CALL FOR PAPERS
Urban Restructuring: Process and Action
Critical Planning
UCLA Journal of Urban Planning
Volume 16, Summer 2009
Deadline: December 31, 2008
Urban restructuring "is an integral part of the crisis-induced reorganization of capital and labor" (Soja, Morales, and Wolff 1983). The concept –- sometimes used interchangeably with "economic restructuring" and "industrial restructuring" –- came into widespread use among theorists following the 1970s energy crises and recession, which decimated America's manufacturing sector, drove up unemployment and inflation levels, and brought cities to the brink of bankruptcy
(Fainstein and Fainstein 1986, Beauregard 1989, Mollenkopf and Castells 1991, et al). This period saw the acceleration of contemporary globalization processes, and gave rise to profound spatial and social transformations that extended beyond the realm of production to influence the division of labor, state strategies, the
physical form of cities, and everyday life.
Currently, we face an economic future described by the IMF as "exceptionally uncertain" -- on the heels of the American subprime
mortgage collapse, in the midst of the global financial crisis, and with food and oil prices predicted to reach a twenty-year high. The
present therefore seems to be a strategic moment for reconsidering the question of urban restructuring. If restructuring "involves active
struggle and conflict under conditions of crisis, with no predetermined outcome," what roles do collective and individual agents
play in such struggles (Soja, Morales, and Wolff 1983)? What opportunities exist for rethinking, complicating, and transforming the
structure from within? What relationships between states and communities do recent urban restructuring processes reflect, and how
might these relationships change in the future? For its 16th volume, Critical Planning invites articles that explore the process of urban
restructuring empirically, historically, and theoretically in different sociopolitical and geographic contexts around the world. We
welcome papers that address urban restructuring in relation to: Post-Fordism and the "new economy," climate change and the post-peak
oil production decline, political rescaling and urban citizenship, place-making and resistance, displacement and migration, and theories
of justice and ethics, among other topics.
---
Critical Planning is a double-blind peer-reviewed publication. Feature articles are generally between 5,000 and 7,000 words, while shorter
articles are between 1,000 and 3,000 words. We encourage submissions that incorporate cross-disciplinary, multi-scalar, transnational,
and/or mixed-method approaches. We also welcome submissions of photographs related to the issue of urban restructuring for
publication in the journal.
The 2009 Edward W. Soja Prize for Critical Thinking in Urban and Regional Research will be awarded to the best article published in the
16th volume of Critical Planning. The prize celebrates the lifetime achievements of this critical thinker whose work continues to open new
research directions for the theoretical and practical understanding of contemporary cities and regions. Preference will be given to authors
speaking to critical issues outside the research agendas of traditional funding agencies and institutional donors. A cash prize of
$1,000 will be awarded to the author of the winning article.
Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis, and early submissions are especially encouraged. Feel free to contact us by email to discuss
your ideas. All submissions should be written according to the standards of the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition. Please follow
the journal's additional style guidelines for submissions at http://www.spa.ucla.edu/critplan/. Manuscripts should be submitted by
5 PM PST on December 31, 2008 as .doc attachments via email to critplan@ucla.edu and two hardcopies (postmarked by December 31)
should be mailed to:
Critical Planning
c/o Elise Youn and Stephen Brumbaugh, Managing Editors
UCLA Department of Urban Planning
School of Public Affairs
3250 Public Policy Building
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656
Email: critplan@ucla.edu
Website: http://www.spa.ucla.edu/critplan/
|