Reconceptualising Urban Landscapes of Work

Dr Darja Reuschke and Dr Carol Ekinsmyth

Funding period: 1 January 2016 – 31 December 2017
Type of funding: Seminar Series

Seminar series organised by Dr Darja Reuschke (University of Southampton) and Dr Carol Ekinsmyth (University of Portsmouth).

The series will be conducted at the University of Portsmouth, 20 April-21 April 2017;  at the University of Southampton, 11 September -12 September 2017,; and at the National Centre for Social Research (EKKE) Athens,

Work is increasingly organized outside employer-employee systems. People hold multiple jobs and an increasingly mobile workforce works in multiple places including their own homes, other people’s homes, co-working spaces, warehouses, virtual spaces, public spaces and ‘third-spaces’. However, these new realities of practices and places of work emerging in cities, and their consequences for urban systems, are still patchy and poorly understood.

The three seminars in this series respectively explore:

(1) The spatial reconfiguration of economic practice in contemporary ‘developed economy’ cities, focusing on changing urban labour markets, commuting and work-patterns, new work technologies, new urban work sites and creative spaces.

(2)  How working spaces and places in cities are changing and what this means for urban systems in terms of infrastructure, urban design and planning.

(3) How diverse forms of work shape urban spaces in times of crisis and austerity; and the transformation of Southern European historical cities through work practices and spaces in the creative industries.

Fellowship Publications

Afouxenidis, M. T. και A. (2020). ‘Introductory note to the Special Issue “‘Work in the aftermath of the global economic crisis: new spaces and types of work emerging in cities of recession’”’, Επιθεώρηση Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, 153/0: 1–4. Link.
Demertzi, M. K. και A. (2020). ‘Τhe symbolic economy of cities – new shapes of work and networking: Τhe role of traditional and emerging clusters of creativity in the Αthenian public space’, Επιθεώρηση Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, 153/0: 111–139. Link.
Iliopoulou, M. L. και E. L. και M. A. K. και V. A. και E. (2020). ‘Creative entrepreneurship and urban space: Exploring the location preferences of creative professionals in Αthens during the economic recession’, Επιθεώρηση Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, 153/0: 5–36. Link.
Koukoufikis, G. (2020). ‘The role of micro-enterprises in post-growth urban transitions: An inquiry in Athens and Barcelona’, Επιθεώρηση Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, 153/0: 83–110. Link.
Papageorgiou, A. (2020). ‘The emergence of desperate optimists: Μanaging the start-up working life in times of crisis’, Επιθεώρηση Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, 153/0: 141–166. Link.
Polyzou, I. (2020). ‘Invest the city by doing businesses: Geographies of migrant entrepreneurs in the center of Athens’, Επιθεώρηση Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, 153/0: 61–81. Link.
Reuschke D, Ekinsmyth C. New spatialities of work in the city. Urban Studies. 2021;58(11):2177-2187. doi:10.1177/00420980211009174
Vavva, G. (2020). ‘The emergence of the “jazz neighbourhood” of Kerameikos in recession Athens’, Επιθεώρηση Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, 153/0: 37–59. Link.