Title: "Displaced Agency: Rethinking Urban Dynamics through the Lens of Forced Mobility and Non-Human Actors"
Abstract:
This study examines the often-overlooked role of displaced communities and non-human actors in shaping urban and peri-urban landscapes. While mobility has long been recognized as a crucial factor in urban development, the agency of forced migrants and environmental elements in city-making processes remains understudied. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining historical mapping, ethnographic research, and critical analysis of contemporary urban projects, this research investigates how displaced populations and non-human entities such as deserts, seas, and plantations actively participate in creating new urban realities.
The study is contextualized within recent global events, including conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen, natural disasters in Morocco and Libya, and mega-development projects in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. These cases highlight the central role of displacement in shaping future cities and underscore the need to reassess conventional urban planning paradigms.
By exploring the relational geographies of human and non-human actants, this research aims to elucidate how displaced communities mobilize, adapt, and reassemble urban spaces. The study critically examines the intersections of power, settler colonialism, ecological disruptions, and neoliberal restructuring in the context of forced mobility.
Ultimately, this research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of urban development by centering the agency of displaced communities and non-human actors. It challenges traditional notions of city-making and offers new perspectives on urban justice, resilience, and sustainability in an era of increasing global mobility and environmental change.
Keywords: urban displacement, non-human agency, forced mobility, city-making, urban planning