Public Forum on “Mediating Urbanization in Democracies”.

Dear Friend,

The Centre for Policy Research would like to invite you to a Public Forum on “Mediating Urbanization in Democracies”.

Venue: Chinar Deck Suite 5th floor (near the Deck Restaurant) Habitat World at India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road  New Delhi 110003 (Entry through Gat e 1)

Time: Thursday, December 13, 2012 from 4-6pm

The last few years has seen an increasing recognition that the future of humankind is to be found in cities, and that the dramatic growth of mega-cities, especially in the south, is accompanied by the rise of large populations of the urban poor. But political decision-making over these spaces and populations is increasingly framed in terms of ‘informal governance’, based on the recognition that informal institutions and practices play a critical role in poor people’s everyday lives. There is a greater need for us to understand the ways in which the burgeoning influx from rural areas navigate the physical, cultural and political spaces in the cities. The speakers, whose work focuses on Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, address the ways in whi ch the marginalized populations, whom Partha Chatterjee refers to as 'political society', negotiate with the state in gaining access to basic services and urban public goods such as sanitation, habitation, and schools, among others. The presentations also address the nature of mediation -- the practice of political brokering between the formal system and informal practices and institutions -- and the use of digital media in brokering successful outcomes.

Chair: Professor Philip Oldenburg, Columbia University

Speakers:

Professor Patrick Heller, Brown University

Professor Paul Kingston, University of Toronto, Scarborough

Hani Morsi, IDS, Sussex

Professor Laurence Piper, University of the Western Cape

Professor Bettina Von Lieres, University of Toronto, Scarborough

Dr. Joanna Wheeler, IDS, Sussex

Laura Weisbach, CEBRAP, Brazil

Please feel free to circulate this information to anyone you feel may be interested.  Look forward to meeting you and request you to send in your confirmation at the earliest.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta