Infrastructures, processes of insertion and the everyday: towards a new dialogue in critical policy studies

Vanesa Castán Broto, Mercè Cortina-Oriol, Daniel Durrant, Steven Griggs, Valeria Guarneros-Meza*, Graeme Hayes, David Howarth, Ernesto Isunza-Vera, Marcela Torres Wong, Gisela Zaremberg

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This forum argues that the complex assemblages of infrastructures, and their reproduction in our everyday worlds, offer a privileged lens through which to explore the practices of much of what critical policy studies holds dear. It draws attention to processes of insertion that reproduce infrastructure in everyday lives, arguing that such processes cast new light on the work of the state, governance, and democratic struggles. It discerns three avenues as a means of exploring such infrastructural processes: first, an invitation to transcend the physical form and reflect on infrastructural temporalities; second on the transformation of spatial governance and policy through infrastructure; and third, a re-assessment in the relationship between infrastructures and the ‘modernist ideal’. Through these avenues, light can be shed on the often ‘hidden’ practices of policymaking. We conclude by calling for a dialogue across diverse disciplines, side-stepping embedded divides between academics-activists, cities-towns, and the global south-north.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)121-130
Number of pages10
JournalCritical Policy Studies
Volume16
Issue number1
Early online date2 Feb 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Feb 2022

Keywords

  • everyday
  • governance
  • infrastructure
  • policy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Infrastructures, processes of insertion and the everyday: towards a new dialogue in critical policy studies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this