We are looking for original contributions from capable researchers all over the world.

 

This is an initial call for expressions of interest to contribute to this publication. We would kindly ask you to submit a short 2-page proposal (not exceeding 1000 words) explaining the possible contents of your chapter including:

 

1.     A brief introduction/summary

2.     A brief description of the case you intend to study (all chapters

must be developed around a particular city)

3.     How you intend to approach the case and how this approach caters

for the objectives of the book

4.     Your main research questions

5.     A brief indication of the methodology

6.     A list of possible references

 

This initial proposal should be simple and to the point. The editors will analyse your proposal before submitting it to a pool of senior reviewers. Editors expect to get back to possible contributors soon with an assessment of their proposal, indicating whether it has been accepted, accepted with comments or rejected. Rejection would not be a sign of poor scholarship, but rather an indication that your focus does not fit the purposes of the book. For accepted proposals, editors expect to work with authors very closely in order to support them in the writing process, providing reviews and guidance about the development of the text.

 

We strongly encourage authors to seek co-authorship. Co-authoring a text is extremely fruitful and exciting and generally accelerates the process of crafting a good text. This is especially advisable for PhD candidates working on this theme and who would like to publish with us.

 

 

The main aim of this book is to investigate the mutual relationship between formal institutions, political struggles and processes of informal urbanisation in different socio-political and cultural settings. It tries to find a middle ground between two opposing perspectives on the political

meaning of urban informality. The first, the ‘emancipatory perspective’, frames urban informality as a practice that fosters autonomy, entrepreneurship and social mobility. The other perspective, more critical, sees  informality predominantly as a result of political exclusion, inequality and poverty. Is urban informality indeed merely the result of a democratic deficit caused by governing autocratic elites and ineffective bureaucracies? Or do we see urban informality as a fertile breeding ground for bottom-up democracy and more political participation?