Events

Post-Quito Conversations on the New Urban Agenda

Speakers: Dr Ryan Centner, Assistant Professor of Urban Geography and Prof Sandra Jovchelovitch, Professor of Social Psychology

(in coordination with the LSE Planning Society)

Tuesday 8 November 2016
11am - 12pm
Tower 2, Room 204, LSE

Open to all LSE students and staff.

A discussion with two LSE academics who recently participated in UN HABITAT III in Quito, Ecuador -- a convention to set a "new urban agenda" promoting just, sustainable, smart, compact, inclusive cities. The HABITAT meetings, which happen only every 20 years, aim to define lines of debate and ways forward for a generation.

The Political Geography of Brexit: an informal panel discussion

Weds 9 November 2016

14:00-15:45

Thai Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE

Speakers: Professor Ian Gordon (LSE), Professor Ron Johnston (University of Bristol), and Professor Kevin Cox (Ohio State University).

A free event open to all. Admission is on a first come, first served basis. Please note that places are limited.

Security, Risk, and the Urban Imagination

To mark the publication of Austin Zeiderman's new book, Endangered City, this event brings together an interdisciplinary panel of scholars to discuss the intersection of security, risk, and the urban imagination.

> Video & podcast 

Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation

How can ecosystem management in developing countries contribute to poverty alleviation, as well as to inclusive and sustainable growth? Giles Atkinson (LSE) is joined by Paul van Gardingen, UNESCO Chair of International Development at the University of Edinburgh and Director, Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation Programme.

> Video & podcast

The Power of Ideas: a discussion with David Harvey

David Harvey's work on geography, social theory, urban political economy and capitalism has shaped academic debate for decades. He is one of the most cited social scientists in the world, and his works have been translated into multiple languages. Here, shortly before receiving an Honorary Degree from LSE, Harvey joins a panel of experts including Michael Storper (LSE) and Jane Wills (QMUL) to explore his ideas - and alternative views.

> Video & podcast

Can the ‘weight of evidence’ on impacts shape the future of international migration?

Jacques Poot

Migration has generally yielded economic benefits in terms of labour market outcomes, the fiscal position, innovation, trade and growth. However, concerns about a limited ‘absorptive capacity’ of host societies are growing. This lecture examines how the weight of the scientific evidence can assist policymakers to respond to these challenges.

> Video & podcast

Natural Capital: valuing the planet

Dieter Helm

In the face of the global, local, and national destruction of biodiversity and ecosystems, economist Dieter Helm offers a crucial set of strategies for establishing natural capital policy that is balanced, economically sustainable, and politically viable. 

> Video & podcast

Why Cities Succeed and Fail Today 

Michael Storper
with Thomas Kemeny and Naji Makarem

How well a city will cope with new opportunities and challenges relies on economic specialisation, human capital formation, and institutional factors. World-leading economic geographer Michael Storper challenges many conventional notions about economic development and sheds new light on its workings.

> Video & podcast

Quality of Life in Urban China: economic growth and the environment

Professor Matthew Kahn (UCLA), a world-leading expert on environmental and urban issues, examines China’s economic growth to present key findings from his latest research.

Chair: Professor Steve Gibbons, LSE

> Video & podcast

Inequality in the 21st Century

A day-long conference with Thomas Piketty, whose Capital in the Twenty-First Century has been of great significance in shaping debates about inequality across the globe.

This fascinating workshop features talks from experts including Gareth A. Jones of the Department of Geography & Environment (session 3).

> Videos & podcasts

Inequality and the 1%: what goes wrong when the rich become too rich

Danny Dorling (Oxford) looks at economic inequality. Today, the richest 1% take more and more, even while the other 99% are becoming more equal. What exactly is it about inequality that causes most harm?

> Video & podcast

Housing: Where Will We All Live?

The governor of the Bank of England recently warned that the overheated housing market represents the "biggest risk" to the country’s long-term recovery. BBC Home Affairs editor Mark Easton asks an expert panel - including LSE's Professor Paul Cheshire - why this country has failed to build enough affordable homes and looks at what can be done to solve our housing crisis.

> Audio podcast

Feminisation of Poverty, Sexual Violence and the State - the LSE Gender Institute 20^th anniversary lecture

Professor Sylvia Chant (LSE) presents her views on Feminisation of Poverty: Win-Win, Lose-Lose… or Gains at the Margin?, and Professor Inderpal Grewal (Yale) discusses Neoliberal Security and the hyper-visibility of Sexual Violence and the State in this fascinating insight into the major current issues in gender and development studies.

> Audio podcast

The 17 Contradictions of Capitalism

Thought capitalism was permanent? Think again. Leading Marxist geographer David Harvey (City University of New York) unravels the contradictions at the heart of capitalism and the drive to accumulate capital beyond the means of investing it. Introduced by Dr Murray Low of the Department of Geography and Environment at LSE.

> Video & podcast

Access to Justice and Extractive Industries

A panel of international legal and industry experts discuss the fraught world of environmental justice, human rights, minerals and mining, and explain why it should be of concern to us all.

With Aidan Davy (International Council for Mining and Minerals), Juan Pablo Saenz (Amazon Defense Coalition), Richard Meeran (Leigh Day & Co) and Jake White (Friends of the Earth).

> Video and podcast

Transforming a City: from London's East End to the West End

Valued at £8 billion, the Crown Estate is a giant player in the property industry with an unusually diverse portfolio. The group's Chief Executive Alison Nimmo joins LSE's Paul Cheshire to discuss her experience leading the company, her past projects in city redevelopment and the Olympic Delivery Authority, and her plans for the future.

> Video & podcast

China's Urban Policies: dilemmas facing the world's largest urban population

With the majority of its population now urban dwellers, China faces a unique set of challenges. Vernon Henderson examines the policy options as Chinese cities continue to grow. Professor Henderson is a leading expert in urbanisation of developing countries and School Professor of Economic Geography at LSE.

> Video & podcast

Keys to the City: How Economics, Institutions, Social Interaction and Politics Shape Development

The global economy is driven by its major cities: the keys to the city are the keys to global development. This talk sets out the rules of economic development for policymakers, and demonstrates why economists, sociologists and political scientists must take geography seriously.

Michael Storper (LSE) is one of the world’s leading economic geographers. His latest book, Keys to the City , is out now.

> Video & podcast

From Eco-Catastrophe to Zero Clearing: why is deforestation in the Neotropics declining?

An expert on tropical development, Professor Susanna Hecht addresses the recent dramatic decline in deforestation in Amazonia, why it has occurred, and how likely it is to endure.

Susanna Hecht (UCLA) recently received the Carl O. Sauer Award for Latin American geography. Her latest book, The Scramble for the Amazon, is out now.

> Video & podcast 

The Economic Future of British Cities: what should urban policy do?

Examining how urban policy can address the profound challenges now faced by Britain’s cities, both in the short term as a result of the recession and in the long term as a result of underlying structural change.

Henry Overman is Professor of Economic Geography at the LSE and Director of the Spatial Economics Research Centre.

> Video & podcast

The Power Of Zero In Driving "Breakthrough Capitalism

Discussing a new breed of innovator, determined to drive problems such as carbon, waste, toxics, and poverty to zero.

John Elkington is co-founder and executive chairman of Volans.  He is also the co-founder of SustainAbility, where he remains today as a a non-executive member of the board.

> Audio podcast

The Landgrabbers: The New Fight Over Who Owns The Earth

Debating the controversial practice of ‘Land grabbing’ by foreign entities in Africa, South-east Asia, South America and Eastern Europe, described as 'the most profound ethical, environmental, economic and social issue in the world today'.

Fred Pearce is an environment, science, and development writer for New Scientist and the Guardian, and is author of When The Rivers Run Dry and The Landgrabbers.

Discussants include LSE's Prof. Anthony Hall and Dr. Charles Palmer.

> Video & podcast

Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence

Exploring how climate change is causing violence as it interacts with the social legacies of economic neoliberalism and cold-war militarism across the Global South.

Christian Parenti is a professor at the School for International Training Graduate institute; his latest book is Tropic of Chaos.

> Video & podcast