Displacement Urbanism

Urban Expansions through Displacements with Ahmed Zeyad, urbanist at the Mayor’s Office in Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), Amman, Jordan.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Urban Experiments: Accommodation and Integration through Housing Asylum Seekers with Meriç Özgüneş, Programme Coordinator, Social Resilience & Inclusion Department, Thessaloniki, Greece.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Changing the Narrative on Urban Refugees with Lucy Earle, Interim Director of the Human Settlements Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), UK.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Manas Ray, Professor at the School of Liberal Studies, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, India

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The Volatile Seventies: A Memoir of the Naxalbari Uprising in Calcutta and the Bangladesh War. Read the article.

Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Ayham Dalal, Lecturer at the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at the German University in Cairo, Egypt.

From Shelters to Dwellings

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Loren B Landau is Professor of Migration and Development at the University of Oxfordand Research Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand’s African Centre for Migration & Society

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Despite being a planned city, Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan has historically been, and continues to be, a city shaped through displacement. Join Sibth ul Hasan (Philipps University Marburg, Germany, Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI), South Asia Collective), Sobia Ahmed (University of Essex, UK), and Romola Sanyal (LSE) in exploring the politics of evictions and resistance in Islamabad.

Sibth ul Hassan is a PhD student at the Center for Conflict Studies, Philipps University Marburg, Germany. He’s been associated with the Awami Workers Party and the All Pakistan Alliance for Katchi Abadis and is involved with the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI), South Asia Collective.

Sobia Ahmad Kaker is a Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, University of Essex. She is a member of the advisory board at Karachi Urban Lab (Pakistan). Sobia is an interdisciplinary urban studies scholar whose research focuses on the 'lived’ experiences of insecurity and uncertainty in global south cities.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Asylum seekers are being dispersed across Britain with significant implications for their housing, wellbeing and rights. It also impacts different local authorities into whose jurisdictions this process unfolds. Join Jonathan Darling (Durham University, UK) and Romola Sanyal (LSE) for an exploration of this and its impacts on urbanisation in the UK.

Jonathan Darling is Professor in Human Geography at Durham University. His research focuses on the spatial politics of asylum, sanctuary and solidarity movements, and the urban dynamics of forced migration. He’s worked in this field for over 15 years undertaking research examining systems of refugee support, solidarity initiatives and the role of urban green space on integration.

His most recent book, Systems of Suffering: Dispersal and the Denial of Asylum, published by Pluto Press, explores the UK’s system of housing and support for asylum seekers and refugees.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Indian cities have been wrought through displacement - through migration of people into cities, the displacement of people due to urban development, poverty and homelessness. Join Sandeep Chachra (Action Aid, India) and Romola Sanyal (LSE) in their exploration of this topic.

Sandeep Chachra is a social anthropologist and a human rights and justice defender. With over three decades of experience in social development, he is currently the Executive Director of ActionAid Associationin India.

Sandeep is the Managing Editor of Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, a founding member of Global University for Sustainability, Agrarian South Network and part of the World Forum of Alternatives. Sandeep has also twice Co-Chaired the World Urban Campaign of UN- HABITAT. He actively writes articles and participates in media and public debates.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this podcast, Romola Sanyal and Caroline Wanjiku Kihato discuss how migrant women from different parts of the African continent 'make homes' in South Africa, and the kinds of challenges that they face in doing so. They talk about the process of doing research, but also turning that into art, and the politics of representing these narratives in the Venice Biennale.

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Migrant Women of Johannesburg: Life in an in-between City (Palgrave Macmillan & Wits University Press)

Caroline's collaborative installation, You Will Find Your People Here, is featured at the Venice Biennale that runs from 20 May to 26 November, 2023.

Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this podcast, Romola and Dyfed Aubrey discuss the urbanisation of forced displacement. They talk about the overlaps between humanitarian work and urban development, the ongoing and future challenges for cities, international agencies and NGOs as displaced people increasingly turn towards urban places.

Dyfed Aubrey is an Inter-Regional Advisor at UN-Habitat and provides technical and policy advice on a broad range of urban issues including forced displacement in cities. He also coordinates UN-Habitat’s global flagship initiative, SDG Cities.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this podcast, Romola Sanyal speaks to Flavio de Souza, Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco, about the history and ongoing struggles of the urban poor for housing in the city. They discuss the politics of evictions and protests and what the possible futures are for housing the poor in the city.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this episode, Romola Sanyal speaks with Lefteris Papagianakis, Director of the Greek Council for Refugees about the new and emerging challenges in Greece- from climate change induced floods and internal displacement in Greece to the Golden Visa programme and AirBnB. We discuss how these different issues come together to make finding urban solutions to displacement increasingly difficult.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this podcast Romola talks to Dr. Isis Nunez Ferrera, who is currently the urban lead in the World Food Programme. In this broad conversation, we look at her previous experience working with displaced communities across the world and reflect on the challenges internally displaced persons face in Central America and sub-Saharan Africa. The podcast also explores the different dynamics of displacement including the role of food and what we should be thinking about as we seek to research and respond to these issues.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this podcast Dr Romola Sanyal talks to Dr Nura Al Khalili and Dr Muna Dajani about the ways in which settler colonialism and displacement shape territory, urban space and social relations amongst Palestinians in Israel-Palestine.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Dr Romola Sanyal talks to Ida Lien and Synne Bergby about the practices and politics of data collection for humanitarian crises.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this podcast, Romola talks to Catalina Ortiz from the DPU, UCL and Director of UCL's Urban Lab about her work on displacement in Colombia, particularly in the making of the neighbourhood of Moravia and how we can think about care as we analyse displacement.

Catalina Ortiz is Associate Professor at the Development Planning Unit and the Director of University College London’s Urban Lab.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola Sanyal talks to Jeff Crisp, former Head of Policy Development and Evaluation at UNHCR about the evolution of urban refugee policies at UNHCR and some of the ongoing debates and challenges around urban refugees.

Dr Jeff Crisp has held senior positions with UNHCR, Refugees International and the Global Commission on International Migration. Jeff has first-hand experience of humanitarian operations throughout the world and has published and lectured widely on refugee and migration issues. He has a PhD in African Studies from the University of Birmingham and is currently a Research Fellow at the Refugee Studies Centre in Oxford.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola Sanyal talks to Kareem Chehayeb, a Beirut-based journalist currently working for the AP on some of the challenges of reporting stories of displacement in Lebanon and of being a journalist in the Middle East in these difficult times.

Kareem Chehayeb is a Beirut-based journalist, currently reporting for The Associated Press where he primarily covers Lebanon and Syria.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Cecilia L. Chu is an urban historian and Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Building Colonial Hong Kong: Speculative Development and Segregation in the City(Routledge).

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this episode, Romola Sanyal talks to Mara Ferreri about housing decommodification, how it came about, how it helps to address displacement pressures and what is its future.

Mara Ferreri is a Senior Researcher of the Inhabiting Radical Housing ERC-funded project, based at Interuniversity Department of Urban and Regional Studies and Planning (DIST), Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, and Visiting Research Fellow in the Geography Department at the LSE, UK. She is a Member of the Beyond Inhabitation Lab and co-founder and editor of the Radical Housing Journal. Her work focuses on precarity, temporary and platform urbanism, and organising for housing commons.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this episode, Romola Sanyal talks to Paroj Banerjee about how and why people come to dwell on pavements in Mumbai, India and the kinds of policies and practices that are enacted around displacing and housing them.

Dr Paroj Banerjee is a lecturer at the Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London, where she co-directs the MSc Social Development in Practice and leads the Social Diversity Research Cluster

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola Sanyal and Deen Sharp talk about how cities and conflicts continuously reshape each other. They talk about the technologies and materials of urban conflict and the consequences for urban displacement.

Dr Deen Sharp is a Visiting LSE Fellow. He is co-editor of several books, including Open Gaza: Architectures of Hope and Reconstruction as Violence the Case of Syria.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola and Chris talk about the creation of the city of Canaan in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake and how, despite the hopeful beginnings, displacements due to gang violence, continue to haunt its residents.

Christopher Ward is a political scientist focusing on informality, informal settlements and the political economy of aid, with a particular focus on urban contexts within crisis-affected states. Over the past 17 years, he has worked across relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts in multiple post-disaster and post-crisis contexts. He is currently completing a PhD at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex (UK).

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola Sanyal talks to Samer Saliba and Helen Yu about the importance of local governments in addressing humanitarian crises and the work of the Mayor’s Migration Council in supporting them.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola Sanyal talks to Anastasia Bobrova, Director of Cedos think tank about the ways in which the war on Ukraine has created and exacerbating new and ongoing housing challenges in the country.

Anastasia Bobrova is director at Cedos think tank, a Kyiv-based Ukrainian non-governmental organisation working on social and spatial development issues. She is a curator of the Ukrainian Urban Forum – an annual networking and educational event for grassroots activists, researchers, and professionals interested in socially just and sustainable urban transformations. She is also an alumna of the Geography and Environment Department here at LSE.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Dr Romola Sanyal speaks to Professor Chia Youyee Vang about the migration of Hmong refugees to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, USA, the ways in which they settled into their new lives and the triumphs and challenges they faced along the way.

Dr. Chia Youyee Vang is Vice Chancellor of Community Empowerment & Institutional Inclusivity (CEII) and Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research is informed by her own refugee experiences as a child. Dr. Vang earned a Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Minnesota in 2006.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this episode, Romola talks to Paul Watt about the ongoing housing crisis in London, and how that, together with estate regeneration has created different and ongoing displacements amongst residents.

Paul Watt is Visiting Professor in the Department of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science. He is co-editor with Peer Smets of Social Housing and Urban Renewal: A Cross-National Perspective (Emerald, 2017), and co-editor with Phil Cohen of London 2012 and the Post-Olympics City: A Hollow Legacy? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). His most recent book is Estate Regeneration and Its Discontents: Public Housing, Place and Inequality in London (Policy Press, 2021).

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola Sanyal talks to anthropologist Tom Scott Smith about his latest book and more generally on the politics of design and aesthetics for humanitarian shelter.

Tom Scott-Smith is Director of the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford and Associate Professor of Forced Migration. He is general editor of the Berghahn book series in Forced Migration and his series of short documentaries about refugee shelter in Europe, Shelter Without Shelter, won the UK Arts and Humanities Research in Film Award in 2020.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola talks to Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN Special Rappoteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, and Associate Professor at MIT about the structural drivers of displacement, how different displacements are interlinked and what the future holds for us in thinking about displacement as a legal, practice and pedagogical exercise.

Balakrishnan Rajagopal is Associate Professor of Law and Development at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola talks to Ammar Azzouz about the different ways in which pre-war violence intersects with post-war reconstruction in Syria, particularly around housing, land and property. They explore questions of memory, trauma and the politics of reconstruction in this present moment.

Ammar Azzouz is a Research Fellow at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. He is the Principal Investigator of Slow Violence and the City, a research project that examines the impact of violence on the built environment at the time of war and peace.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

In this podcast, Romola and Enam talk about the precarious lives of landless fisherfolk in Chandpur, Bangladesh; how the government's policies around fishing but also development invisibilises them and exacerbates their vulnerabilities and how they also seek to resist their marginalisation.

Enamul Mazid Khan Siddique is an international development practitioner turned anti-colonial thinker. He has grown up in a forest village on the South-East coast of Bangladesh (once part of historic Arakan),and has witnessed the dispossession of natural resources from the marginalised communities first-hand.

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Host: Dr Romola Sanyal

Romola talks to Teresa Del Ministro, IOM Somalia Displacement and Resilience Senior Programme Coordinator about the drivers of internal displacement in the country, the different responses to them and what should possibly be done going forward.

Teresa Del Ministro is the IOM Somalia Displacement and Resilience Senior Programme Coordinator.

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Host: Romola Sanyal

Romola talks to Suzanne Hall, Professor of Sociology at LSE about the question of labour and how employment forms an axis of displacement, how this is highly racialised and it shapes spaces and politics.

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Host: Romola Sanyal