On 27 October the seminar series Cities & Mobilities opened with by talk by Tim Cresswell “Maxwell Street: Writing and Thinking Mobility and Place in a Chicago Market” based on his forthcoming book. You can see the full talk on the website of the Centre for Urban Studies.
After the talk the discussion revolved around the stark contrast between the richness, the vibrancy of the place, the diversity of mobilities that criss-crossed Maxwell street, its palimpsestic nature and the language of the policy-makers and planners. The discussion proceeded to question the methodologies we use to describe places and ways in which scholars communicate their findings: how can the multiplicity of stories about mobility and place be explored and made visible and how such stories can have impact on policy – or should they aspire to that at all? Another interesting discussion developed around the transformation of cities whereby global financial market may be replacing and displacing actual physical markets (one of the oldest types of urban public space). We also spoke about transitions from human interaction and negotiation forming the basis of urban choreography of movement first towards regulatory frameworks, produced by humans, and more recently – towards algorithms.
Read more about the Cities & Mobilities Seminar series and come join the discussion!
Cities and Mobilities 