Annual Conference of the Commission on Urban Anthropology [CUA-IUAES]

Nowadays, there is a growing interest among anthropologists to do urban research that looks at both the government of the city and the dwellers' representations of the city (Lefebvre). Many ethnographies have thus focused, on the one hand, on urban policies and, on the other hand, on social practices. The Urban Anthropology Series - published by Ashgate - and the works published in the Journal Urbanities are good examples of this growing trend among anthropologists, which is consistent with the major transformation of cities around the world: gentrification, competition between cities, urban sprawl, mobility, heritagization, etc.. Urbanity is paradoxically claimed as one of the main attributes of Modernity at a time when cities are diluting and disseminating. The aim of this conference is to understand both the dreamed/planned cities and the experienced cities. However, we do not want to oppose those who think the city to those who inhabit and practice it. Everyone is entitled to have personal thoughts about the place where one lives.