ICHSPD and IFoU Conferences
Towards the end of 2021, MIT SIS presented our research at two conferences: the International Conference on Human Settlements Planning and Development (ICHSPD) and the 14th Conference of International Forum on Urbanism (IFoU). Both were virtual, as the pandemic continued to limit travel. We presented similar work at both of these conferences as we prepared for a publication.
The work we presented builds on our previous work about situated knowledge in Freetown, Sierra Leone during the COVID-19 pandemic response. For these two conferences, we presented research on slums and informal settlements in two cities: Buenos Aires, Argentina and Freetown, Sierra Leone. Our research focused on how community-based organizations and slum dwellers forwarded the right to the city agenda during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Slum dwellers live through crisis and uncertainty everyday, so they have a particular situated knowledge of how to respond to these circumstances. We found that CBOs were able to use their experience and knowledge from past crises to carve out space for themselves as integral actors in the COVID-19 response. The three most prominent factors that had an effect on the right to the city movement in slums and informal settlements during the pandemic were 1) previous situated knowledge and experience of community-based organizations (CBOs), as well as pre-existing socio-spatial infrastructure; 2) government agencies’ political positioning and resource mobilization capacity and; 3) CBOs built capacity to mobilize beyond crisis-specific issues and negotiate spaces of power in local governance structures.
The International Conference on Human Settlements Planning and Development took place on October 20-22, 2021. The topic for this conference was “Pursuing Resilient and Sustainable Human Settlements amid Global Risks,” and it was hosted by the Department of Community and Environmental Resource Planning of the College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines Los Baños. As the title suggests, this conference was focused on collaborating to respond to global risks such as natural disasters and conflicts, among others, while working towards resilient and sustainable human settlements. Karenna Groff presented our project, titled “The Role of Past Crises in the COVID-19 Response in Informal Settlements of Buenos Aires and Freetown” in the “Overcoming Vulnerabilities for Resilient Communities” session.
The 14th Conference of the International Forum on Urbanism (IFoU) was subtitled “From Dichotomies to Dialogues,” and focused on resilient urbanism. Dialogue about urban processes is imperative due to the variety of perspectives and actors in the field. This conference took place on November 25-27, 2021, and was hosted by the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Amelia Seabold presented our project “COVID-19 and the Right to the City: Informal settlements learning and mobilizing during a pandemic” in the “Metropolization and the Right to the City” track. For this conference, we submitted a draft of an academic paper for review along with our presentation. Our paper was well-received, and we made a few minor revisions based on feedback. We are hoping that it is formally accepted for publication soon.