Aurélie Andry

DATE: Thursday, 22 June 11:00 – 13:00
LOCATION: Budapest, Nador 15 Room 101 (Quantum room)

Societies in European cities are faced with environmental problems related to air and water quality, biodiversity loss, and advancing climate change. At the same time cities need to tackle socio-economic issues such as social cohesion and justice or the transition to sustainable mobility systems. All these challenges place complex demands on the design, use and functionality of urban space and infrastructures. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are expected to play a major role in solving these issues through a redefinition and amplification of their multi-functionality in urban areas. i.e. the potential of vegetation to cool urban areas. Our Constructive Advanced Thinking network “reshape cities” combines knowledge from civil engineering, geography, architecture, landscape architecture and social sciences that needs to be combined for such complex challenges. Based on case studies, we will cross current knowledge frontiers regarding key issues of upscaling and mainstreaming of NbS and develop innovative ideas for improved multi-functionality, integral cost-benefit sharing and diverse stakeholder engagement. Our individual research’s foci are applied in an integrated manner to different case study cities at different spatial scales. By connecting our different schools of thought, we develop diverse kinds of knowledge required for socio-ecological transformations: technical knowledge (evidence base for NbS functionality / efficiency); policy knowledge (governance tools and strategies for upscaling green infrastructure); and transformative knowledge (leverage points, transformative actions and methods). The integration of these knowledge dimensions across case studies (e.g. with different climatological, political, social contexts) and spatial scales (building - neighborhood - city-wide-level) will be conceptually addressed and result in policy recommendations regarding the upscaling and mainstreaming of NbS in European cities.

Speakers:

• Principal Investigator Prof. Maria Manso, Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal
• Prof. Rieke Hansen, Geisenheim University, Germany
• Andrea Nóblega Carriquiry, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
• Manuel Beißler, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany

Further information on the project
Further information on the CAT programme

Within recent discussions of sovereignty, the multiplication of borders and borderlands has become a major research topic in anthropology. Europe is one of the main targets of this scholarly investigation but all anthropological literature on European borders reinforcement has been dedicated to continental Europe and the rim of the Mediterranean Sea. In this presentation Catherine Benoit will argue that the borderlands of “Fortress Europe” are instead located far from the shores of the Mediterranean, the Channel or the land border with Turkey, and are made of the French overseas departments of the Caribbean and the Indian ocean. They are the invisible buffer zones of France and the European Union on the edge of the former French colonial empire, not only in a geographical sense but also in a historical one.

Irina Nicorici’s contribution will focus on the history of human movements on the easternmost periphery of Europe, along its borders with the erstwhile USSR. For this event, we will set aside the conventional assumption that these borders were impenetrable during the Cold War and will instead examine how some migrants crossed them. Drawing on new archival evidence, this presentation advances the following argument: Migration towards the Soviet Union heavily depended on interpersonal connections rather than formal state authority. Public officials elevated intimate, informally driven sponsorship relations above all other factors as critical for residency and citizenship status acquisition, thus radically reshaping mobility and the welfare state. 

On the basis of an ethnographic, longitudinal study with Senegalese migrants (mainly men) in Catalonia, Spain, María Hernández-Carretero will discuss bordering experiences of migrants in situations of chronic and cyclical administrative irregularity. She examines how borderscapes – spaces of hierarchization, exclusion, racism, and persecution – are built and maintained well beyond Europe’s actual borders, and how migrants manage and resist the chronification (in the sense of becoming entrenched) and societal normalisation of irregularity. Hernández-Carretero analyses these intranational dynamics applying Mbembe’s concept of ‘necropolitics’ – the politics that dictate who may live and die (and how) –, a concept that has typically been used to examine dynamics of migrant exclusion at nation states’ physical territorial borders.

Speakers:

• María Hernández Carretero, MIAS fellow, Madrid 
  Anthropologist and migration researcher, with a background in sociology and international development and peace studies
• Irina Nicorici, New Europe College fellow, Bucharest 
  Sociologist working on Migrations between Romania and the Soviet Union, 1960-1990
• Catherine Benoit, IMéRA fellow, Marseille 
  Professor of Anthropology at the Department of Anthropology, Connecticut College

In an increasingly interconnected world, global sport plays a pivotal role in shaping national identities and influencing youth culture. The event "Borders, Youth, Neoliberalism: How Global Sport Undermines and Strengthens National Borders" aims to explore the multifaceted dynamics at play when international sports events capture global attention. This conference brings together academics, policymakers, and sports enthusiasts to examine how global sport simultaneously challenges and reinforces national borders, impacting the lives of young people around the world.

One of the key themes of the event is the examination of how neoliberal policies influence the organization and perception of global sport. As sports become more commercialized, the economic interests of corporations and nations often intersect, leading to complex power dynamics. The event will delve into case studies and theoretical frameworks to understand how these economic forces shape the experiences of athletes and fans alike, particularly among the youth who are often at the forefront of these cultural shifts.

Moreover, the conference will explore the social and political implications of global sport. Sports have the unique ability to unite people across borders, fostering a sense of global community. However, they also serve as platforms for national pride and identity, sometimes leading to tensions and rivalries. The event will discuss how these dual roles of global sport impact youth culture, influencing their sense of belonging and identity. Through panel discussions, keynote speeches, and interactive workshops, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the role of sport in the neoliberal era and its impact on the future of national borders and youth identity. Join us for this thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of sport, borders, and youth culture in the globalized world.