Reconfiguring Future Urban Infrastructures Webinar Series
The COVID-19 crisis has put urban infrastructure under the spotlight.
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New questions on the ways we build (and build back) infrastructure in cities are now front and centre globally. Faced with a combination of economic, environmental, health and social challenges, cities are learning from each other, experimenting and innovating with strategies in an increasingly uncertain world.
For many, this often involves both working with existing, while also building new, blue, green and grey infrastructure. This often means new roles for city governments, alongside private and third sectors agencies, and the introduction of new platforms and technologies as infrastructure is used by those who govern cities both to project them into the world economy while also being used as part of strategies to address issues of inequalities and social exclusion.
This webinar series brings together speakers from the three universities to discuss the future role of infrastructure in cities.
View the webinar series poster [PDF].
Webinar series Twitter hashtag - #reconfig21
Webinar 1: Sustainable infrastructure
Date/time
25 February
Toronto, 4-5.30pm
Manchester, 9-10.30pm
26 February
Melbourne, 8-9.30am
Introduction
Kevin Ward (University of Manchester) and Matti Siemiatycki (University of Toronto)
Chair
Michele Acuto (University of Melbourne)
Speakers
Alana Boland (University of Toronto)
Nate Millington (University of Manchester)
Cathy Oke (University of Melbourne)
Webinar 2: Infrastructural governance
Date/time
25 March
Toronto, 4-5.30pm* (5-6.30 pm due to clocks going forward one hour on 3/14)
Manchester, 9-10.30pm
26 March
Melbourne, 8-9.30am
Chair
Sawyer Phinney (University of Manchester)
Speakers
Michele Acuto (University of Melbourne)
Theresa Enright (University of Toronto)
Cecilia Wong (University of Manchester)
Webinar 3: Infrastructure and Economic Development
Date/time
29 April
Toronto, 4-5.30pm
Manchester, 9-10.30pm
30 April
Melbourne, 8-9.30 am* (7-8.30 am due to clocks going back one hour on 4/4)
Chair
Danial Naqvi (Universities of Manchester/Melbourne)
Speakers
Raj Reddy (University of Toronto)
Julie Miao (University of Melbourne)
Seth Schindler (University of Manchester)
Webinar 4: Green Infrastructure
Date/time
27 May
Toronto, 4-5.30pm
Manchester, 9-10.30pm
28 May
Melbourne, 8-9.30am* (7-8.30 am due to clocks going back one hour on 4/4)
Chair
Sherena Hussain (University of Toronto)
Speakers
Tenley Conway (University of Toronto)
Amy Hahs (University of Melbourne)
Ian Mell (University of Manchester)
Webinar 5: Digital Infrastructure
Date/time
24 June
Toronto, 4-5.30pm
Manchester, 9–10.30pm
25 June
Melbourne, 8 – 9.30am* (7-8.30 am due to clocks going back one hour on 4/4)
Chair
Mike Hodson (University of Manchester)
Speakers
David Bissell (University of Melbourne)
Shauna Brail (University of Toronto)
Richard Kingston (University of Manchester)
Webinar 6: Transport/transit infrastructure
Date/time
30 September
Toronto, 4-5.30pm
Manchester, 9-10.30pm
1 October
Melbourne, 8 – 9.30 am* (7-8.30 am due to clocks going back one hour on 4/4)
Chair
Caitlin Morrisey (Universities of Manchester/Melbourne)
Speakers
Steven Farber (University of Toronto)
Crystal Legacy (University of Melbourne)
Mike Hodson (University of Manchester)
Graduate symposium
Over the last seven months, a webinar series held jointly between the Universities of Manchester, Melbourne and Toronto called Reconfiguring Future Urban Infrastructures (#reconfig21) has brought together academics interested in the role of infrastructure in a post-covid urban environment. The final webinar in this series is a Graduate Symposium, intending to bring together PhD students from across all three universities in efforts to foster collaboration and support from colleagues.
Participants at the Graduate Symposium will be asked to prepare a three-minute presentation on their PhD work, which gives an insight into the aims and future direction of the project. It is hoped this will enable a broader discussion about the theoretical and practical implications and challenges of doing graduate research.
The Graduate Symposium is scheduled for Thursday 28 October 9pm (UK), 4pm (Toronto) and Friday 29 October 7am (Melbourne). The session is expected to last 1.5 hours. This is open to all PhD students across the Universities of Manchester, Melbourne and Toronto who have research interests in urban infrastructures.
To express your interest, please fill in the following Google form and we will get back to you with further details on the programme after the deadline:
The deadline for expressing interest is Friday 1 October 2021.
For any questions about the Graduate Symposium, please contact Sawyer Phinney (sawyer.phinney@manchester.ac.uk).