Urbanism at Borders

Disrupting traditional notions of urban and city planning, this volume examines the intricate interplay of conflicts, the emergence of new borders for refugees and migrants, colonial legacies and postcolonial policies, and grassroots struggles for better social policies. As the second volume complementing Border Urbanism: Transdisciplinary Perspectives (2023), Urbanism at Borders: Navigating New Frontiers in a Globalized World presents a comprehensive exploration of the evolving urban fabric, highlighting 32 of the most compelling, under-explored themes presented at the second Urbanism at Borders Global conference, convened in 2019 in Malaga, Spain. These chapters scrutinize various aspects of border trends to better understand how spatial justice, urban form and the lives of marginalized and common citizens are affected by borders.

Authors in this volume examine the perception, interpretation, and nature of borders, shedding light on their transformative influence on historical, cultural, and socioeconomic interests. The book focuses on how urban border conditions determine the mobility of goods, resources, and populations, defining interactions and relationships that extend from geopolitical relations to the intricacies of everyday life. Temporal issues arising from diverse urban conditions are addressed, with each chapter contributing to a critical discourse on border urbanism and the nuanced interplay between conflict and coexistence resulting from the delineation, separation, and segregation imposed by borders. This volume goes beyond conventional discourses on borders, exploring often overlooked or hereto-thought unrelated dimensions such as tourism and housing. By broadening the narrative to encompass these critical aspects, this volume enhances understandings of and proposes solutions to contemporary challenges, recognizing that borders–and their effects–manifest at different scales and in different ways.