We here at The Metropole want to briefly interrupt our much desired (deserved? who is to say what anyone deserves nowadays) two week respite to draw the attention of urbanists to the Urban Affairs Association’s call for papers. Between April 24-27, 2019, the UAA will be hosting its 49th Annual Conference in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. and would like to invite and encourage individuals to submit an abstract/proposal by October 1, 2018.

UHA members who attended SACRPH’s 2015 conference held at the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles can attest to the city’s charms–as can this blog (see here, here, and here, for just a few examples). See below for the formal CFP, but feel free to click through to the following links as well for more information:

Call for Participation: https://urbanaffairsassociation.org/conference/2019-general-call-for-participation/

UAA Conference Homepage: https://urbanaffairsassociation.org/conference/

About the Conference

Over a three-day period, researchers, graduate students, policy advocates, service providers, program funders, and others will present their analyses, experiences, and actions related to urban communities. In addition to formal presentations, the conference provides opportunities to network with attendees from North America, Europe, Asia, and other parts of the globe. Special workshops and mobile tours will be offered to enhance the learning experience and promote professional development. Interested persons are welcome to attend as formal program presenters, or as observers.  All attendees must register. Special discounted registration rates are available for UAA individual, student, and institutional members; ENHR/EURA individual and student members; local L.A. residents; and all enrolled students.

UAA welcomes proposals for a wide range of topics related to urban communities, policies, and populations. See Topical Categories for UAA Conferences section below for a listing of relevant topics.

2019 Special Sessions Topic – Claiming Rights to the City: Community, Capital, and the State

Cities have become the epicenter of competing claims for basic rights, living space, and access to opportunities. Dual realities exist in most cities where wealth, capital accumulation, and privilege coexist with poverty, homelessness, and inequality. Governance at all levels is confronted by increasingly aggressive capital investment pressures that call into question the ability of the state to protect and advance public welfare. In the face of these harsh realities, communities are engaging in a range of strategies to expose, challenge and counteract these dynamics. The UAA annual meeting in Los Angeles provides a unique opportunity to examine these dualities and community responses, in one of the most complex urbanized landscapes in the world.

Special Track on Race, Ethnicity and Place
Track Committee: Michael Leo Owens, Chair (Emory University); Yasminah Beebeejaun (University College London); Anna Livia Brand (University of California, Berkeley); Kitty Kelly Epstein (Holy Names University); Arturo Flores (National Autonomous University of Mexico/Anahuac University); Roger Keil (York University); Ali Modarres (University of Washington-Tacoma); Jocelyn Taliaferro (North Carolina State University)

Special Track on Urban Issues in Asia & the Pacific Rim
Track Committee: Cathy Yang Liu, Chair (Georgia State University, USA); Bligh Grant (University of Technology Sydney, Australia); Canfei He (Peking University, China); Shenjing He (University of Hong Kong, China); Xuefei Ren (Michigan State University, USA)

2019 Local Sponsor
2019 Platinum Conference Sponsor: UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

2019 Local Host Committee
Julie Straub (University of California at Los Angeles); Vinit Mukhija (University of California at Los Angeles); Michael Lens (University of California at Los Angeles); Kenya Covington (University of California at Los Angeles); Victoria Basolo (University of California, Irvine); Juliet Musso (University of Southern California; Tom O’Brien (California State University, Long Beach); Ralph Sonensheim (California State University, Los Angeles)

2019 Program Committee
Lucia Capanema-Alvares, Chair (Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil); Lars A. Engberg (Aalborg University Copenhagen, Denmark); Bligh Grant (University of Technology, Sydney, Australia); Al Gourrier (University of Baltimore, USA); Robert Collins (Dillard University, USA); Cathy Yang Liu (Georgia State University, USA); Sylvie Paré (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada); Carolina Reid (University of California, Berkeley, USA); Joan Wesley (Jackson State University, USA); Anaid Yerena (University of Washington – Tacoma, USA)

Participation Formats
Most participants will wish to make a presentation in which they share their research and/or experiences and insights. To maximize opportunities for everyone, UAA limits Individuals to participation (as presenter, speaker or moderator) in one (1) session. There is no limit to the number of research papers/posters for which you are a co-author. Persons in special (sponsored) panels or breakfast roundtable discussions can participate in one additional session.

A proposal can be submitted through the UAA website using one of the following participation formats:

• Individual research paper presentation: Proposal requires an abstract OR
• Organized research paper panel: Proposal requires a panel summary, group of 4-5 paper abstracts, and a designated moderator (who may be one of the paper presenters) OR
• Organized colloquy: Proposal requires theme statement & names of 4-5 discussants OR
• Breakfast roundtable: Proposal requires theme statement & names of 1-2 conveners  OR
• Poster: Proposal requires an abstract. Best option for persons in early stage of research.

Key Deadlines
UAA conferences are known for being well-organized events. That organization is dependent on certain deadlines being established and enforced. Two critical deadlines will apply for the 2019 conference:

October 1, 2018, 11:59pm Central Daylight Time (CDT) or 4:59am (GMT)
Abstract/Session Proposal Deadline
The online submission site will close at 12:00 am CDT. Acceptance or rejection notices will be sent by October 24. Persons who miss this deadline are still welcome to attend the conference as observers.

January 15, 2019, 11:59pm Central Daylight Time (CDT) or 4:59am (GMT)
Registration Deadline for Persons with Accepted Proposals
In order to be placed on the official conference program, an accepted presenter must register by this date. Failure to meet this deadline will mean loss of opportunity to be listed on the program. Persons who miss this deadline are still welcome to attend the conference as observers.

Featured photo (at top): Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California, photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, 2012, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress