Shaping the public space discourse with unheard, marginalized and young scholars

The marginalisation of fragile voices in the urban planning and design discourse is also reflected in academia. Too often, scholars representing marginalised groups, including youth, women and girls, refugees, ethnic minorities, and Indigenous communities, among others, do not get equal access to academic and research opportunities. Research and academia are dominated by a white, western, old and male perspective, limiting opportunities to establish a fair and equal knowledge exchange and development and to identify inclusive solutions to our urban challenges.
The Journal of Public Space is the first interdisciplinary, academic, and open-access journal entirely dedicated to public space, established by City Space Architecture, a non-profit organization based in Italy, in partnership with UN-Habitat. Launched during Habitat III in Quito in 2016, the journal aims to give voice to the most marginalized scholars: it speaks different languages and is open to embracing diversity, inconvenient dialogues, and untold stories from cross-disciplinary fields and all countries, overcoming the Western-oriented approach that is leading the current discourse. The Journal of Public Space is free, accessible and inclusive, both for authors and readers, providing a platform for emerging and consolidated researchers, also including professionals, artists and community leaders; it is intended to foster research, showcase best practices and inform discussion about the more and more important issues related to public spaces in our changing and evolving societies.
The event is the opportunity to present three thematic issues of The Journal of Public Space, published in 2024, that open opportunities for marginalized scholars to argue their perspectives in the academic world. The three issues are related to: 1) the African continent, developed in collaboration with CAPS - Centre on African Public Spaces; 2) gender perspectives, with the engagement of young scholars that have been working on the Her City programme - in collaboration with UN-Habitat; 3) young perspectives on health and well-being, as part of the Young Gamechanger initiative developed by UN-Habitat in collaboration with WHO.
This event will have a panel discussion among the speakers, followed by an interactive dialogue with invited participants and a Q&A session with the audience.