2025

Networked struggles: Crowdsourcing chronicles of urban-digital politics in Amsterdam

This event explored different intersections of urban and digital politics in Amsterdam, from freenet initiatives of the early 1990s to the networked protests of the present day.

The evening included talks by Geert Lovink, Alina Lupu, and Jarmo Berkhout, followed by comments from Letizia Chiappini and open discussion. The discussion was hosted by Carolina Maurity Frossard (assistant professor at UvA and co-director of the Centre for Urban Studies) and Valentina Carraro (assistant professor at UvA and co-chair of the Global Digital Cultures RPA).

This event was hosted by the Centre for Urban Studies (UvA), the Global Digital Cultures research priority area (UvA), and the Institute of Network Cultures (HvA).

• Date: 27 November
• Speakers: Geert Lovink, Alina Lupu, Jarmo Berkhout, Letizia Chiappini, Carolina Maurity Frossard, Valentina Carraro

Understanding Housing Issues, Satisfaction, and Intergenerational Support in Housing: The Case of Lithuania in a Wider EU Context

In this lunch lecture, Dr. Aidukaite talked about housing as a crucial social right and a component of the welfare state system. Particular attention was given to the development of housing issues in Lithuania, which is among the EU countries with the highest percentage of homeowners, surpassing 90 percent.

• Date: 13 November
• Speakers: Dr. Jolanta Aidukaite

Class meets Land: The Embodied History of Land Financialization

In this book discussion, Maria Kaika discussed her latest book, in which she and co-author Luca Ruggiero describe how nineteenth-century class struggles over land were instrumental in the creation of twenty-first-century financial capitalism, using Milan's Bicocca district as a case study.

• Date: 12 November
• Speakers: Maria Kaika, Jorge Nuñez Vega

From City to Countryside: Reimagining Rurality through Creative Mobilities

This seminar brings together two leading scholars from cultural studies and urban and regional planning to explore how rurality is being reshaped through the movement of cultural imaginaries and creative practices across urban and rural contexts.

• Date: 3 November
• Speaker: Prof. Dr. Esther Peeren, Prof. Dr. Menelaos Gkartzios, Dr. Gökçe Sanul Diner (moderator)

Book launch: Rule of Dons by Rivke Jaffe

On Friday June 27, the Centre for Urban Studies organised a book launch for The Rule of Dons (Duke University Press, 2024), the latest monograph by Rivke Jaffe, professor of Urban Geography at the University of Amsterdam.

• Date: 27 June
• Speaker: Rivke Jaffe, Marlies Glasius