{"id":34161,"date":"2019-11-01T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/researchdev\/2019\/11\/01\/urbanization-article-sums-up-existing-thought-poses-vital-questions-2\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T09:10:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T14:10:22","slug":"urbanization-article-sums-up-existing-thought-poses-vital-questions-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/research\/2019\/11\/01\/urbanization-article-sums-up-existing-thought-poses-vital-questions-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Urbanization article sums up existing thought, poses vital questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Director of the City Institute unpacks some critical debates in urbanization in a timely new article.<\/em><\/strong> This will be of interest to many in disciplines ranging from sociology to economics, geography to environmental studies; urban planners; and government stakeholders at all three levels.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Urban studies is not what it used to be. Today, it encompasses the planetary condition, considers the state of humanity, intersects with issues such as mass migration and global warming, and poses some pretty tough questions about our future \u2013 arguably, some of the most pressing and timely in the early 21st century.<\/p>\n

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Linda Peake<\/p><\/div>\n

In a new article, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Professor Linda Peake, director of the City Institute at York University, unpacks some critical debates in urbanization and summarizes existing thought, with the help of co-authors from York University, the University of Toronto and Memorial University.<\/p>\n

The article, titled \u201cPlacing planetary urbanization in other fields of vision\u201d and published in Society and Space<\/em> (2018), is theoretical but accessible with an underlying sense of urgency. It, along with an impressive record of publication, reinforces Peake\u2019s thought leadership in this key academic area.<\/p>\n

This research was funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).<\/p>\n

Peake\u2019s co-authors were York PhD students Darren Patrick and Gokboru Tanyildiz; the City Institute\u2019s postdoctoral visitor, Professor Roza Tchoukaleyska (now at Memorial University); and University of Toronto (U of T) professors Rajyashree Reddy and Sue Ruddick.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s urban studies is situated on a planetary level that\u2019s broad and enriched<\/h5>\n

Urban studies is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses the social sciences and humanities, intersecting with many areas of academic study, including environmental studies, geography, history, Indigenous studies, literature, political economy, political science, sociology, urban planning and women\u2019s studies. It delves into topics such as the climate emergency, inequality, immigration and forced displacement.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, for some academics the urban now encompasses a generalized planetary condition that considers humanity\u2019s possible futures. This new scope is very broad and, as a result, it raises new theoretical and political questions.<\/p>\n

Here is a sample of some of the questions posed in Peake\u2019s article, many admittedly open or unanswered:<\/p>\n