news
Par-city host first in person workshop at queen mary university of london
December 2024 – From 2 to 6 December 2024, the PAR-CITY project held its first in-person workshop at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). This week-long event brought together members of the research team from across the globe to advance the project’s work on urban participatory innovations and their relationship with democracy, governance, and trust.
Participants included Dr. Sam Halvorsen (QMUL), Dr. Cristina Temenos (University of Manchester), Dr. Ross Beveridge (University of Glasgow), Dr. Anna Selmeczi (University of Cape Town), Dr. Agnieszka Kampka (Warsaw University of Life Sciences), Dr. Fiona Anciano (University of the Western Cape), Dr. Camila Saraiva (Federal University of ABC), Arq. Barry Lewis (University of Cape Town), and Mg. Eliana Persky (UBA-UNSAM).
The workshop served as a vital platform for collaborative research and writing, featuring sessions dedicated to the project’s core themes. Key moments included:
City Case Study Presentations: Researchers provided updates on the four cities under study, exploring how participatory practices intersect with neighbourhood upgrading and climate crisis responses.
Theory Axis Workshop: Participants engaged in discussions on theoretical frameworks underpinning the project, followed by concept development and collective writing.
Paper Development: Time was devoted to drafting a collaborative paper on neighbourhood upgrading, setting the foundation for future publications.
We look forward to sharing more updates as the project progresses.
New Research from PAR-CITY Lead PI Sam Halvorsen: Rethinking Participation in Slum Upgrading
November 2024 -PAR-CITY is pleased to highlight a significant new publication from our Lead Principal Investigator, Dr. Sam Halvorsen, titled Slum upgrading and participation: Insights from a marginalised neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. Published in Habitat International (Open Access), this paper offers fresh perspectives on the relationship between participation and urban transformation in informal settlements.
Drawing from qualitative research conducted in Barrio Saldías, a small informal settlement in Buenos Aires, Dr. Halvorsen challenges conventional understandings of slum upgrading as either “top-down” or “bottom-up.” Instead, he proposes a relational and strategic approach that considers the complex interplay between residents, party brokers, and local state representatives. This approach foregrounds participation as a shared political logic driven by a collective desire to transform urban space.
Key contributions of the paper include:
Moving beyond the binary of top-down vs. bottom-up upgrading processes.
Highlighting the role of political intermediaries and state actors working alongside residents in participatory upgrading.
Situating participatory upgrading within a broader political trajectory in Buenos Aires, beyond project-specific interventions.
The study analyses three key moments of participatory upgrading in Barrio Saldías, offering critical insights into the ways participation can exceed clientelist interpretations and operate as a dynamic force for urban change.
This paper aligns closely with PAR-CITY’s broader focus on urban participatory innovations and their implications for democracy, governance, and trust. It serves as a valuable resource for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners interested in participatory urban development.
The full article is available open access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103196.
Stay tuned for more updates on PAR-CITY’s ongoing research and future publications.
press release
PAR-CITY: Global Research Project Explores How Urban Participatory Innovations are Reshaping Democracy, Governance and Trust
September 2024 — A new international research initiative, PAR-CITY, is set to investigate how cities around the world are addressing key challenges related to democracy, governance, and trust through urban participatory innovations (UPIs). These innovations range from grassroots movements that utilise urban spaces—both physical and digital—to foster trust and reinvigorate democracy, as well as institutional reforms such as open government initiatives and participatory designs for decision-making processes. The project will focus on how UPIs are transforming the way citizens engage with democratic institutions in large urban areas.
Led by Dr Sam Halvorsen from Queen Mary, University of London, PAR-CITY brings together 25 researchers from 21 universities across seven major cities: Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Lyon, New York, São Paulo, Toronto, and Warsaw. 6 Co-PI with different academic backgrounds will conduct the project in each country.
“Cities are laboratories for democratic renewal, offering new ways for citizens to engage and shape their political environment,” said Dr Halvorsen. “This project aims to uncover how these urban spaces are responding to global challenges through innovative participatory practices.”
PAR-CITY has secured prestigious funding from the Trans-Atlantic Platform (T-AP) call on Democracy, Governance and Trust, being one of 18 selected projects; its true strength lies in its international collaboration. The project, which will run for three years, has received approximately US$1.4 million in funding from research agencies across seven countries, including ANR, FAPESP, NCN, NRF, NSF, and UKRI.
At the conclusion of the project, the team will produce a co-authored book, multiple journal articles, and a digital platform to disseminate their findings globally.