Justice and the City

Sustainable Places Research Fellow, Dr Abid Mehmood, was recently invited to address a round table discussion at the  55^th Annual ACSP Congress. The theme of the conference this year was ‘Justice and the City’ and took place in Houston, Texas in the USA on 22 October 2015. 

The theme "Justice and the City: (re)Examining the Past to Create the Future" looked at all of the possible justice issues, social equity, multiculturalism, environmental activism, advocacy planning, etc. Several monumental Acts were introduced in the United States in 1965 concerning civil rights, women's rights and acts effecting health and well-being - all of which significantly influenced urban planning policy. With the conference taking place 50 years later, it was a great opportunity to review planning developments throughout the years.

Dr Abid Mehmood spoke at a round-table entitled "Towards a neo-structural methodology for urban and regional development analysis." The session was organised and moderated by Dr Jung Won Son on behalf of International Journal of Urban Sciences. The presentation focused on theoretical and methodological approaches to the urban and regional development trajectories in contemporary capitalism. The discussion covered ways to value different theories and research methods of place-based development in an integrated methodology, recognising the complex interaction between different parts of society at the urban and regional scales.