Broadening the Reflection on Urban Popular Economy in Africa and Beyond
The Critical Urbanism Program at the University of Basel, the Urban Institute at the University
of Sheffield, and the Socio-Cultural Anthropology Program at KU Leuven invite early-career
researchers to participate in a School of Urban Popular Economy, to be held in Nairobi from 2
to 6 February 2026.
We aim to bring together young researchers working in African urban contexts, whose research
or projects explore contemporary dynamics of work, economy, and urban life from the
perspective of the popular economy. We welcome proposals that address, or combine, several
of the following themes, or that examine transnational or comparative cases:
1. Emerging forms of work and livelihood. This theme seeks to explore the new forms of
work emerging in African cities, and the strategies urban populations develop to ensure
their economic survival.
2. New political subjects and modes of organisation. This area focuses on the emergence of
new collective or individual actors in the urban arena, and on the original forms of
organisation, advocacy, or negotiation that they invent.
3. Social reproduction. Here, the aim is to question how families, groups, and communities
ensure the continuity of social life, the transmission of knowledge, solidarity, and collective
survival in an unstable urban context.
4. Peripheral practices and long-term trajectories. This theme addresses economic, social,
or political practices—often marginal or alternative—that develop on the margins of
institutional or central circuits, and analyses how these practices evolve over time.
Practices and experimentation
The Urban Popular Economy School also aims to encourage discussion of research methods,
collaborative research engagement, experimentation across research, art, and activism, and
alternative forms of storytelling (photography, audio, video, mapping, creative writing, etc.).
We are keen to encourage applications from French-, Portuguese- and Arabic-speaking
regions of Africa. Presentations will be in English, but we will do our utmost to provide
functional translation during discussions.
Please send by 1 September 2025 at the latest, a 1–2-page synopsis explaining your work and
its relevance to the School’s themes to a.t.simone@sheffield.ac.uk.