In July's radar, we report back from one of the major urban studies conferences - RC21 - which is held every two years in different cities across the world. Bringing together 1200 scholars at the University of Vienna, the 2026 conference provided spaces for provocation and discussion about the methods, approaches and theories we need to identify and address urban inequalities in these contemporary times.

The central part of the episode is a discussion with the editors of the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research (IJURR) - Mona Fawaz, Liza Weinstein and Nik Theodore - about their 50th anniversary plans. We are excited to announce that these include a proposed collab with Urban Radar to produce a mini-series of special episodes connecting long-standing urban questions raised by scholars over the past five decades to contemporary analysis from emerging researchers.

We also share a series of vox-pops from the conference, with Dolf te Lintelo, Catalina Ortiz, Gabriel Silvestre, Nitin Bathla, Simone Tulumello, Lindsay Sawyer and Vanesa Castan Broto.

Before that, on our radar we discuss:

• Whether the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz might herald the development of new 'chokepoint' cities able to control strategic waterways
• What Count Binface could learn from previous comedy candidates standing for election
• The implications of Berlin's bunker shortage for cultural and arts venues
• The Soho bar brawl and which city has the latest bedtime
• Why young people are busy doing nothing in Bangkok
• Why environmentalists are disputing the closure of a colonial-era polo club in Delhi

Read More:

Founding IJURR editorial, 1977

Reflections on Critical Urban Studies in Perilous Times

RC21 Conference Website

From Our Archive:

RIVER/CITY: A conversation with Olivia Casagrande and Roberto Monte-Mor

SEEING THE CITY: A conversation with Junia Mortimer and Felipe Magalhaes

URBAN LABS IN TIMES OF CRISIS AND POST-TRUTH: A conversation with Mona Fawaz and Nausheen Anwar

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441)

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast.

In this month's feature Tom and Beth are joined by Professor Nicola Banks from the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester to discuss One World Together, an innovative model of charitable giving that makes sure the bulk of the funding ends up where it is needed most.

Often less than 10% of what we give to charity gets to where it's needed, and communities are not always the ones deciding what it gets spent on - even though they are the best placed to identify and address local challenges. What if there is a different way?

We discuss:

• Why are traditional approaches to charity unsuited to addressing urban poverty around the world?
• How does the reduction of international aid impact the existing structural and institutional inequalities which underpin dominant development and donor models of charitable giving?
• How do innovations like One World Together help us rethink charitable approaches to addressing urban poverty?

Guest:

Nicola Banks is a Professor of Global Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. Her research situates development as a long-term process of transformation and social justice. She has undertaken decades of research on urban poverty, youth and the role of NGOs in global development, including work on employment and livelihoods among the urban poor in Dhaka, Bangladesh and an ESRC Future Research Leaders award to look at youth experiences of urban poverty in Tanzania. She is Director of Social Responsibility for the School for Environment, Education and Development (SEED) and in 2022 launched One World Together, a global movement for trust-based giving which has been recognised for outstanding social and environmental impact through the University of Manchester’s Making a Difference Award.

Donate:

Home - One World Together

Read more:

Power and its discontents: The long road to systemic change in the aid sector - ScienceDirect

NGOs, States, and Donors Revisited: Still Too Close for Comfort? - ScienceDirect

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441)

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast.