Urban

The Urban Interest Group brings together scholars and practitioners who work at, and seek to explore further, the intersection of peacebuilding’s urban and environmental dimensions. Recognizing the importance of urbanization globally and the significant share of the world’s population that lives in cities today, as well as cities as influential global agents (including on issues like climate change), it is timely to treat ‘the urban’ and the environment no longer as separate. Building on existing research and practice, the IG constitutes a forum for exchange and making those links more explicit. Themes of interest include, but are not limited to, city diplomacy; urban climate action and resilience; urban energy production; urban violence, conflict, and alternative dispute resolution institutions; environmental remediation and repair; urban agriculture and food; "slow violence" and urban justice; and infrastructure (e.g., transportation, WASH).

This interest group engages in a range of activities: setting out a collective research agenda, providing a forum for practitioners’ exchange & peer-learning, connecting researchers and practitioners in the spirit of collaborative and participatory action research, and raising awareness on the increasing importance of environment-related conflicts in (and driven by) urban areas and the approaches for managing conflicts and building positive relationships.

The Chair of the Urban Interest Group is Silvia Danielak.