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Title: Future of the Capitalist City

Description: Although the founders of social theory approached the dynamics of capitalism in terms of their expected momentum, social science today is often reluctant to think big about the future. But in the face of perpetual economic and environmental crisis, thinking about the future is a critical exercise. It compels us to consider the connections between macro dynamics; to unsettle familiar categories in the face of new trends; and to re-read the past and present in light of likely developments. This post-disciplinary panel will discuss the future of the capitalist city in four continents and in terms of several dynamics: claustrophobic climate politics; infinite suburbanization; post-industrial abandonment and rebirth; techno-utopian fantasies; and consultancy feeding frenzies. As sociologist John Urry (2011) writes, "We will all be forced to become futurologists, whether we like it or not.... We all need to be thinking futures even if doing so is immensely difficult."

Organizers: Daniel Aldana Cohen

Chairs: Kavita Philip

Participants:

Introducer: Kavita Philip

Presenter: Yannis Tzaninis, Scarcities in Space and the Suburb in Motion: from Amsterdam to Almere and back again

Presenter: Anne Vogelpohl, Urban Futures - A Playground for Consultancies

Presenter: Jessi Quizar, Who cares for the 'hood? The commons and neighbor management of "vacant" land in Detroit

Presenter: Daniel Aldana Cohen, Climate Change, "post-materialism", and the future of the capitalist city

Discussant: Max Besbris