Friday, April 19, 2013

(Re)Industrializing the City

Many people are thinking about how to create new jobs and inclusive cities around the world. Today, I received this call for papers for a conference and a book on re-industrializing cities. Yes, DC is not like other post-industrial cities like Pittsburgh or Detroit, but it did have industry and a working class. Now, DC has what might be called "boutique manufacturing," though this article on the local boutique ice company is probably unfair to other manufacturing in the area. Would re-industrialization help DC? Is boutique manufacturing the way to do this?

Call for Papers: [New Industrial] Revolution and the City:
The industrial revolution changed everything; our social structure, our culture and the economy. In many ways it created the world we live(d?) in. Industrialisation changed our cities. However, the current, post industrial model of Western cities, based on property and land speculation seems to be in crisis and looks as if its coming to an end. Cities in other part of the world – in Asia, Africa and South America are not (just) post-industrial they are still growing. What went wrong in Europe? Can we learn anything from the industrial city model? Can we learn from Asian, African and South American cities? Is urban re-industrialisation an answer for the crisis we face in Western cities? Could urban re-industrialisation be imagined as a progressive socio-political and economical project, aiming to create an inclusive and democratic society based on cooperation and symbiosis that goes way beyond the current model of a neoliberal city?

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