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1. Updates

 

Week 1


For those of you returning to Oxford - welcome back! For those of you elsewhere in the world - welcome back to a weekly newsletter!

In this week's hotly-anticipated edition, you'll find the chance to participate in a 'citizen science' project looking to hear the humble opinions of the general hoi palloi like me and you in the 'Opportunities' section. You'll also find news on changing linguistic and cultural habits in Japanese convenience stores and the geography of the American gym, as well as events like Penny Woolcock's 'Fantastic Cities' exhibition and the City Food Lecture 2019. 

Get stuck in by starting with this week's spotlight article below. 

 

Spotlight

This week's update comes from Sharon Chang, whose article 'Disability in Smart Cities: Assessing assistive technologies and urban accessibility' explores the underresearched territory of the socio-urban implications of assistive technologies.

Sharon takes a really fresh look at what she notes has been a highly fragmented field, suggesting 4 key principles to guide developers of disability-centred technologies. I loved the article, and would suggest it as an excellent addition to anyone's Tuesday (or Wednesday, in the unlikely event that you have restrained yourself from the pure excitement of opening this newsletter until the following day). 

As always, please do send in your pictures and work -  we'd love to feature them in our newsletter. Head over to Facebook, Twitter, and our website pages for more updates.
 

2. Urbanist News around the World

  • The Geography of American Gym and Fitness-Centre Brands (City Labs)
    • New Year, new you - but who is 'you'? Who are gyms' target audience? How does this affect the geography of the gym? You won't believe you never thought about it before.
  • Charlottesville fights back against its racist zoning demons (Next City)
    • In 1929, maps of Charlottesville were drawn up to only allow industrial development in zones considered to be 'African-American' neighbourhoods. Now, the consequences of zoning in Charlottesville are being readdressed. 
  • Hour on London underground as bad as a day in traffic - pollution study (Place) 
    • 270 of the tube's stations date back to 1863, and sometimes it can feel like there hasn't been fresh air down there since.
  • 'You can't be too careful' - Crackdown fears haunt Xi'an's Muslim quarter (The Guardian)
    • As a tourist in Xi'an, it is easy to visit the terracotta warriors, eat your body weight in roujiamo shredded beef flatbreads, and eat the best noodles you've ever had without really stopping to think of the political re-education camps in Muslim majority Xinjiang, over a thousand miles away from this city and its famous Muslim quarter. For Muslims local to Xi'an, it's not so simple. 
  • The language debate inside Japan's convenience stores (City Labs)
    • Rules of etiquette in Japan are famed, but it becomes interesting to consider how such etiquette norms inside convenience stores are changed when more non-native Japanese speakers begin working there. A fascinating article on the intersection between culture and language.

3. Urbanist Events


Events in Oxford

Until 3 March 
Penny Woolcock: Fantastic Cities (art exhibition) 
  • Details: Modern Art Oxford, 30 Pembroke Street
Tuesday 15 January
Does Geography determine industrialisation? Evidence from India 
  • Speaker: Bishnupriya Gupta
  • Details: Nuffield College. 17:00.
Wednesday 16 January
Transnationalism, return visits, home, and belonging: second generation from refugee backgrounds
  • Speaker: Prof. Alice Bloch
  • Details: Queen Elizabeth House, 3 Mansfield Road
Monday 21 January
Migration and citizenship in Qing China and British Hong Kong
  • Speaker: Nicholas McGee
  • Details: Venue to be announced. 17:00. 
Thursday 24 January
Inequality in transport
  • Speaker: Prof. David Banister
  • Details: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road. 16:00.
Thursday 31 January
What economics teaches us about cities
  • Speakers: Tony Venables
  • Details: to be confirmed

Events in the UK

21 January 2019
Teacher training event: cities
  • Speakers: see link
  • Details: Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough. 5-7pm. 
29 January 2019
Southampton: gateway to the world
  • Speaker: Andy Skinner
  • Details: Lecture Theatre A, Shackleton Building, Department of Geography, University of Southampton, 7-8pm. 
26 February 2019
The City Food Lecture 2019
  • Details: Great Hall, Guildhall, Gresham Street, London. 17:30 - 21:45. 
Events around the World

2 - 5 April 2019 (Conference)
13th AESOP Young Academics conference
Planning inclusive spaces: An inter- and trans-disciplinary approach
  • Speakers: please see link for full list of speakers
  • Details: Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

 


4. Opportunities for Urbanists

Oxford Urbanists Team - Work with us in a number of roles!

Call for citizens
Citizen science - Greco project

GRECO are looking for citizens to actively participate in a citizen science project which will see researchers seek citizens' opinions and include them in the photovoltaics process. All you have to do is fill in the form (and find more information) here.

Call for Papers
Local and Urban Governance: Trends, Challenges, and Innovations in a Globalising World 

The IGU Commission on Geography of Governance and the University of Cape Verde will be hosting this international conference between 4-7 September 2019 at the University of Cape Verde. The deadline for Abstract submission is the 31 January 2019. More details can be found here.


Call for Video Entries
Urban Audiovisual Festival, 
June 29-30 June - 2019
Theme: Urban Mobilities. Deadline, 15th February 2019
More Information here

As always, don't hesitate to reach out with ideas and opportunities to share with the greater Urbanist community. Have a great week!

The Oxford Urbanists tackle contemporary urban challenges with innovative solutions through interdisciplinary, global collaboration.



Our mailing address is:
oxfordurbanists@gmail.com

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