–27, 2017

A wide range of theories of public space have been developed in recent decades. The concept of “public space” has been used to refer to both abstract and actual spaces; the question of the relationship between public space and property has been frequently raised; and there has been much debate as to whether privatization and neo-liberal are leading to the “end of public spaces.”  A key question that continually arises, but which could stand more thorough analysis, is the role of law in mediating or structuring the relationship between abstract and actual spaces, property and publicness, and privatization and publicity. Questions of law have long been present in the undercurrent of these discussions, especially related to the considerations of social, political, and economic orders, struggles, and uses of public spaces, but could stand to be brought more fully to the surface.

The 2nd Legal Geographies Mini-Symposium tackles the current notions of public spaces from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, asking how public spaces and law constitute each other, and how public spaces are governed and controlled in various ways. These questions may be explored, for instance, through the themes of rights, justices, surveillance, citizenship, planning and usages related to of public spaces.

The keynote speaker of the symposium is Professor Don Mitchell (Uppsala University), one of the leading scholars of public spaces. Mitchell’s research has concentrated on public spaces from the viewpoints of the justice, rights and the ends of public spaces. In addition to theoretical work, his interest has been in the disadvantaged groups such as homeless and migrants, and how public space is a site of struggle and protest for them. Mitchell has authored, co-authored, edited and co-edited dozens of articles and books, including They Saved the Crops: Labor, Landscape, and the Struggle over Industrial Farming in Bracero-Era California (2012), The People’s Property? Power, Politics, and the Public (2008), The Right to the City: Social Justice and the Fight for Public Space (2003), Cultural Geography: A Critical Introduction (2000), and The Lie of the Land: Migrant Workers and the California Landscape (1996).

The purpose of the symposium is to add knowledge of the current research on the relationship between law and public spaces. The event is multidisciplinary, and we welcome scholars from all fields of study such as geography, urban studies, planning, legal studies, history, philosophy and media studies. The symposium is free of charge, but the number of partakers is limited. The forms of participation include short presentations of the finished research or ‘work in progress’ (15 min), and posters. To enroll in the symposium, please send your abstract proposal (max 200 words) to Päivi Rannila (paivi.rannila at utu.fi) by January 5, 2017. Information about acceptance will be sent by January 9, 2017. Further information can be asked from the same address.

The symposium is funded by the Academy of Finland’s project Nomospheres of Publicity.