Two Perspectives on the Urban Village

Jonathan Bach and Stefan Al present and discuss their research on Shenzhen’s urban villages, migration, and the state of housing in the contemporary Chinese city.

Jonathan Bach is Chair of the interdisciplinary Global Studies undergraduate program and Associate Professor of International Affairs at The New School in New York. His current work concerns post-socialist transition in Germany and China and how these societies appropriate their past. Bach draws from anthropology, sociology and political science to explore how received notions of sovereignty, space and identity are reformulated through micro-level practices. He has also written on information technology and organizational change, labor migration and citizenship, and political theory.

Stefan Al is a Dutch architect, urban designer, Associate Professor of Urban Design at the University of Pennsylvania, and founder of Stefan Al Architects. Prior to joining Penn, Al has taught at UC Berkeley and the University of Hong Kong, where he was the director of the Urban Design Program. Al holds a M.Sc. in Architecture with distinction from Delft University of Technology, an M.Arch. from The Bartlett in London, and a doctorate in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley. He is an EU-licensed architect and a LEED Accredited Professional.