Tag: Urban Studies

Almost two decades after the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa, the country still has a long way to go.

July 13, 2011

A beach in Cape Town, South Africa. In a recent report, South Africa received a lowest-possible rating for its lack of progress in addressing xenophobia. Image from Creative Commons. BY TONY ROSHAN SAMARAAssociate professor of sociology and anthropology at George Mason University Recent news out of South Africa that the rainbow nation received the lowest … More Almost two decades after the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa, the country still has a long way to go.

How motion, relationships, and productive tension help build better cities across the world

May 5, 2011

Barcelona has been hailed for its ability to inform future strategies for world cities in urban planning and regeneration. In the new book Mobile Urbanism, multiple contributors argue for a theorizing of both urban policymaking and place-making that understands them as groups of territorial and relational geographies. Image from Creative Commons. BY KEVIN WARD AND … More How motion, relationships, and productive tension help build better cities across the world

The thriving, supportive, underrepresented LGBT scene in 1960s-70s Minneapolis.

March 30, 2011

MinnPost recently published a wonderful analysis of Queer Twin Cities, particularly an issue it takes with a scene in the much-acclaimed 2008 film Milk. When a straight Hebrew school student in Minneapolis can accidentally become a patron of a gay bookstore in the 1970s, there’s really no need for anybody to move to San Francisco.

Discovering the History of Women in Public

February 8, 2011

BY JESSICA ELLEN SEWELLAssistant professor, American and New England Studies and the Department of the History of Art and Architecture, Boston University In his novels Spook Country and Zero History, Bruce Sterling popularized the idea of locative art—digital art tied to specific locations—using GPS and internet-connected devices. He imagines a viewer of locative art holding … More Discovering the History of Women in Public

Egypt Q&A: Unrelenting protests are rooted in many years of civil unrest and bear the marks of a social revolution.

February 3, 2011

In Cairo, Egypt, a big banner that spells out “Leave,” in reference to Egypt’s president Hosni Mubarak, appears on Feb. 1st, 2011. Throughout the Mubarak regime’s tenure, citizens have experienced violations of their civil rights on a daily basis. Photo by Essam Sharaf, courtesy of Creative Commons. Photo from Flickr. BY SALWA ISMAILProfessor of politics … More Egypt Q&A: Unrelenting protests are rooted in many years of civil unrest and bear the marks of a social revolution.

Uncovering myths of the Minneapolis and St. Paul underground

October 19, 2010

Ever hear the myth about how Pierre “Pig’s Eye” Parrant (namesake of Pig’s Eye Beer) founded the city of St. Paul at Fountain Cave? Or about “Smuggler’s Cave” of Minneapolis, which was supposedly used during the Prohibition to smuggle liquor into the city? Author Greg Brick (Subterranean Twin Cities) has been exploring and writing about … More Uncovering myths of the Minneapolis and St. Paul underground

"No One Loves a Loser" — life on the streets in San Francisco.

August 25, 2010

The following is an excerpt drawn from the new book Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders: Homeless in San Francisco, by Teresa Gowan. Gowan will be giving a talk and signing books tonight at University Press Books in Berkeley, CA, and tomorrow night at Modern Times Bookstore in San Francisco. Find more event info on our website. … More "No One Loves a Loser" — life on the streets in San Francisco.

Three years after the I-35W bridge collapse, and still three questions not (yet) answered.

July 28, 2010

Today’s post is by Patrick Nunnally, coordinator of the River Life Program in the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. Nunnally is editor of the forthcoming collection The City, the River, the Bridge: Before and after the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse, which will be available in January 2011. Three years ago this Sunday, … More Three years after the I-35W bridge collapse, and still three questions not (yet) answered.

Same as it Ever Was: Rebranding the YMCA

July 22, 2010

Today’s post is by architectural historian Paula Lupkin, who is in the American Culture Studies department at Washington University in St. Louis. Lupkin is author of Manhood Factories: YMCA Architecture and the Making of Modern Urban Culture. ——- It isn’t often that conservative Christians and the Village People find themselves in agreement, but marketing strategies … More Same as it Ever Was: Rebranding the YMCA

Metropolitan Lovers: Lambda Literary Award finalist

March 16, 2010

Julie Abraham’s Metropolitan Lovers: The Homosexuality of Cities has been announced as a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in LGBT Studies. Not only has this been a record year for nominations for these awards (the quantity of titles nominated and publishers entered are each up 10%), it’s also the first year the Bisexual category … More Metropolitan Lovers: Lambda Literary Award finalist