Struggles in the city

In this episode, I talk to Linda Kopitz (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands) about her work on the mediated construction and re-imagination of cities. This episode explores the interplay of urban and media studies by tapping into a broad range of topics connected to Linda’s rich and multifaceted work. Together we talk about (to name a few!) architectural models, aesthetics, greening strategi...

In this episode, I talk to Helen Morgan Parmett . She works as Associate Professor at The University of Vermont in the United States. Drawing on her long-time work and book “ Stadium City ” published this Fall 2025, we look into the interplay between media, sport, and place. In the podcast, Helen addresses the mediatization of sport giving concrete examples of how that plays out in the U.S. We als...

In this episode, I talk with Patty Doran who is working at Manchester University and part of the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group . Drawing on her extensive work, within and outside of university, Patty helps us understand what it takes to build age-friendly cities and how this topic brings together many different domains that highlight the importance of interdisciplinary inquiries and colla...

In this episode, I talk with Sigrid Merx, Associate Professor in Theatre Studies at Utrecht University (the Netherlands) about creative urban methods. Sigrid is co-organizer of the research group Urban Interfaces at Utrecht University and she has used, written and taught about many different types of creative methods. She shares her insights about the benefits and challenges of using creative meth...

In this episode, I talk with Linda Hyökki, Senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor at ECCAR, the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism . Linda coordinates the ECCAR Working Groups on anti-Muslim racism and antisemitism and talks to us about the range of work and actions that ECCAR and partner cities take to fight against anti-Muslim racism. Linda’s recommended resources: - ECCAR Guidebook on Loca...

In this episode, I talk to Romit Chowdhury , Assistant Professor of Sociology (Erasmus University College, the Netherlands) about masculinities in cities based on his book “ City of Men: Masculinities and Everyday Morality on Public Transport ” published in 2023.   Romit’s recommended resources: -  Srivastava, S. (2015).  Entangled Urbanism: Slum, Gated Community, and Shopping Mall in Delhi and Gu...

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Amani Hassani , Leverhulme Early Career Fellow who works at Brunel University London. Our conversation focuses on Muslim urban life based on the comparative ethnographic work she conducted in Copenhagen and Montreal and wrote about in the book “ Navigating Colour-Blind Societies: A Comparative Ethnography of Muslim Urban Life in Copenhagen and Montreal ” that came ou...

In this episode, I talk to Isabelle Anguelovski (Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability) and James Connolly (University of British Columbia), editors of the book The Green City and Social Injustice, 21 tales from North America and Europe that came out in 2022. The book offers in-depth insights into greening efforts in 21 European and North American cities, and serves as t...

In this episode, I talk to Polo Moji , Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. We talk about the intersection of gender and race in cities drawing for the greatest part on Polo Moji’s book Gender and the spatiality of Blackness in contemporary Afrofrench narratives .   Polo’s recommended resources: · El-Tayeb, F. (2011).  European others: Queering ethnicity in postnatio...

In this episode, I talk to Vivien Butot , Associate Lector in Social Media, Security and Justice at Inholland University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam (the Netherlands). about smart cities and smart urban safety. Drawing on Vivien’s work on these issues, we try and understand what smart cities are about, how they are connected to safety and surveillance, and how people experience them.   Vivien...

In this episode, I talk to Mori Ram, Lecturer in Politics of the Global South at Newcastle University about urban apartheid in Jerusalem. Our discussion draws for the most part on the chapter written by our guest, Mori Ram, and Professor Haim Yacobi and titled “Neo-Apartheid Jerusalem: Palestine/Israel and the Question of Urban Apartheid”. Mori’s recommended resources: • Clarno, A. (2019). Neolibe...

In this episode, I talk to  Yecid Ortega (Queen’s University Belfast) about his ongoing research project on “ Soundscapes of the diver[city] ”. Yecid talks about the conceptual framework and methodology guiding his work as he examines the connections between space, sound, culture and social justice. Yecid’s project “Soundscapes of the diver[city]”: •Website project: https://www.soundscapesofthecit...

In this episode, I talk to  Tuomo Hiippala , Associate Professor in English Language and Digital Humanities at the University of Helsinki (Finland) about languages in cities. We approach that topic through Tuomo’s ongoing research project “Mapping the Linguistic Landscape of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area: From Linguistic Groups to Discourse Communities”. Tuomo’s recommended resources: Peukert, H....

In this episode, I talk to Derek Ruez , Academy Research Fellow at the University of Tampere (Finland). Derek’s current research project examines the politics of migration in Nordic queer spaces with a focus on two cities, Helsinki and Copenhagen. In this podcast’s episode we talk about queer spaces in cities, discussing what it means that space has historically been produced as heterosexual and h...

In this episode, I talk to ⁠Shirley Nieuwland⁠ , independent researcher and consultant, about urban tourism and sustainability. Shirley has written her dissertation on those topics by researching sustainable tourism development in cities in the Netherlands and in Spain. In this episode, we unpack some buzzwords, from ‘overtourism’ to ‘degrowth’ and ‘gentrification’, and talk about how tourism can...

In this episode, I talk to Julia Martínez-Ariño, Assistant Professor of Sociology of Religion at the University of Groningen (the Netherlands) about religion in cities. Julia’s research focuses on religion and secularism, and the way they materialize in everyday urban settings. In her book, “Urban Secularism: Negotiating Religious Diversity in Europe”, Julia discusses the messy and multilayered da...

In this episode, I talk to Delia Dumitrica (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands) about the way the nation is represented, or flagged, in cities, and how that is often done in ways that are mundane or taken for granted. Delia’s research focuses on protest communication, digital activism and the discursive construction of the political functions of new media. In addition to this, she has w...

In this episode, I talk with Isabel Awad (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands) about what makes cities such an interesting venue to examine and what they can help us understand. Isabel is part of the Vital Cities and Citizens network at Erasmus University Rotterdam for which she is project leader of the research team on Inclusive Cities and Diversity. Isabel has been involved in the rese...