Habitat Unit

URBAN TALK
January 24, 2019 | 6.00 pm | A 053, IfA

Cities, Infrastructures and Uneven Development

Cities, Infrastructures and Uneven Development The Role of Physical Infrastructu- res in the Geographical Transfer of Value The genius of cities is on everyone's lips. The positive effects that agglomeration economies, social density and diversity, external networks and massive physical infrastructures – the built environment – have on economic and social deve- lopment are praised by scholars and international organizations alike.

There is, however, a dark side of cities' genius: Just as urban en- vironments stimulate the emer- gence of the 'good' innovation, which drive economic growth, societal development, and cultu- ral creativity, so too they are the milieu in which the "weapons of domination" (Fernand Braudel) are developed, which underlie exploitation and uneven development.

The talk highlights in particular the role of physical infrastruc- tures in the organization of geographical transfers of value. Referring to historical and cur- rent examples, it shows that the built environment not only ser- ves as the physical foundation for production, circulation, and consumption, as for example David Harvey points out, but also for exploitation across space.

 Urban Talk Christof Parnreiter

Christof Parnreiter is Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Hamburg

URBAN TALK
January 24, 2019 | 6 pm | A 053, IfA

Institute for Architecture, TU Berlin
Strasse des 17. Juni 152
10623 Berlin