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Center for Critical Democracy Studies

Exploring the Autonomy of Cities Philosophical, Legal, and Policy Dimensions

6 rue du Colonel Combes 75007
Thursday, June 12, 2025 - 09:00 to Friday, June 13, 2025 - 18:00

Workshop

Center for Critical Democracy Studies, The American University of Paris

Cities have long served as centers of economic activity, cultural innovation, and political experimentation. Yet, their role and status within larger political systems remain a subject of ongoing debate. In recent years, calls for granting greater autonomy to cities have gained momentum, driven by challenges such as urbanization, climate change, and growing inequalities. This event invites examination of the conditions under which cities should be granted autonomy, the implications of autonomy for equality, and the challenges specific to cities in navigating their relationship with regional, national, and global governance systems. The workshops aim is to foster a dialogue on whether autonomy (and in which form? which constitutional status?) is the appropriate framework for empowering cities or if alternative approaches, such as empowerment through subsidiarity, are better suited to achieving justice and effective governance.

Organized by:泭Nathana禱l Colin-Jaeger泭(插惚捩),泭Nefeli Lefkopoulou泭(Sciences Po Paris),泭Marc Goetzmann泭(Universit矇 de Tours).

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Schedule

DAY 1

Thursday, June 12

10h00-10h30 -泭Welcome & Coffee

10h30-12h45 -泭Session 1

  • Nir BARAK泭(Ben Gurion University) |泭Assessing Justification for Municipal Autonomy
  • Bartosz BISKUP泭(Universit矇 de Tours) |泭Partiality, Autonomy, and the Right to the City
  • Oskar STEINER & Luca VENGA泭(CEE, Sciences Po Paris) |泭What Auto for the City? Automation and Othering in Making of City Autonomy

12h45-14h15 -泭Lunch

14h15-16h30 -泭Session 2

  • Nufar AVNI泭(Politecnico di Torino, Hebrew University) |泭Local autonomy in motion: The Case of Municipally-initiated Weekend Public Transportation
  • Oriane ROTY泭(Universit矇 de Tours) |泭French Community Land Trust and the Management of Housing Crises
  • Chiara CERBONE泭(University of Parma) |泭Urban Autonomy and Food Policies: The Case of Milan as a Model for Local Governance

16h30-16h45 -泭Coffee Break

16h45-17h45 -泭Keynote:泭Raul MAGNI BERTON泭(ESPOL, Universit矇 Catholique de Lille) |泭Free Our Cities

17h45-19h45 -泭Free Time

19h45 -泭Dinner

DAY 2

Friday, June 13

09h30-10h00 -泭Breakfast

10h00-12h15 -泭Session 3

  • Maddalena VIVONA泭(University of Graz) |泭Who Owns the Ballot
  • Philip RENNINGER泭(University of Arizona) |泭Sovereignty, Self-Government, Subordination: The Modi Operandi of Urban Law
  • Benjamin BOURCIER泭(ESPOL, Universit矇 Catholique de Lille) |泭The principle of cooperation and non-cooperation and relative autonomy?

12h15-12h30 -泭Closing Remarks

12h30-16h30 -泭Lunch