Life At The Margins

Inequalities and uneven spatial development are at the centre of contemporary urban processes. They are the product of entrenched socio-economic and racialised histories, but also produce forms of resistance and ways of living that exceed mainstream representations.

The theme seeks to understand how lives are made at the margins and the politics that shape issues including dwelling, everyday economies and diversity.

Life At the Margins promotes ethnographic research to rethink the contexts, subjects and politics of life at the margins.

Research questions

– How can we better account for the generative power and politics of life at the margins?
– How do makeshift practices, infrastructures and everyday experiences come together to produce urban marginality?
– How can we move away from directive-driven policymaking, toward a collective and solidarity-led grassroots politics of the margins?
– What are the researcher’s responsibilities when investigating life at, with and within the urban margins?