Underlying and at times undermining urban development are the less obvious dynamics of land: ownership distribution, tenure structures, institutional regularisation, market speculation, formal and informal use, appropriation, management, and control. From the gentrification of urban districts to the privatisation of public spaces, and from ‘illegal’ development to housing unaffordability, land, the agency of and over land, constitute a structural layer shaping the very ways in which urban societies develop.

Who owns the land? Who can develop it? Under what rules, towards what purpose, and for whose gain? And, considering land’s finite nature, what does this mean for its role in accommodating the needs and aspirations of the city and its citizens – now and in the future?

The journal is calling for submissions that shed light on the processes and conditions behind land development, critically assess established policy and practice, and creatively imagine, or rediscover, alternative land ownership, use, and development models for a more just and sustainable future.

Deadline for submissions: 28 February 2020

Beyond the traditional text-based article format we publish work in a variety of formats and media, bringing together theory and practice in a creative, analytical, and critical discourse on the city: Short Articles, Long Articles, Letters from the City, Urban Design Projects and Proposals, Urban Interventions, Mapping and Urban Visualisations, Drawing, Photography, Short Film.

Guidelines for submissions:
https://journal.urbantranscripts.org/submissions/
 
 
 
 
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Image notes: Moses view of the promised land. Image: John Romano Dorazio
This post has been edited after initial publication following an editors’ decision to extend the initial deadline for submissions from 19.12.2019 to 28.02.2020.

Volume 2, No. 2 October 2019