Update
The special track at the UAA conference has been awarded a triple issue (three issues) in the Journal of Urban Affairs. These three issues, titled “Asian Cities on the Edge” feature 23 contributors from 17 prestigious universities across eight countries and regions, including the University of Washington, Columbia University, National University of Singapore, Barnard College, Incheon National University, City University of Hong Kong, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Geneva.

Date: 24-27 April 2024
Venue: Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York City, USA
Special Track: “Asian Cities on the Edge”

The World Congress 2024 is jointly organised by the Urban Affairs Association (UAA), the European Network for Housing Research (ENHR), and the European Urban Research Association (EURA). CLASS Smart City Research Cluster Convenor Professor June WANG has been commissioned by the UAA to set up the special track on “Asian Cities on the Edge.” This track features one keynote session titled “Theorising Through Asia” and 10 ordinary paper sessions covering a wide spectrum of topics, from “History, Heritage and Cities,” “Land and Housing Commodification, “to  “Urban Development and Governance”, “Environmental Governance”, to “Digitalization and Cities”, “Platform Urbanism”, etc.

The special track has attracted 68 international scholars from top universities in 11 countries and regions, including America(Columbia University; MIT; University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign; Rutgers University, etc.), Italy(University of Turin), Switzerland(University of Geneva), Singapore(NTU), Korea(Incheon National University), India(Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad), and Hong Kong(CityU; HKU).

KEYNOTE SESSION

Theorising Through Asia
Date: 25 April 2024 (Thursday)
Time: 8am – 9:30am
Venue: SOHO, 7/F, Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York City, USA
Presentations: 

Theorizing Chinese Cities
Kam-wing CHAN, University of Washington

The Global East as Borderlands
June WANG, City University of Hong Kong

Everyday Places as Sites of Civic Engagement
Jeffrey HOU, University of Washington, Seattle

HIGHLIGHTED SESSIONS

Digitalization and Cities
Date: 25 April 2024 (Thursday)
Time: 8am – 9:30am
Venue: SOHO, 7/F, Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York City, USA
Presentations:

Digitalizing Red Tape: India’s Interstate Migrants and the Path to Urban Citizenship
Shoshana R GOLDSTEIN, Trinity College

Does privatization serve the public value in the digital era? Urban government’s choice of corporate partners in China’s smart city development
Gangjian LIN, Zhejiang University; Yuanshuo Xu, Zhejiang University

Rescaling (Digital) Social Innovation: Hackability in Shanghai
Paolo GIACCARIA, University of Turin

How can informal mobility contribute to sustainable development? Insights from India, and takeaways for policy, technology, and innovation
Sandip CHAKRABARTI, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad; Muskan Muskan, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad; Nitya Dilipsinh Jadeja, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Land record modernization and common property rights: A case study in peri-urban Bangalore, India
Prithvi HEGDE, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Platform Urbanism
Date: 25 April 2024 (Thursday)
Time: 9:50am – 11:20am
Venue: SOHO, 7/F, Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York City, USA
Presentations:

The Rise of the New Labor Force in Chinese Cities: Gig Workers, Social Equity, and Urban Governance
Lin YE, Sun Yat-sen University

‘We are not weak’: The protests and everyday resistance of platform workers in China
Yu FENG, Fudan University

Eat Local, Live Global: A Mixed-Methods Case Study of Platform Urbanism in Makati City, Philippines
Nasha VIRATA, Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey

Grounding Urban Platforms: Instant Food and Grocery Delivery in Kolkata
Triparnee KUSHARI, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

From online to onsite: wanghong economy as the new engine for China’s urban development
Liu CAO, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Inclusive Cities, or Not?
Date: 26 April 2024 (Friday)
Time: 9:50am – 11:20am
Venue: SOHO, 7/F, Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York City, USA
Presentations:

South Korean Cities in an Age of Migration: How to Discuss Community with a New Language of Identity?
Jill L TAO, Incheon National University

Building a Community through the Global Age-Friendly Policy Intervention
Eunju HWANG, Virginia Tech

Exploring Migration and Creativity Bond in Hamamatsu. Inclusive Urban Festivals and City Identity
Nerea Viana ALZOLA, University of Geneva

Co-producing the creative migrant and precarity through skill in Singapore
Junjia YE, Nanyang Technological University

Beyond Exploitation: Ethnic Minority Gig Workers in China’s Platform Economy
Yishake GULINIGAER, City University of Hong Kong; June Wang, City University of Hong Kong

Urbanism, an Alternative Lens
Date: 26 April 2024 (Friday)
Time: 3:30pm – 5pm
Venue: SOHO, 7/F, Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York City, USA
Presentations:

The Affective City: An Alternative History of China’s Rapid Urbanization
Nick R SMITH, Barnard College

Brackish Urbanism: Value, State Space, and the Postcolonial Palimpsest in East Asia
Ben GERLOFS, The University of Hong Kong

Ghosts of Socialism: Urban Renewal in the Context of Bankrupt State-Owned Factories in Southwest China
Sarah CHANG, Miami University

Constructing marginality: Gender in a new education city
Ekta CHAUHAN, OP Jindal Global University

The transformation of Back Drainage Space in the former colonial city of Yangon, Myanmar – The role and today’s significance
TOMOKO MATSUSHITA, Urban Disaster Research Institute

For more details and to view the full program rundown, please visit here.