New technologies and datafication in so-called smart cities affect how we interface with the city. Social, economic and technological changes also lead to new urban frictions, and increasingly put strain on collectively shared urban commons and the right to the city. This shifting landscape of urban politics and power dynamics and the role of media, arts, and performance, provides the framework for this seminar series.

In the graduate seminar series The Right to the City & Urban Commons, students participate in three seminar sessions and a 2-day ‘pressure cooker’ workshop. The first seminar will focus on conceptualizing the notions of ‘the right to the city’ and the ‘urban commons’. What are today’s urban commons and how can people claim their right to the city in contemporary shifting urban conditions? The second session is dedicated to current urban common practices, and the imagining of new ones, from the perspective of media, art and performance projects. Several case studies will be discussed and analyzed. The third seminar prepares participants for the two-day pressure cooker workshop, where students will learn how to put their theoretical knowledge into practice through the use of a ‘critical making’ approach.

Seminars: Data: 12 & 26 February, 12 March | Time: 15:30-17:30

Workshop: Data: 19 & 20 March | Time: 10:00-17:00

Location: MCW Lab, Kromme Nieuwegracht 20, Utrecht

ECTS: 4 EC

Registration via: RMeS-fgw@uva.nl (Please specify your master programme, national research school and university)

The seminar series is organized by Nanna Verhoeff, Sigrid Merx, RMA student Lotte van der Molen & Michiel de Lange

The 2-day workshop is a collaboration between UU, Creative Coding Utrecht, HKU, and other partners.