The Urban Studies Group at the Department of Geography and Spatial Planning at the University of Luxembourg is pleased to host "Small State Big Transitions - the 30th Conference of INURA" in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. This year the organizers will welcome international guests and introduce them to the range of challenges and contradictions that constitute this complex urban space which elides various categories: a small state, city-state, multilingual sovereign nation, European capital, financial capital, international business hub, and cross-border (sub)urban region.
INURA 2022 will open with an afternoon of city tours (June 25, 15:00), where the aim is to understand the underlying logics of Luxembourg as an urban space and to search out the urban politics on the ground. Visitors will immediately notice some of the unusual framework conditions. With a population of just over 600,000, Luxembourg is a small, multilingual, sovereign state. But these diminutive attributes belie a cosmopolitan space where daily life frequently involves using three languages, and encountering perhaps four, five or six. Exhilarating and bewildering, it speaks to the ’small-but-global’ urbanisation the country has experienced in recent decades.
Luxembourg’s international character has, in a sense, always been a feature. But it is also a result of a particular historical trajectory which, alongside Luxembourg's niche politic, has enabled it to embed itself and capitalise on changing global flows. Economically, Luxembourg has seen an explosion in advanced services, eclipsing heavy industry, agriculture and manufacturing. Relatedly, the City became one of the three institutional EU capitals (along with Brussels and Strasbourg). This politic, however, also goes hand in hand with a stated objective to maintain economic growth in order to preserve living standards. This has, mainly, been effective: Luxembourg is experiencing not only population growth, but also has the highest GDP per capita in the EU and an annual GDP growth of 2-4%. These strategies have further turned the Grand Duchy into economic engine that needs and attracts labour from the border regions. Roughly 422,000 people work in Luxembourg and half of this labour force are cross-border commuters. These dynamics impact its urban regional configuration, with particular consequences for housing and transport infrastructures, and external relations. The program of INURA 2022 will introduce our international guests to some of these processes and generate conversations and debates about the associated politics that arise as a result.
2022 is also a special anniversary year of INURA, celebrating the 30 meeting and 32 years of research and action. After two years of a global pandemic and now in the framework of a horrific conflict, INURA will once again meet face-to-face to discuss current-day urgent questions concerning urbanization. INURA invites you to mark the anniversary with them and join for 2 days of lively discussion, June 26-27.
About INURA
Since their first inaugural meeting in 1991, INURA members have gathered in a different city each year to explore the multiplicity of trajectories that constitute contemporary urbanity, the diversity of morphologies and built environments, the broad range of challenges they encompass. INURA members are involved in a wide range of activities spanning community and environmental groups, universities, and local administrations, addressing issues of local contention, such as major urban renewal projects, the urban periphery, community-led environmentalism, transport, labour markets, do-it-yourself culture, and social housing provision, to name only a few. Self-organizing, non-hierarchical, and decentral in structure, their aim is to share their experiences broadly, internationally, and to participate in common research initiatives.
Find out more about the International Network of Urban Research and Action (INURA) at the website of the INURA Common Office. There you can find details about INURA membership, INURA's current and past activities, projects, co-operative actions and publications, and INURA City contacts near you.
Questions? Feel free to contact us at: luxembourg2022@inura.org
Find out more about the International Network of Urban Research and Action (INURA) at the website of the INURA Common Office. There you can find details about INURA membership, INURA's current and past activities, projects, co-operative actions and publications, and INURA City contacts near you.
Questions? Feel free to contact us at: luxembourg2022@inura.org
