CALL FOR PAPERS: AAG Annual Meeting, Tampa, Florida, 8-12 April 2014
Special Session

Governing urban diversity: New challenges for urban policy

Organisers: Tuna Tasan-Kok (TUDelft/UCR), Mike Raco (University College London), Ronald van Kempen (Utrecht University), Gideon Bolt (Utrecht University)

The relationships between urban diversity, urban policy, and governance in contemporary cities remain under-researched in the academic and policy literature. In many cities there has been an intense diversification of populations not only in socio-economic, social and ethnic terms but also with respect to lifestyles, attitudes and activities. For authors such as Vertovec (2007, 2010) this amounts to a ‘super-diversity’ associated with growing levels of migration, the emergence of variegated lifestyles within and between social groups, and new forms of spatial segregation. This growing diversity, in an era of economic crisis, has generated some urgent questions/issues for policy-makers and researchers that will be explored in this session.

For some, urban diversity can act as a positive boost to more progressive and propulsive forms of social cohesion, social mobility, and economic performance in cities. It is portrayed as an asset that can inspire innovation and creativity; create cities that are more liveable and harmonious; and stimulate local and national economies and make cities more competitive. On the other hand, enhanced diversity also poses significant challenges for urban policy makers and institutions. Policies and governance arrangements are often based on categorisations that bear little relation to the complexities of needs and identities now found in cities. In many cases a re-think of public policies and governance arrangements is needed to contribute to what Fincher and Iveson (2008) have termed a ‘just diversity’ in urban governance in which policy interventions should be used to establish more just outcomes based on enhanced arrangements for recognition, redistribution, and positive encounters in cities. At present we know relatively little about how diversity is being thought about in different places and the implications of policy interventions for the everyday lives of citizens.

This session aims to bring together scholars from a variety of contexts who are working on these themes in different parts of the world.  The organisers themselves are members of an EU-funded FP7 project on urban diversity (named DIVERCITIES) that includes academics from 14 European universities. We expect to include not only theoretical and conceptual papers but also comparative case studies that show how policy-makers are conceptualising urban diversity in different places and the types of policy interventions that are now emerging. Papers that examine the impacts of policy on social cohesion, social mobility, and economic performance in cities are also welcomed.

Potential topics and themes of interest might include, but are not limited to:

• Case studies that examine the conceptualisations of diversity that underpin contemporary urban policy interventions;
• Studies that look into the role of urban policies and governance arrangements in generating social and economic outcomes;
• New theoretical approaches to urban diversity/hyper-diversity;
• Papers which link social cohesion, social mobility and economic performance to governance dynamics;
• Studies on the governance of urban diversity;
• Empirical and/or comparative studies that tackle diverse positive aspects of urban diversity;
• Papers that look into urban diversity in urban planning and spatial policy.

Expressions of interest should be sent to Tuna Tasan-Kok () in the form of a 200-250 word abstract by 1 October 2013. We will finalise the sessions and inform all respondents of the outcome by 15 October 2013. Please note that 3 December 2013 is the AAG-deadline for abstracts and sessions. www.aag.org/cs/annualmeeting