Transforming Cities debates: Taking populists seriously
Populist resistance against sustainability, sometimes even based on a blunt denial of environmental risks, is growing around the world. What can happen if, while we acknowledge the dangerous side of populism, take the concerns of populist voters seriously? We will discuss these questions on World Cities Day 2022.
Many interesting things are happening in the field of sustainable urban development but at the same time current ways of thinking are not at all sufficient as a basis for the radical transformations that are needed. We need to reframe current debates about sustainable cities to make them more societally resonant while leveraging the unique status and resonance of science. In collaboration with the community Critical Pathways we organize the debate `Taking populists seriously' on Monday 31 October.
Two speakers will kick off the debate at 15h00 by sharing their view on the topic:
- Hannah Richter - campaign manager from Dare to be Grey
- Stephen Snelders - researcher, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University
followed by a debate in which we invite everyone to join. We will finish at 16h30 with a drink.
We welcome Utrecht University scholars and other people interested in sustainable urban development to join our academic debates! Please note that this is an in-person event only and it is not possible to join online.
Transforming Cities Utrecht organizes a series of academic debates to develop new ways of thinking as a basis for radical innovation. We want these debates to go beyond the status quo, to identify blind spots and frontier issues at the science forefront and policy interest, focus on challenging, deep and sometimes painful questions, and develop new ways of thinking and new ways of unpacking and understanding them. Both Transforming Cities and Critical Pathways are part of the strategic theme of Utrecht University Pathways to Sustainability.
Other debates are:
- Wednesday 21 September 2022: Politicizing science
- Thursday 6 October 2022: Rewilding the city
- Thursday 20 October 2022: Beyond techtopia
- Thursday 24 November 2022: Not accepting a trade-off between equality and sustainability
- Start date and time
- End date and time
- Location
- Zalen van Zeven, Boothstraat 7, Utrecht
- Registration
We appreciate your registration. You can let us know you would like to join the debate(s) by filling out this registration form.