Études caribéennes
Appels en cours
N° 39, 2018 ­ The Caribbean City,
the Cities in the Caribbean
Deadline for abstract submission: September, 30th 2017
The Caribbean City, the Cities in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean city, the unknown. Heterogeneous human settlements, legacies of the
colonial era, refuge of the disadvantaged and homeless, mixed and fragmented, and the
showcases of Caribbean tourism, the urban Caribbean presents itself as the economic
ambition of these insular territories and other shores bathed by the Caribbean sea. The
Caribbean city, a chaotic juxtaposition of modernity and the colonial past, and existing
both as a social and political symbol, opens up a rich and immense new area.
Sometimes characterized by European allure, the remainder of Africa ­ some may say ­,
American city ­ without a doubt ­, hybrid format, the Caribbean city presents a
particular subject of study.
These cities are shaped by the colonization of the Americas, in a singular geographic
environment and following the dynamics of various trajectories: Island territories, more
or less cramped, strips of mainland bordered by massive mountains on South American
shores, mouthpieces of vast rivers, transformations linked to ways of life where
tradition and modernity intersect. In these dense and disparate human settlements,
economic and political challenges accumulate. Aware of their singularity, of the
richness of a heritage more or less valued in the best possible way and the challenges of
(urban) development that take shape, these urban territories offer an exciting field for
the innovative projects, initiatives to transform neighbourhoods in crisis by
constructing buildings that respond to the challenges of the 21st century.
These urban territories are in the first place those of island­cities, in the image of
urbanization, diffuse examples which now reach the soils of Barbados, Guadeloupe,
Martinique, Saint­Martin ... There are also vast complexities like the East­West
Corridor of Trinidad. From the ruins of Port­au­Prince to the ghettos of Kingston via the
comfortable lethargy of the Cuban capital, Havana the proud, the cities and the urban
forms of Caribbean space constitute the subject of rich and complex studies seldom
explored to date. The bibliographic review demonstrates the present limits: The
principal works are coordinated by R.B. Potter with a first summary Urbanization,
Planning and Development in the Caribbean (1989), followed by The Urban Caribbean
in an Era of Global Change (2000). Highlighting additionally the synthetic
approaches of A. Portes, C. Dore­Cabral and P. Lanbolt (1997) and E. Rojas (2002). In
the French Antilles, it is worth mentioning the works of S. Letchimy (1992), D.
Martouzet (2001 and 2002) and J.V. Marc (2007).
In what way can the Caribbean city constitute a singular subject of study? Does the
Caribbean city exist? What identity? What singularities? What specificities? What
comparisons with others? The "combinaison de territoires" (Roncayolo) and the
"irrégularités de la ville" (Rolleau­Berger) open multiples paths of research as a
decryption of social reports (Lefebvre) in these landscapes shaped by the relentless
dynamics of socio­ethnic­spatial segregation. From exclusion to inclusion, with the
(illusory?) discourse on social diversity in these territories, dense and narrow,
deconstructed, which juxtapose spatial fragmentation ­ the places? To exacerbated
antagonisms, between exclusive islets that concentrate on excessive and ostentatious
riches ­ on the feet of which extend into the immediate spaces ­ spaces of refuge ­ where
poverty, marginalization, discrimination accumulate and recompose more or less on a
daily basis between economic survival, parallel economy, illicit economy and formal
economy, all in practically permanent interaction... That is to really invest in these
composite territories, to give a "lisibilité du paysage urbain" (K. Lynch), deconstruct the
meaning of entangled symbols more or less known, to identify the coherence and the
logic of territories on a daily basis toward a combination of dynamics and interactions.
If the Caribbean city constitutes a central subject of study, it is a question of
clarifying the contours, the originalities but also the process and the dynamics of
shared construction. The study of the city can be addressed from one case study, from
one global approach to the scale of the Caribbean and toward comparisons (beyond the
framework of the Caribbean) in a context of globalization. The topic is open to all the
contributions relating to the implementation of coastal tourism through the
development of recreation, in the field of studies of geography, sociology, history,
anthropology, ecology, urbanism, architecture, engineering and urban studies.
Among the Privileged Topics
The geographic approach to urbanization in the Caribbean
Cities and urban systems
The history of the city and the urban landscapes in the Caribbean
The stages of urban construction
The city­capital
Identity and heritage
The city as a space of refuge
Crisis and pervasiveness of poverty
The city addressing risks
Fragmentation and segregation versus inclusion and social diversity
New uses of the city and territorial recompositions
Articulation and disarticulation of urban spaces
The question of brownfields: Meaning, issues and challenges
Nature of/in the city
Construction and/or reconstruction of the Caribbean city
Urban future(s) and future of the Caribbean city
International contributions to and from the Caribbean city.
Calendar
September 30th, 2017: deadline for abstract submission
December 1st, 2017: deadline of manuscript submission
December 2017 ­ February 2018: manuscript assessment by the Scientific
Committee
March 2018: finalization of texts by authors
April 2018: publication of the special issue (N° 39/2018)
Submission
Please refer to the Instructions to Authors page and submit your contribution to
[email protected]