Book Launch: Planetary Cities: Future-Hacking the Urban
Join us to celebrate the launch of Planetary Cities: Future-Hacking the Urban, a new book published by Springer Nature.
What: A book launch with five short author talks, an open Q&A and conversation, and networking.
Who: Co-editors Jose Ramos & Bharat Dahiya and chapter authors Liam Mayo, Gareth Priday and Darren Sharp. Professor Bharat Dahiya will join in by live stream from Bangkok.
When: Thursday 3 December, starting at 7:00 pm.
Where: The Kelvin Club, Melbourne CBD.
Why come: Each author will discuss these chapters and offer one transformational idea for the future of cities in a planetary era. You will also be able to put your own questions to the authors and meet others who care about the future of cities.
About the book
Planetary Cities: Future-Hacking the Urban brings together internationally recognised scholars and practitioners working on urban futures and the commons. The book is edited by Jose M. Ramos and Bharat Dahiya. It is published by Springer Nature in the Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements series.
The book starts from a simple observation. Cities are being reshaped by two forces at once: ongoing urbanisation, and our move into a planetary era. Climate change, global ecological limits, migration, digital and data systems, and global capitalism now shape city life everywhere. Cities are increasingly defined by their connections and contexts rather than by their boundaries.
The authors look at what this means for cities in both the Global North and the Global South. They challenge outdated images of the city that no longer serve us. They then “future-hack” new visions and practical pathways for transformed cities. The thirteen chapters are organised in four parts:
Reframings for planetary cities: storytelling, the future of work, and the contradictions and potentials of cities in this century.
Global issues: slums, food systems, and urban health.
Methodological renewal: urban living labs, co-cities and commoning, and urban experimentation for sustainability transitions.
Visions and urban imaginaries: Gaian cities, the urban imaginarium, and organic cities.
A shared message runs through the book. Real urban transformation requires real empowerment and real participation. It requires new arrangements of power that support communities, vulnerable people and those working for the public good.
Speakers
Jose Ramos (co-editor) is an action researcher and writer focused on planetary futures and the commons. He co-edits the Journal of Futures Studies, co-directs Action Foresight, and founded Futures Lab. His chapter is Planetary Cities: Contradictions, Potentials and Futures for the Twenty-First Century.
Bharat Dahiya (co-editor, joining by live stream if the connection allows) is an urbanist and a former UN-Habitat staff member. He directs the Research Center for Sustainable Development and Innovation at Thammasat University in Bangkok. His chapter is The Future of Slums and Planetary Cities.
Gareth Priday is a consultant with Action Foresight. He co-founded the Australian Living Lab Innovation network and is a codesign trainer. He was an external expert on the VITALISE Harmonisation Board. He is the lead author for Hacking the Urban with Living Labs.
Darren Sharp is Co-Director of the Sustainability Transitions Lab at Monash Business School. His research focuses on urban governance, transition management and participatory futures. His chapter is Urban Experimentation: Enabling Processes for Governing Sustainability Transitions.
Liam Mayo is Group CEO and Managing Director of Comlink Australia and Deputy Director of the Centre for Postnormal Policy and Futures Studies. He is the co-author, with Marcus Bussey, of Selves and Spaces: Planetary Cities as Nodes of Global Storytelling in Postnormal Times.
What will happen on the night
Arrival and futures conversations. We will start by asking you to talk with someone you have not met before. We will give you a couple of futures thinking prompts to get the conversation going, such as “What brings you here tonight?” and “What are your hopes for the future of our cities?”
Introduction to the book (about 10 minutes). Jose and Bharat will introduce the book, its main ideas, and how it came together.
Author talks (about 5 minutes each). Liam, Gareth, Darren, Jose and Bharat will each talk about their chapters. Each will finish with one transformational idea for the future of cities in a planetary era.
Q&A and open dialogue. We will pass the microphone around. You can ask questions of any of the authors, and the authors will also be in conversation with each other.
Networking. The evening will close with time to keep talking with the authors and with each other.
Who should come
This event is for anyone interested in the future of cities. That includes urban planners, policymakers, researchers, students, community organisers, designers, and people working on the commons, sustainability and futures thinking.
Get the book
Planetary Cities: Future-Hacking the Urban is available from Springer Nature in hardcover and eBook: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-92-0359-8
Event Sponsor
888 Co-working space Melbourne