Time

15:15, Nov 5th(Tuesday)

Venue

WHITRAP Meeting Room,

3rd Floor Wen Yuan Building,

Tongji University Siping Campus

This lecture is divided into two interconnected parts. The first part is an introduction to the Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP), which is currently celebrating its tenth anniversary. The IGP’s central mission is to rebuild and redefine prosperity fit for the 21st century. Its vision is to create a prosperous, sustainable, global future underpinned by the principles of equity and justice. Redefining prosperity means asking the key question: What does prosperity comprise and entail, for whom, when, and where? To address this, we have developed a theoretical framework and research methods that link global challenges to the specific conditions faced by local communities, enabling us to provide conceptual frameworks for context-dependent work in different locations. This approach requires an understanding of local views of prosperity and future flourishing, connected to place-based values, histories, networks, and knowledge. Ultimately, prosperity must engage with the assets communities have, some of which already exist, and some in what they can contribute towards producing solutions and outcomes.

The second part of the lecture will delve more deeply into urban prosperity, engaging with the fundamental duality of the urban: a space of possibility, as well as a place of inequality. It will present specific case studies where we conducted research utilizing participatory methodologies and emphasize the necessity to rethink urban prosperity through concepts of value, good life, citizenship, and inclusion. Ultimately, the lecture intends to engage with the role of universities and scholars, arguing for the transformative potential of co-designing and co-producing knowledge to promote a wider and more diverse understanding of prosperity.

Chen CHEN

Associate Professor, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University

David Benassi

Professor, the Department of Sociology and social research, the University of Milano-Bicocca

Marie-Noel Tournoux

Project Director, WHITRAP Shanghai

Sangeeta Banerji

Assistant Professor, Center for Global Asia, NYU Shanghai

Yannan DING

Associate Professor, Centre for Historical Geography Studies, Fudan University

Zhe SUN

Associate professor in sociology, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

Felicia F. TIAN

Professor, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University

Min TANG

Researcher, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University

Xiaohua ZHONG

Associate Professor, School of Political Science & International Relations, Tongji University

※Roundtable Discussants (in alphabetical order)