Policy Press

May 5, 2016

Launch of 'Exploring the production of urban space' by Dr Michael Leary-Owhin

On 5 May London South Bank University hosted the launch of Michael Leary-Owhin’s new book Exploring the production of urban space: Differential space in three post-industrial cities.

The event was chaired by Dr Yvonne Robinson, LSBU, and featured presentations by Dr Phil Pinch, LSBU, Prof Fran Tonkiss, LSE, Dr Andy Merrifield, independent scholar and the author. Professor Craig Barker opened the event, commenting that the book "will be a valuable learning resource for students at LSBU and beyond”.

Leary-Owhin said “It was satisfying that the event featured such prominent speakers and proved so popular with academics from London and beyond and with a variety of LSBU students and alumni”.

See the photos of the event posted on Facebook and Twitter.

The ideas of Henri Lefebvre on the production of urban space have become increasingly useful for understanding worldwide post-industrial city transformation. This important book uses new international comparative research to engage critically with Lefebvre’s spatial theories and challenge recent thinking about the nature of urban space.

Meticulous research in Vancouver, Lowell MA and Manchester, England, explains how urban public spaces, including differential space, are contested and socially produced. Spatial coalitions, counter-representations and counter-projects are seen as vital elements in such processes. The book contributes critically to the post-industrial city comparative analysis literature. It provides an accessible guide for those who care about cities, public space, city planning and urban policy.

One reviewer said "This volume is a thoughtful, meticulously researched, and empirically rich account of the character and counter-hegemonic potential of contemporary urban public space. Its strongly argued position on how we should understand space and difference in cities will, no doubt, inspire valuable debate among urbanists.” Eugene McCann, Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada