Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Urban theory and geographic thought are, by nature, incomplete and continually evolving, yet they remain heavily shaped by those who occupy, speak from, and reinforce the center. While past efforts to address planetary knowledge asymmetries had gained some momentum – particularly in response to racial disparities and exclusions in academia – such initiatives are now increasingly under attack, especially within Anglo-American contexts. In an era defined by the rise of AI and algorithmic bias in scholarly work – coupled with the impact of right-wing authoritarianism and geopolitical instability on the ecology of civic and critical spaces – domains that once fostered dissent, dialogue, and inclusion are steadily shrinking. Within this context, justice is no more a distant aspiration but an urgent and immediate imperative. It is this critical premise that grounds the inquiry of this paper. Rooted in a liberatory ethos, it begins with a provocation to move beyond the “epistemic center” and “meta-steward” in Urban Studies. It then examines ambivalent entrapments experienced by Black and African urbanists, highlighting the need for pluralization as an epistemic act of redress. Finally, the paper calls for sustained self-reflection on our roles as scholars, whether or not we come from or occupy positions of power and privilege.
Source: Urban Geography
Author: Prince K. Guma
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4414408536