[BOOK SEMINAR] Political Ecologies of Landscape: Governing Urban Transformations in Penang by Dr. Creighton Connolly
Details
Date: Tuesday, 30 July 2024
Time: 3:00pm-4.30pm
Venue: Conference Hall, Penang Institute
Registration link: http://bit.ly/PoliticalEcologies
Entrance to this event is FREE.
About the Speaker
Dr. Creighton Connolly is Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He obtained his PhD in Human Geography from the University of Manchester (2016) on the controversies over edible birds nest farming in Malaysian cities. In addition to Political Ecologies of Landscape, he is also co-author of Pandemic Urbanism: Infectious Disease on a Planet of Cities (Polity Press, 2022). His current research spans topics including the political ecologies of land reclamation, large-scale infrastructure projects, participatory governance and planning, heritage management, and the relationships between urbanisation and infectious disease.
Abstract
In this book seminar event, Dr. Creighton Connolly introduces his book, ‘Political Ecologies of Landscape’ (Bristol University Press, 2022) which traces large-scale urban redevelopment in Penang, and the numerous participatory planning and governance initiatives launched by local civil society organisations in its wake. In particular, the book discusses the planning and development of the Penang Transport Master Plan and the numerous controversies that it has engendered, including the implications for Penang’s cultural and natural landscape. It highlights the significant existing and proposed landscape transformation that has taken place, focusing on its socio-ecological impacts and how the PTMP and related projects have been linked to biodiversity loss, deforestation and a heightened flood risk. The book also considers the production of new urban spaces that have emerged (or been proposed) through land reclamation and how these are central to the financing of the PTMP and entrepreneurial urban development more broadly. Dr. Connolly will also discuss and reflect upon the research underpinning the book, how it was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the types of virtual engagement that were used. Following the talk, there will be space for questions and discussion points from the audience. There will also be physical and digital copies of the book available for purchase.