This is the Call for Papers (CfP) for the Session „Temporary local economies and urban quarter development”, which will take place as part of the Global Conference on Economic Geography (July 24 – 28, 2018) in Cologne.
The dynamics in an unequal world (this year’s motto of the GCEG) do not only affect the structure and performance of national or regional economies but are also reflected in the transformation of economic settings at the level of single urban quarters. Global trends, such as the social acceleration, economic flexibilization, as well as the increased mobility of labor and capital tremendously in fact have significantly contributed to the change of local economies and, along with this, to the polarization of cities. While the concept of local economies is typically associated with economic activities that are permanently bound to certain urban quarters, such as small restaurants, travel agencies or betting shops, the examples of mobile vending, pop-up-stores and small-scale trade-fairs demonstrate that temporary activities play an important role at the level of urban quarters as well. Even though such activities create jobs and income, contribute to a distinct identity of the quarter population and can help to stabilize disadvantaged urban quarters, research, up to now, has widely neglected such temporary local economies and their impact on urban quarter development. This comes to a surprise when considering the great importance that local economies have played in integrated urban policies in the last years. Against this background, this session aims at deepening our understanding about such local temporary activities. In particular, it focuses on the following and related questions: Which types of temporary local arrangements can be distinguished? Which factors affect the emergence and change of temporary economies at the level of urban quarters? How do temporary local arrangements affect the development of urban quarters? How do permanent and temporary local economies interact? How can temporary local arrangements be supported by local communities?