What Is Critical Urbanism?

Urbanism as pedagogical concept of practice. How, as urbanists, do we learn from the past, from our own models of practice, from collaborations and confrontations, and from the creativity of urban life?

Understanding and managing urban change in our global era demands a high degree of specialized and interdisciplinary knowledge. At the same time, city planners, architects, researchers, policymakers, and activists are deeply immersed in the chaotic and often contradictory urban realities that they are asked to address. What is Critical Urbanism? offers an innovative toolkit for engaging these present realities across disciplinary specializations and geographic purviews.

Central to the book is the research and pedagogy of the Critical Urbanisms MA program at the University of Basel, established in collaboration with the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town. The program’s renowned and emerging urbanists demonstrate the power of working with care and reciprocity across different contexts and institutions, driven by engagement with varied communities of practice. They show how alternative urban futures can be imagined by addressing the historical injustices and global entanglements that shape the urban present. The book is tailored to students, graduates and teachers of urban studies and related disciplines including architecture, urban design, human geography, architectural history, and urban anthropology.

With contributions by Saad Amira, Olivia Andereggen, Isabella Baranyk, Hanna Baumann, Thomas Betschart, James Clacherty, Alexander Crawford, Carla Cruz, Kenny Cupers, Emilio Distretti, Janine Eberle, Evan Natasha Escamilla, Jacob Geuder, Manuel Herz, Maren Larsen, Shourideh C. Molavi, Lea Nienhoff, Laura Nkula-Wenz, Sophie Oldfield, Myriam Perret, Racial Justice Student Collective, Naomi Samake, Giulia Scotto, Anna Selmeczi, Ernest Sewordor, Florence Siegenthaler, Basil Studer, Aline Suter, Aylin Tschoepe, Rosca van Rooyen, Diana Vazquez-Martinez, Linda Wermuth, and Lee Wolf.