The situations of urban enquiry: thinking problematically about the city

Barnett, Clive and Bridge, Gary ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2156-4342 2016. The situations of urban enquiry: thinking problematically about the city. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 40 (6) , pp. 1186-1204. 10.1111/1468-2427.12452

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Abstract

In the context of debates about the epistemological and ontological coherence of concepts of critical urban studies, we argue that urban concepts should be conceptualized problematically. We do so by aligning Michel Foucault’s genealogical work on problematization with John Dewey’s pragmatist understanding of problem formation and responsiveness. This approach brings into view the degree to which debates about urban futures are shaped by a variety of critical perspectives that extend beyond the academy and activism. We elaborate this argument through examples of global urban policy formation and practices of neighbourhood change. Approaching urban concepts problematically suggests a move away from the idea of critique as a form of scholastic correction towards an appreciation of the contested fields of practice in and through which critical understandings of urban problems emerge.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General)
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0309-1317
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 October 2016
Date of Acceptance:	19 September 2016
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2023 23:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/95149

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