ESA 2021 Conference – RN 37 Call for Papers

Sociological Knowledges for Alternative Urban Futures

Our urbanizing world faces challenges rooted in contemporary visions of unlimited growth and unlimited use of natural resources. People living in metropolitan areas, cities and towns in all continents are going through difficult times. The increasing concerns for social, economic, and political futures of societies, together with worsening climate change, and the current unprecedented pandemic have put urban areas into a particularly vulnerable situation. We take the theme of this ESA Conference as an opportunity to discuss the role of research in urban sociology at addressing these issues. In view of sustainable prospects for cities, how can urban research contribute to rethinking multifaceted and emerging inequalities, shifts in economies, cultures and policies affecting the sociospatial change, urban practices and well-being of people? The ESA Research Network 37 Urban Sociology aims to continue the work developed at the previous ESA Conferences and Midterm Conferences, by stimulating the cross-disciplinary debate on urban life, urban spaces and urban dynamics. At the 2021 ESA Conference in Barcelona, we are interested in receiving proposals focusing on empirical data, but also specifically on the theoretical and methodological aspects of research, with a special focus on papers proposing innovative approaches. Reaffirming the words of the general theme of the conference, we intend to think and practice together new ways of overcoming the complex social, and particularly urban, challenges of our time.

Joint Sessions

JS_RN01_RN37: “Urban Ageing: Towards an enhanced spatial perspective” (Joint session with RN01 Ageing in Europe)

JS_RN15_RN37: “Transforming cities in a global transforming world” (Joint session with RN15 Global, transnational and cosmopolitan sociology)

JS_RN27_RN37: “Urban homelessness in Southern Europe: new problems and new challenges in times of Covid-19” (Joint session with RN27 Regional Network Southern European Societies)

JS_RN35_RN37: “Patterns and paradoxes of forced mobility and confinement in urban space” (Joint session with RN35 Sociology of Migration)


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patriciapereira (January 7, 2021). ESA 2021 Conference – RN 37 Call for Papers. European Sociological Association Research Network 37: Urban Sociology. Retrieved June 19, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/oi6t


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About patriciapereira

I am an assistant research professor at Leiria Polytechnic University/ESECS integrated in CICS.NOVA/IPLeiria. I am a member of the board of the Interdisciplinary Center of Social Sciences (CICS.NOVA) and I coordinate its research group 3 "Cities, environment and regional development". I hold a Ph.D. in Sociology and my main field of research is Urban Sociology/Urban Studies. My current work is focused on subjective experiences of eviction and displacement, while also considering the neighborhood effects and structural dimensions of gentrification and, more broadly, of urban inequality. I specialize in qualitative methods, including ethnography and in-depth interviews, with a growing interest in creative methods.