Social Science Space

Drawing on work carried out for the Realising Just Cities program, Beth Perry discusses how co-production enabled participants to collectively develop and refine a form of critique that can drive positive change.

For academic researchers working with social movements and activist groups can present unique challenges. Finding ways to work effectively together, whilst acknowledging differences in power and objectives, is often problematic. Drawing on perspectives from different social movements and academia, Diana Mitlin, Jhono Bennett, Philipp Horn, Sophie King, Jack Makau and George Masimba Nyama present insights from the Slum/Shack Dwellers International movement on how academics can successfully co-produce useful knowledge for social movements.

A transdisciplinary investigation into ‘The City’ sponsored offered hard truths and rays of hope for the urban future most of us will face.

There is a great need to understand the role of urbanisation in society and respond effectively, particularly given global economic and social insecurity, argues Mike Goldsmith. But the increasing specialization within disciplines means that such vital dialogues on cities are becoming difficult. An interdisciplinary effort is needed to bring the study of cities, their politics, policies and problems back into the mainstream of social science and to do it on a genuinely comparative basis.