You are invited to join a new initiative of The City Institute at York University (CITY), which is a reading group on the emerging critical urban theory of “planetary urbanization.” Planetary urbanization, which scrutinizes the complete urbanization of the planet in our contemporary moment in history, is arguably the most important emerging theoretical framework in urban studies. CITY’s engagement with this topic will be very much in the spirit of a dialogue that clarifies and strengthens our shared understandings of urbanization and the reading group will offer critical interventions into this novel framework, with anti-racist, feminist, and queer emphases. The aim will also be to promote further conference sessions and an edited book.

In an attempt to gain greater autonomy over the pace and volume of our work, we are establishing this reading group as a “slow scholarship” project. The reading group will operate over a two year period and meet only once a semester, starting in November 2014. Five reading groups will be organized and alternately held at York and University of Toronto, and a two-day final workshop will be held at CITY in 2016 with the participation of Neil Brenner, a founding theorist of this framework.

Who is invited? If you are a professor, a graduate student, or a community member interested and active in urban issues you are welcome!  Although you are not required to commit to all five meetings and the workshop it is strongly encouraged that you do so. It is expected however that everyone will have done the specified readings for each meeting. Readings will be provided online to those who sign up.

If you are interested in being a part of this project and want to receive further information, please let us know by Tuesday October 14 at 4:30 pm to city@yorku.ca. We look forward to seeing you!

Planetary Urbanization Reading Group Steering Committee:

Alison Bain, Michelle Buckley, Deborah Cowen, Darren Patrick, Linda Peake, Gokboru Sarp Tanyildiz, Roza Tchoukaleyska.