Call for Participants

The Urban Climate Finance Network 2021-2022 Masterclass Series 

Thinking relationally about cities, finance and climate action.


Deadline for expression of interest: Sept. 30th 2021

This masterclass series is part of the Urban Climate Finance Network work programme on ‘Decentering Urban Climate Finance.’ Supported by the Urban Studies Foundation, this network promotes discussion that provincialises the dominant and imagined geographies of climate finance, draws out generative connections and interdependencies across places, debates and theories, and expands and decenters notions of the ‘financial’. The masterclass series will provide self-defined early career researchers (ECRs) with opportunities for learning, exchanging and networking both amongst themselves and with established scholars in the field of critical (urban) finance, urban studies, urban geography, environmental justice and climate research. The series will also promote and support the work of ECRs as they think through the different forms of finance that are mobilised for climate and low-carbon action in cities (from formal financial instruments, e.g. green bonds, to informal or community-based forms of finance, e.g. mobilising community savings for climate adaptation).


Who can participate?

We welcome applications from self-defined early career scholars (e.g. doctoral, postdoctoral researchers, teaching fellows, lecturers, pre-tenure faculty etc.). The masterclass series will benefit scholars whose research contributes to rethinking the relationships between finance and climate action in cities. This includes, for instance, research on urban low-carbon transitions or climate adaptation in cities; urban infrastructure financing under climate change; informal urban economies and climate action, including adaptation efforts, low-carbon energy transitions and energy access; studies of racial capitalism and environmental injustices, etc.


Your participation 

Places to take part in the masterclasses will be limited to ensure the quality of interactions and engagement. Participants are expected to attend all three masterclasses and to actively participate in the discussions. If you are interested in participating in the masterclasses, please send us a short paragraph (max. 400 words) detailing:

(a) your research interests and
(b) your motivation for participating in the masterclasses by Sept 30th 2021 to urbanclifi@gmail.com. We will notify accepted participants by mid October. 

We are particularly eager to receive expressions of interest from early career researchers (ECRs) based in institutions and locations that remain underrepresented in current scholarship on finance and urban climate action. To optimise accessibility across time zones, masterclasses will be hosted at staggered times. Additionally, funds will be allocated to provide internet connection boosters to participants as needed.

Masterclass Series schedule and programme*

For this masterclass series, we seek to situate urban climate finance debates in relation to comparative urbanism, the materialities of urban climate finance, the relationships between racial capitalism and climate action.

 

Masterclass 1- Thinking relationally: comparative theory-building for urban climate finance research 

Tuesday 16 November 2021
3pm - 6pm GMT

In the first session, we will explore methodologies of comparative theory-building which can serve as a foundation to develop more plural and nuanced understandings of what climate finance is, and how it is used in a variety of urban contexts across the so-called ‘Global North and South’. To this aim, the session will bring together leading scholars in the field of comparative urbanism. They will offer provocations on the value of thinking relationally and comparative theory-building for urban research.  ECR participants will be invited to collectively reflect upon these provocations, and to explore how comparative research can inform their own work. 


Keynote + Discussion and Q&A: 

Jennifer Robinson (keynote)

Miguel Kanai, University of Sheffield (discussant)

Sergio Montero, Universidad de Los Andes (discussant)

Julie Ren (University of Zurich) (discussant)


Format

Part 1: 1h30 - Keynote Presentation (30min) + Responses from Discussants (30min, 10min each) + Q&A (30min)

BREAK (30min)

Part 2: 40 min - breakout room sessions**

Part 3: 20 min report-back + wrap up 

Masterclass 2 - The urban materialities of climate finance 


Tuesday 8 February 2022
3 - 6pm UTC


In the second session, we will explore the material implications of financial processes. The session will bring together scholars looking at how finance reshapes the urban fabric in response to and as a result of climate change. They will also explore how climate change itself affects cities’ finances. Together, the speakers will cover topics including climate risks and municipal finance,  urban infrastructure transformations and international green financial flows, as well as local financing mechanisms for low-carbon action. Theoretically, this session seeks to engage with debates on financial flows and urban socio-technical and ecological transformations. ECR participants will have the opportunity to reflect upon how these debates can inform their work, including different ways of conceptualising finance, and methods for studying financial relations and their impact.

Provocations + Q&A: 

Linda Shi (Cornell University)

Jon Silver (University of Sheffield)

Kareem Buyana (Makerere University Kampala)

Format

Part 1: 1h30 min - Provocations by the speakers (1hr, 15min each) + Q&A (30min)

BREAK (30 min)

Part 2: 30 min - breakout room sessions**

Part 3: 30 min report-back and group discussion + wrap up. 

Masterclass 3 - Racial capitalism, finance and climate justice in cities

Tuesday 20 May 2022
2 - 5pm UTC


In the third and final masterclass, we will bring together scholars that offer new insights on the ways in which racial capitalism hinders progress towards climate justice. The speakers’ contributions bring to the fore Black feminist scholarship, environmental justice, and new ways of thinking about vulnerabilities, risk, and the future in order to help us reframe what finance is and explore how community based solutions can support urban climate action. ECR participants will have the opportunity to reflect upon how these debates can inform their own research.

Roundtable Discussion + Q&A: 
Fayola Jacobs (University of Minnesota)

Sage Ponder (Florida State University)

Danielle Purifoy (University of North Carolina)

Format

Part 1: 75 min - Roundtable discussion on theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of racial capitalism and climate action (45 min) + Q&A (30 min)

BREAK (30 min)

Part 2: 30 min - breakout room sessions**

Part 3: 30 min report-back and wrap-up (feedback + next steps for the ECR network)

* Please note that whilst the majority of the programme has been confirmed, some sessions might still be subject to changes

**Small groups will work separately on the masterclass theme (guiding questions will be shared in advance by the organisers) with one guest speaker participating in discussions in each breakout room