The Situations of Urban Inquiry: Thinking Problematically about the City

Abstract

In the context of debates about the epistemological and ontological coherence of concepts of critical urban studies, we argue that urban concepts should be conceptualized problematically. We do so by aligning Michel Foucault's genealogical work on problematization with John Dewey's pragmatist understanding of problem formation and responsiveness. This approach brings into view the degree to which debates about urban futures are shaped by a variety of critical perspectives that extend beyond the academy and activism. We elaborate this argument through examples of global urban policy formation and practices of neighbourhood change. Approaching urban concepts problematically suggests a move away from the idea of critique as a form of scholastic correction towards an appreciation of the contested fields of practice in and through which critical understandings of urban problems emerge.

The Grounds for Metropolitan Cooperation. a Case Study of the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area

“…City-regions and metropolitan areas remain constructs that should be perceived through the prism of economic, political and spatial phenomena (d'Albergo & Lefèvre, 2018) and require unusually high adaptability across different disciplines (Barnett & Bridge, 2016). Neuman and Hull claimed that "today, the debates surrounding regional questions are more complex than ever in many dimensions.…”

Problematizing Urban Shit(ting): Representing Human Waste as a Problem

“…This view of problems, or problematizations, as a result of particular social arrangements, demonstrates their contingence on human practices and reveals that they are not inevitable. Barnett and Bridge (: 7) argue that Foucault's discussion of problematization is primarily useful in urban inquiry as an analytical tool to understand how problems are formed, rather than a means of critiquing and replacing existing paradigms. Following this position, the purpose of this work is not to negate any existing problematizations of urban shit(ting) or to privilege one over another; it is to understand all problematizations within a given context and how they are enacted.…”

Introduction to the Handbook of Urban Geography

“…The strict separation between the city and the urban, as well as the inclination to give both clearly defined and stable meanings, in planetary urbanization thinking have been criticized by Barnett and Bridge (2016). These authors seek to steer 'attention away from trying to apprehend just what the city or the urban is [which is a central concern for Brenner and colleagues -TS] towards inquiring into what it is that cities and urban processes are presumed to be able to do' (Barnett andBridge, 2016, p. 1195, emphasis in the original). They discuss the case of the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), during which the urban issues obtained increased visibility in UN circles.…”

“…These imaginations overlapped, intersected and sometimes contradicted each other during the negotiations. The 'lack of clear-cut, singular clarity in definitions' (Barnett andBridge, 2016, p. 1197) was not a problem but productive as it helped to turn cities into sites for governing and action.…”