Agglomeration and assemblage: Deterritorialising urban theory

Abstract

In two recent papers Storper and Scott have sought to counter the rise of assemblage thinking in urban studies, suggesting it is indeterminate, jargon-ridden and particularist-that it lacks a critique of power. Against such approaches they propose the 'nature of cities' as an 'urban land nexus' driven by the economics of agglomeration. In this paper we respond, largely agreeing on jargon yet arguing that assemblage is a form of critical urban thinking that holds potential for a general but open theory of urbanity. We also suggest that many parts of Scott and Storper's own work are entirely compatible with assemblage thinking, including concepts such as urban 'bundling' and 'buzz'. Agglomeration theory explains why cities emerge and grow where they do but is weak on issues of scale and morphology. Assemblage thinking embodies capacities to expand urban studies through a better engagement with multi-scale relations, gearing the economics of agglomeration to the study of urban morphology; understanding cities in terms of their possible futures as well as actual conditions. We call for more open and productive interfaces between research disciplines and approaches-a deterritorialization of urban theory. The choice is not between agglomeration and assemblage, it is between the singular and the multiple.

Temporary Appropriation of Public Space As an Emergence Assemblage for the Future Urban Landscape: The Case of Mexico City

“…Marston et al (2005) define it as a "flat ontology". In other words, it is the opposite to the reduction of the particular to the general, of smaller to larger scales (Dovey, Rao and Pafka, 2018). In regard to the urban landscape, we agree with Dovey, Rao and Pafka (2018) when they claim that usually, scholars use research in the urban environment with the aim of making a theoretical point, while the main duty of assemblage thinking is to use theory as the means to read, understand and improve the city (as in this paper).…”

“…The use of assemblage theory to explore, analyse or describe urban phenomena has become significant today thanks to its orientation towards considering different disciplines. The literature ranges from more theoretical pieces such as Anderson (2012), Muller (2016) and Dovey et al (2018) to those more focused on its practical application such as McFarlane (2011), Dovey (2012) and Dovey and Pafka (2014). Deleuze and Parnet define an assemblage as a "multiplicity which is made up of many heterogeneous terms and which establishes liaisons, relations between them, across ages, sexes and reigns -different natures.…”

“…Thus, we could have multiple desires that intersect each other and even be contradictory. Dovey et al (2018) give an example by claiming that "the suburb emerges from desires to have day-to-day access to the city without living in it". Thus, we could argue that the desire to leave our trace in this world or simple spatial being produces TA of the urban landscape in any given context.…”

Investigating the Intensive Redevelopment of Urban Central Blocks Using Data Envelopment Analysis and Deep Learning: A Case Study of Nanjing, China

“…All cities throughout history are based on the fundamental process of agglomeration, which leads to the 'urban land nexus' [5]. Urban land use has undergone profound changes in the urban economic rules and development needs.…”

Selling (un)real estate with “Shi(势)-nema”: manipulation, not persuasion, in China’s contemporary cinematic-cities

“…In doing so, we update and repurpose a range of what we might call 'assemblage' or 'agglomeration' models that a long line of thinkers have brought to the study of urban environments, affective socio-politics, and their impact upon human agency (see e.g. Smith and Walters 2017;Dovey et al 2017;Fleming 2016;Hillier and Cao 2013).…”