Struggles in the city

In this episode, I talk to Linda Kopitz (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands) about her work on the mediated construction and re-imagination of cities. This episode explores the interplay of urban and media studies by tapping into a broad range of topics connected to Linda’s rich and multifaceted work. Together we talk about (to name a few!) architectural models, aesthetics, greening strategies, gentrification, playfulness, everyday meaning-making, urban planning.

Linda’s recommended resources:

· Dunn, N. (2018). Urban imaginaries and the palimpsest of the future. In The Routledge companion to urban imaginaries (pp. 373-386). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/reader/download/6527ac2f-7874-41a6-993f-6634fa759db0/chapter/pdf?context=ubx

· Pink, S. (2015). Doing Sensory Ethnography (2nd edition). Sage. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/doing-sensory-ethnography/book242776

· Sicart, M. (2014). Play matters. Mit Press. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262534512/play-matters/  

Linda’s highlighted work:

· Kopitz, L. (2025). (Ed.) Playable Cities [special issue], Mediapolis, 10(3), online. https://www.mediapolisjournal.com/  

· Kopitz, L. (2024). Urban/image: Conceptualizing Amsterdam as urban environment in virtual renderings. European journal of cultural studies, 27(4), 665-680.

· Kopitz, L. (2024). Model/City: Architectural Models and the Aesthetics of Playfulness. Amsterdam Museum Journal, 2, 18-39. Link

· Kopitz, L. (2024). “AI Will Be the Beating Heart of the City”: Connectivity and/as Care in The Line. Media and Communication, 12, 8181.

Thank you to Elmeri Tommiska for the music and to Jyri Väisänen for the post-production assistance.

In this episode, I talk to Helen Morgan Parmett. She works as Associate Professor at The University of Vermont in the United States. Drawing on her long-time work and book “Stadium City” published this Fall 2025, we look into the interplay between media, sport, and place. In the podcast, Helen addresses the mediatization of sport giving concrete examples of how that plays out in the U.S. We also talk about the imagined stadium-goer and how that has changed over the years, as well as the connections that can be drawn to the notion of white space.  

Helen’s recommended resources:

· Bale, J. (1994). Landscapes of modern sport. LeicesterUniversity Press.

· Lipsitz, G. (2011). How racism takes place. Temple UniversityPress.

· Delaney, K. J., & Eckstein, R. (2007). Public dollars, private stadiums: The battle over building sports stadiums. Rutgers University Press; /z-wcorg/.

· Frank, S., & Steets, S. (Eds.). (2010). Stadium worlds: Football, space and the built environment. Routledge.

· Jirásek, I., & Kohe, G. Z. (2015). Readjusting Our Sporting Sites/Sight: Sportification and the Theatricality of Social Life. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 9(3), 257–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2015.1065433

·  Johnson, V. E. (2021). Sports TV. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

· Parks, L., & Starosielski, N. (Eds.). (2015). Signal traffic: Critical studies of media infrastructures. University of Illinois Press.

· Rowe, D. (2008). Sport, culture and the media: The unruly trinity (2. ed., repr). Open University Press.

· Tuan, Y.-F. (1979). Space and Place: Humanistic Perspective. In S. Gale & G. Olsson (Eds.), Philosophy in Geography. Springer Netherlands.

· Wenner, L. A. (2010). MediaSport. Routledge.

· Yang, C., & Cole, C. L. (2020). Smart Stadium as a Laboratory of Innovation: Technology, Sport, and Datafied Normalization of the Fans. Communication & Sport, 216747952094357. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479520943579

Helen’s highlighted work:

· Parmett, H. M. (2025). Stadium City: Sports and Media Infrastructure in the United States. University of Illinois Press.

· Morgan Parmett, H. (2019). Down in Treme: Race, Place, and New Orleans on Television. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag(Media Geography at Mainz series).

· Morgan Parmett, H. (2022). The Sportification of Place: Governance, Mediatization, and Place-Branding throughthe Stadium. In Brendan Kredell, Erica Stein, and Germaine Halegoua (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Media & the City. Routledge.

· Morgan Parmett, H. (2021). “Keep it off the Field”: The Mediatized Sports Stadium as White Space. In Sarah D. Nilsen & Sarah E. Turner (Eds.), White Supremacy and the American Media. Routledge.

· Morgan Parmett, H. & Rodgers, S. (2018). Space, Place andCirculation: Three Conceptual Lenses into the Spatialities of Media Production Practices. In Mekonnen Tesfahuney & KarinFast (Eds.), Geomedia. New York: Routledge.

Thank you to Elmeri Tommiska for the music and to Jyri Väisänen for the post-production assistance.

In this episode, I talk with Patty Doran who is working at Manchester University and part of the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group. Drawing on her extensive work, within and outside of university, Patty helps us understand what it takes to build age-friendly cities and how this topic brings together many different domains that highlight the importance of interdisciplinary inquiries and collaborations across sectors.

Patty’s recommended resources:

· Buffel, T., & Phillipson, C. (2025). Active ageing in urban environments: a reflexive critique of simplistic binaries. Journal of Urban Design, 30(2), 153-155.

Patty’s highlighted work:

· Doran, P., Goff, M., & Phillipson, C. (2024). Interventions to promote ageing in place: developing the Village model in Manchester. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 25(1), 56-67. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAOA-03-2023-0022

· Buffel, T., Doran, P., & Yarker, S. (Eds.). (2024). Reimagining age-friendly communities: Urban ageing and spatial justice. Policy Press.

· Yarker, S., Doran, P., & Buffel, T. (2024). Theorizing “place” in aging in place: The need for territorial and relational perspectives. The Gerontologist, 64(2). Link

Thank you to Elmeri Tommiska for the music and to Jyri Väisänen for the post-production assistance.

In this episode, I talk with Sigrid Merx, Associate Professor in Theatre Studies at Utrecht University (the Netherlands) about creative urban methods. Sigrid is co-organizer of the research group Urban Interfaces at Utrecht University and she has used, written and taught about many different types of creative methods. She shares her insights about the benefits and challenges of using creative methods.

Sigrid’s recommended resources:

• Corner, J. (1999). The agency of mapping: speculation, critique and invention. In Denis Cosgrove (ed.), Mappings (pp. 213-252). Chicago University Press.

• de Certeau, M. (1984). Practices of Everyday Life. University of California Press.

• Lefebvre, H. (1991[1974]). The Production of Space. Blackwell.

• Massey, D. (2005). For Space. SAGE.

• Nibbelink, L. G. (2019). Nomadic Theatre: Mobilizing Theory and Practice on the European Stage. Bloomsbury Publishing.

• Pearson, M. & Shanks, M. (2001). Theatre/Archaeology. Routledge.

• Van der Tuin, I., & Verhoeff, N. (2022). Critical concepts for the creative humanities. Rowman & Littlefield.

Sigrid’s highlighted work:

• Merx, S., Kanters, C., de Lange, M., & Verhoeff, N. (eds.) (2023) Creative Urban Methods. Dossier for Mediapolis: A Journal of Cities and Cultures, 8(4).

• De Lange, M., Merx, S., & Verhoeff, N. (2019). Urban interfaces: Between object, concept, and cultural practice. Introduction to Urban Interfaces: Media, Art & Performance in Public Spaces (edited by N. Verhoeff, S. Merx, & M. de Lange) Leonardo Electronic Almanac, 22.

Thank you to Elmeri Tommiska for the music and to Jyri Väisänen for the post-production assistance.

In this episode, I talk with Linda Hyökki, Senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor at ECCAR, the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism. Linda coordinates the ECCAR Working Groups on anti-Muslim racism and antisemitism and talks to us about the range of work and actions that ECCAR and partner cities take to fight against anti-Muslim racism.

Linda’s recommended resources:

- ECCAR Guidebook on Local Actions Against Anti-Muslim Racism. Policy Recommendations for City Administrations and Their Partners. https://www.eccar.info/en/news/download-new-eccar-guidebook-local-actions-against-anti-muslim-racism

- ECCAR 10-Point Action Plan https://www.eccar.info/sites/default/files/document/Updated_Toolkit-en_10PointsActionPlan2023.pdf

- ECCAR YouTube with a Step-By-Step Guide for Local Anti-Racism Action Plans: https://www.youtube.com/@ECCAR_Network

- ECCAR Toolkit Chapter on Equality Data Collection https://www.eccar.info/sites/default/files/document/ECCAR_Toolkit_interactiv_final.pdf

-  ECCAR Instagram https://www.instagram.com/eccar_network/

-  ECCAR LinkedIn https://de.linkedin.com/company/european-coalition-of-cities-against-racism-eccar

- Bacchi, C., & Goodwin, S. (2016). Poststructural policy analysis: A guide to practice. Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-52546-8

Linda’s highlighted work:

- Hyökki, L. (2024). “’Men Come and Men Go, But God Is and Remains’: Finnish Female Muslim Converts to Islam and Agency.” In A. Easat-Daas, I. Zempi. (Eds.) ThePalgrave Handbook of Gendered Islamophobia. Palgrave https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52022-8_17

-  Hyökki, L. (2022). Whiteness and Anti-Muslim Racism in Finland: The Racialisation of Finnish Muslim Converts. Context: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 9(1),61–86. https://context.cns.ba/index.php/context/article/view/207

-  Hafez, F. & Hyökki, L. (2019). Researching Sisters and Brothers: Implications of In-Group Research to Fieldwork Among Muslims. In K. Limacher, A. Mattes & C. Novak (Eds.), Prayer, Pop and Politics Researching Religious Youth in Migration Society. V&R University Press. https://doi.org/10.14220/9783737009799.55

Thank you to Elmeri Tommiska for the music and to Jyri Väisänen for the post-production assistance.

In this episode, I talk to Romit Chowdhury, Assistant Professor of Sociology (Erasmus University College, the Netherlands) about masculinities in cities based on his book “City of Men: Masculinities and Everyday Morality on Public Transport” published in 2023.

Romit’s recommended resources:

-  Srivastava, S. (2015). Entangled Urbanism: Slum, Gated Community, and Shopping Mall in Delhi and Gurgaon. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

-  McDowell, L. (2011). Capital culture: Gender at work in the city. John Wiley & Sons.

- Siemiatycki, M., Enright, T., & Valverde, M. (2019). The gendered production of infrastructure. Progress in Human Geography. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132519828458

Romit’s highlighted work:

-  Chowdhury, R. (2020). Homosocial trust in urban policing: Masculinities and traffic law enforcement in the gendered city. City, 24(3–4), 493–511. 

- Chowdhury, R. (2020). Density as urban affect: the enchantment of Tokyo’s crowds. Urban Geography, 41(10), 1277-1283. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2020.1850988

Thank you to Elmeri Tommiska for the music and to Jyri Väisänen for the post-production assistance.

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Amani Hassani, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow who works at Brunel University London. Our conversation focuses on Muslim urban life based on the comparative ethnographic work she conducted in Copenhagen and Montreal and wrote about in the book “Navigating Colour-Blind Societies: A Comparative Ethnography of Muslim Urban Life in Copenhagen and Montreal” that came out in 2024.

In this episode, I talk to Isabelle Anguelovski (Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability) and James Connolly (University of British Columbia), editors of the book The Green City and Social Injustice,

James’ and Isabelle’s recommended resources:

· Angelo, H. (2021). How green became good: Urbanized nature and the making of cities and citizens. University of Chicago Press.

· Agyeman, J. (2013). Introducing just sustainabilities: policy, planning, and practice. Zed Books.

· Safransky, S. (2017). Rethinking land struggle in the postindustrial city. Antipode, 49(4), 1079-1100. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12225

James’ and Isabelle’s highlighted work:

· Anguelovski, I., & Connolly, J. J. (2024). Segregating by Greening: What do We Mean by Green Gentrification? Journal of Planning Literature, 39(3), 386-394. https://doi.org/10.1177/08854122241227804

· Amorim‐Maia, A. T., Anguelovski, I., Chu, E., & Connolly, J. (2024). Governing intersectional climate justice: Tactics and lessons from barcelona. Environmental

· Quinton, J., Nesbitt, L., Connolly, J. J., & Wyly, E. (2023). How common is greening in gentrifying areas? Urban Geography, 45(6), 1029–1051. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2023.2258687

Thank you to Elmeri Tommiska for the music and to Jyri Väisänen for the post-production assistance.

In this episode, I talk to Polo Moji, Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. We talk about the intersection of gender and race in cities drawing for the greatest part on Polo Moji’s book Gender and the spatiality of Blackness in contemporary

Polo’s recommended resources:

· El-Tayeb, F. (2011). European others: Queering ethnicity in postnational Europe. U of Minnesota Press.

· Glissant, E. (1990). Poétique de la Relation. Gallimard.

· Miano, L. (2020). Afropea: Utopie post-occidentale et post-raciste. Grasset.

· Miano, L. (2012). Écrits pour la parole. L’Arche.

Polo’s highlighted work:

· Moji, P. B. (2023). Oceanic bellies and liquid feminism in Fatou Diome’s Le Ventre de l’Atlantique. Cultural Studies, 37(2), 298–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2022.2104899

· Moji, P. (2022). Gender and the Spatiality of Blackness in Contemporary AfroFrench Narratives. Routledge.

· Mupotsa, D. S., Moji, P. B., & Himmelman, N.

Thank you to Elmeri Tommiska for the music and to Jyri Väisänen for the post-production assistance.

In this episode, I talk to Vivien Butot, Associate Lector in Social Media, Security and Justice at Inholland University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam (the Netherlands). about smart cities and smart urban safety. Drawing on Vivien’s work on these issues, we try and understand what smart cities are about, how they are connected to safety and surveillance, and how people experience them.

Vivien’s recommended resources:

· Kitchin, R. (2022). Conceptualising smart cities. Urban Research & Practice, 15(1), 155-159. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2022.2031143

· Kitchin, R. (2016). The ethics of smart cities and urban science. Philosophical transactions of the royal society A: Mathematical, physical and engineering sciences, 374(2083), 20160115. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2016.0115

· Shelton, T., Zook, M., & Wiig, A. (2015). The ‘actually existing smart city’, Cambridge

· Söderström, O., Paasche, T., & Klauser, F. (2020). Smart cities as corporate storytelling. In The Routledge companion to smart cities (pp. 283-300). Routledge.

· Van Es, K., & de Lange, M. (2020). Data with its boots on the ground: Datawalking as research method. European Journal of Communication, 35(3), 278-289. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0267323120922087

Vivien’s highlighted work:

· Butot, V., Jacobs, G., Bayerl, P. S., Amador, J., & Nabipour, P. (2023). Making smart things strange again: using walking as a method for studying subjective experiences of smart city surveillance. Surveillance & Society, 21(1), 61-82. https://doi.org/10.24908/ss.v21i1.15665

Thank you to Elmeri Tommiska for the music and to Jyri Väisänen for the post-production assistance.