Mar 14, 2024
Minorities in cities worldwide confront disparities, advocating for rights within a dynamic interplay of urban planning and constitutional legal frameworks. How does the coevolution between planning and legal frameworks shape the status of minorities?
This lecture will dissect the coevolution of British constitutional rights and the status of minorities in the urban planning of London, post-WWII. It will explore how planning practices embed minority rights, shedding light on the transformation of political and legal frameworks into urban planning, and assessing their impact on state-minority relations.
Orwa Switat is a visiting scholar at the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. He is a scholar, practitioner, and activist in the realm of state-minority relations in urban planning. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. His research has critically examined the intersections of urban planning and state-minority relations. Complementing his advanced degrees, he possesses BAs in both Philosophy and Political Science from Haifa University.
In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Orwa has dedicated his work to promoting the rights of Palestinian communities in Israel in the context of planning, advising planners and civil society on spatial justice and inclusion. From 2019 to 2023, Orwa served on Haifa's municipal committee for historical preservation, influencing policies to honor and reflect the Arab Palestinian Heritage of the city.
In addition to this audio, you can watch the video and read the full transcript of their conversation on Shareable.net – while you’re there get caught up on past lectures.
Cities@Tufts Lectures explores the impact of urban planning on our communities and the opportunities to design for greater equity and justice with professor Julian Agyeman.
Cities@Tufts Lectures is produced by Tufts University and Shareable.net with support from Barr Foundation and SHIFT Foundation.
Lectures are moderated by Professor Julian Agyeman and organized in partnership with research assistants Deandra Boyle and Muram Bacare. Paige Kelly is our co-producer and audio editor, the original portrait of Mark Roseland was illustrated by Anke Dregnet, and the series is co-produced and hosted by Tom Llewellyn.
“Light Without Dark” by Cultivate Beats is our theme song.