The Schools of Law, Geography and SPAIS will be hosting a research seminar, 'Urban citizenship: seeing like a city, seeing like a neighbourhood, seeing like a firm', with Mariana Valverde, Professor of Criminology, University of Toronto on Friday 30 March 2012, 12noon-2.30pm, at the Bristol Institute of Public Affairs, 2 Priory Rd, Bristol.

The paper presents an empirical study of how city officials, planning authorities, and citizens use local law's mechanisms to articulate visions of 'the good city' and 'the good neighbourhood' (in the city of Toronto) reveals that the practices of urban citizenship enabled by planning law tend to fall into one of three types. The two dominant ways of seeing and engaging with city matters are distinguished by scale (and to some extent jurisdiction): 'seeing like a city' and 'seeing like a neighbourhood'. A third standpoint or perspective, 'seeing like a firm', associated with neoliberal practices such as private-public partnerships, is in fact deeply rooted in the history of the municipal corporation. The paper combines empirical findings on planning consultations and council deliberations on zoning bylaws with some theoretical reflections on the difference that scale, jurisdiction, and what we could call 'gaze' make, in relation to urban citizenship.

Lunch  will be provided.  To facilitate catering, if you intend to attend, please email Toni Walsh in advance.