About the Thematic Area
How do conflicts and struggles over power shape governance in cities and regions? Governance unfolds in complex landscapes where power is everywhere—across scales, between groups of actors, and even within individual organizations that seek influence in spatial decision-making. Acts of resistance, challenges to authority, and the silencing of certain voices all shape outcomes, revealing governance as a contested and uneven process. This thematic area explores how conflict and power struggles are integral to urban and regional governance, and why only a truly interdisciplinary perspective can capture the full dynamics at play.
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URSI x UGoveRN seminar on conflicted governance
Thematic Highlights
In fall 2024, UGoveRN hosted several public talks by its members, making their research publicly accessible. In one of these talks, Nufar Avni held a hybrid meeting in Amsterdam, where she shared preliminary results from a study conducted in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, a liberal city facing increasing pressures from a right-wing central government. She presented findings from a novel survey on residents’ expectations of the municipality in this context and offered insights into a municipal attempt to exercise urban autonomy on a contested issue—weekend public transportation. The discussion concluded with reflections on the policy implications for other cities experiencing similar tensions.
Learn more about the research here.
Related Events
Liberal Cities in Reactionary Nation-States: Unpacking Urban Autonomy
Recognitional Justice and the Politics of Citizen Participation in Urban Development
CONUNDRUM: Participatory Community Map Making as a Route to Effective Public Policy?
UGoveRN Panel “Urban Governance in Times of Densification and Polarization” @ NIG Conference
