Later this month, the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto will be hosting a special Daniels Fora Speaker's Series one-night-only event titled Uber Urbanism. To be held on October 22, 2015, in the Isabel Bader Theatre at 93 Charles Street West at 7:00 PM, the 90-minute event will seek to explore and discuss the ongoing etymological evolution of what are commonly known as the distinctions between "urban" and "rural," "society" and "nature," "city" and "suburb." At a time when the earth's surface has become all but dominated by human technological intervention, the question of the continued practicality of these well-worn definitions will be at the crux of the debate. 

Uber Urbanism, logo courtesy of UofT

Building on the theories of French sociologist Henri Lefebvre, whose revolutionary ideas regarding the inevitable nature of what he referred to as complete urbanization set the tone of urban studies throughout the 1970s, the Daniels Fora event aims to bring his ideas into the 21st century and to discuss the new urban realities that have since come to light. In short, as the description reads, "the Daniels Fora series will critically examine the central role that the concept of "city" has had in framing how we understand (and study) urbanism, and whether or not cities are unique 'species' among the world's geographies."

Featured speakers will include Neil Brenner, a geographer, Professor, and Director of the Urban Theory Lab at Harvard, whose most recent publication is titled, "Implosions/Explosions: Towards a Study of World Urbanization," along with Jesse LeCavalier, architect, theorist, and faculty member at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, whose research interests include, the logistical architecture of the new economy, with a focus upon major players such as Walmart and Amazon. 

Richard Sommer, Dean and Professor of Architecture and Urbanism with the John H. Daniels Faculty or Architecture, will moderate the discussion.

What: Uber Urbanism

Where: Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles Street West

When: October 22, 2015 - 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM