Contemporary Amman and the Right to the City (Day 1/3)

Sat, Nov 3, 2018 6pm

Amman, Conference, Studio-X

Location

Columbia Global Centers | Middle East, Amman

Organized by Studio-X Amman, the French Institute of the Near East (Ifpo) and Columbia Global Centers | Amman

The conference is free and open to the public. RSVP is required

To RSVP please visit http://amman2018.eventbrite.com

Photos by Antonio Ottomanelli

Faculty Links

Felicity Scott / Nora Akawi

URL

ammanconference2018.com

Contemporary Amman and the Right to the City

November 3 - 5, 2018

A city of four million inhabitants today, Amman’s expansion has become disproportionate to its urban history. Developing from a small rural settlement at the end of the 19th century, the capital city evolved into a regional crossroad at the end of the 20th century, and has today become a symbol for the consolidation of Hashemite rule. Often referred to as the city of refuge, Amman has experienced an impressive urban growth over the past fifty years driven by forced displacements, changing geopolitical conditions, and large influxes of capital. The city has been perpetually co-produced by its diverse populations, yet both urban policies and market forces continue to extend and reinforce the divisions of urban geographies based on gender, class, and origin.

Despite the growing power of nationalist politics and of neoliberal agendas in shaping the urban trajectory of the city, the simultaneous rise of Amman’s residents associations, youth initiatives and codified everyday practices of resistance have allowed inhabitants to reshape their physical and conceptual interactions within the city, and to practice alternatives imaginaries for shared livelihoods. At this important historical juncture, and fifty years since the publishing of Henri Lefebvre’s seminal text in 1968, this conference seeks to reposition the notion of the right to the city in relation to the particularities of Amman within the context of a global movement toward localized urban projects of direct democracy.

Conference Participants:

Luigi Achilli, Myriam Ababsa, Nabil Abu Dayyeh, Ala Al-Hamarneh, Jalal Al Husseini, Ahmad Al-Mousa, Kamila Ashour, Hana Al Taher, Nora Akawi, Betty Anderson, Gozde Ege, Arij Zaied Dagarah, Rana Beiruti, Daphne Caillol, Jose Ciro Martinez, Rami Daher, Samar Dudin, Jawad Dukhgan, Oroub El-Abed, Nadine Fattaleh, Dina Haddadin, Serene Hleileh, Majd Musa, Falestin Naili, Norig Neveu, Nama’a Qudah, Mohammad Rafieh, Yasir Saqr, Aseel Sawalha, Zachary Sheldon, Beth Stryker, Lucine Taminian, Mohamad Zakaria

Keynote Speakers:

Stavros Stavrides (National Technical University of Athens) in conversation with Pelin Tan (University of Cyprus)

Mona Fawaz (American University of Beirut) in conversation with Safwan Masri (Columbia University)

Adrian Lahoud (Royal College of Art) and Lumumba Di-Aping (Rights of Future Generations Working Group) in conversation with Felicity D Scott (Columbia University)

The conference is free and open to the public, RSVP is required

To RSVP please visit http://amman2018.eventbrite.com

For the full schedule, please visit: https://www.ammanconference2018.com/conference-schedule

For further information, please contact info@ammanconference2018.com

Saturday, November 3rd:

18:00 - 19:30 - Commoning the City

Stavros Stavrides (National Technical University of Athens), Struggles In and For Common Space: Beyond the City of Enclaves, and Pelin Tan (University of Cyprus), Threshold Infrastructures and Spaces of Solidarity

Location

Columbia Global Centers | Middle East, Amman

Organized by Studio-X Amman, the French Institute of the Near East (Ifpo) and Columbia Global Centers | Amman

The conference is free and open to the public. RSVP is required

To RSVP please visit http://amman2018.eventbrite.com

Photos by Antonio Ottomanelli

Faculty Links

Felicity Scott / Nora Akawi

URL

ammanconference2018.com

Contemporary Amman and the Right to the City (Day 1/3)