Global margins. From the production of marginalization to spaces of hope An interview to Ananya Roy Interview edited by Simone Tulumello and Giacomo Pozzi

Abstract

Simone met Ananya on the morning of July 13, 2018, during the Congress of AESOP, the Association of European Schools of Planning, where Ananya gave the opening keynote speech, titled “Plans for freedom: Borders, cities and the struggle for justice in the age of Trumpism”. The conversation lasted approximately 40 minutes and was based on, but at moments diverged from, a number of questions jointly prepared by Simone and Giacomo. Starting from the double nature of the margin in Ananya’s work – margin as method and as object of study – the conversation then touched issues of race in the making of the contemporary city, mostly in the USA and the Global South. We also discussed representations of urban margins as places of resistance and creativity; and then questioned the return of the nation state in producing, and enforcing, (racial, gendered, class…) margins. Inspired by the topic of the AESOP congress, “Making space for hope”, we concluded by reflecting on the paths for building alternatives to the status quo, reflecting on activist and engaged research practices. By questioning the frequent romanticizing of the local, Ananya reflected on the need for a global scale in thinking change. The following is a transcription of the conversation, lightly edited for clarity, consistence and style.