Sep 11, 2018 / Public Lecture by Mark Purcell
Informal Urbanism = Democracy?
Mark Purcell
University of Washington
6.30 – 7.30pm
Elizabeth Murdoch Theatre
University of Melbourne
“I am not an anarchist, but I often get mistaken for one” writes Mark Purcell, who urges us to reject State-led urban planning in favour of a more democratic approach to building our cities. For Purcell, democracy is a project where people manage their affairs for themselves instead of entrusting corporations or the State to do it for them. In this provocative lecture, Purcell will argue that the project of democracy resonates with the phenomenon of informal urbanism, where inhabitants are imagining, building, managing and improving the city themselves.
Mark Purcell is a Professor in the Department of Urban Design & Planning at the University of Washington where he studies cities, political theory, and democracy. He is the author of The Down-Deep Delight of Democracy (2013), and articles in various journals, including Urban Geography, Urban Studies, and Planning Theory.