The Urban Crisis of Care and Social Reproduction – Recap of our workshop in Hannover

On 17 and 18 February 2025, members of the ARL International Forum Gender and Spatial Transformation convened at the ARL headquarters in Hanover for an insightful two-day workshop. The event facilitated in-depth discussion and exploration of critical issues surrounding (urban) care crises.

Day one focused on a keynote presentation by PD Dr.-Ing. Sandra Huning entitled "The Urban Crisis of Care and Social Reproduction – An Urban Planning Perspective". Dr Huning's insights offered a thought-provoking examination of current urban planning challenges and sparked a lively discussion among the if members. After a coffee break, the afternoon continued with a guided reading session focusing on Ashraful Alam & Donna Houston's 2020 paper "Rethinking Care as Alternate Infrastructure". If members, who had prepared comments in advance, engaged in a collaborative discussion, dissecting the concepts and implications of the paper.

The second day began with a brief welcome and updates from the ARL, setting the tone for a focused morning session. Our first major discussion centered on Juliet Davis's 2022 work "The Caring City – The Ethics of Urban Design". Participants explored how Davis's methodology could help address the 'crisis of social reproduction' and discussed its implications for linking theory and practice in urban design. The dialogue explored the potential of Davis' approach to enhance the theoretical frameworks surrounding the crisis of social reproduction. After another coffee break, the workshop moved on to refining our group's Mission Statement and Code of Conduct, ensuring that these documents reflect our shared values and goals. We concluded with a session on future activities, brainstorming initiatives that would combine theoretical insights with practical applications.

This workshop underscored our commitment to advancing conversations at the intersection of gender and spatial transformation. We thank all participants for their invaluable contributions and look forward to continuing to work together in this important field!