Dr Charles Walker - Space networks and youth transition in proviancial Russia

This lecture concentrated on the ways in which young people from lower socio-economic backgorunds negotiate urban-rural and inter regional migration.

Russia's transition into a capitalist economy has compounded the problems of it rural population who are now heading into the cities "In order to get on you have to get out".












Walker's research concentrated on the Ul'ianovsk of Russia finding that because formal routes of migration were virtually non existant (due to Russia's housing question) that kinship networks had become an invaluable resource.

He also found that Western models had become a focal point for the ambitions of the populace, however because of the polarisation of the poplation which could be likened to the shape of an hour glass social geographic mobilisation for the rural workers had become extremely difficult.


Could a heavily subsidised transport system alleviate the geographic disabilities of the people on the peripheries to create a more mobile workforce?

Les Back - 'Damaged homes and places of refuge'

How do people particularly the young make the city home?

Professor Les Back of Goldsmiths College, London looks at the racial geography of the city. Gayle Lewis described London as "a checkerboard of go and no go areas"

Back used the idea of places that people considered safe an unsafe in his Deptford study entitled; Finding a way home. Back empowered the participants of that project by hading out disposable camera's and asking the participants to photograph areas they considered to be safe or unsafe.

Public places like libraries and interim spaces were often considered to be safe whereas wide open areas, playgrounds, and dark areas were often considered to be dangerous.

An interesting result of the project was that when asked what kind of places people considered safe participants often replied by projecting themselves into different spaces 'a home from home.

Across the Internet

It's always nice to see what your contemporaries are doing but what about students elsewhere?

I've been sharing work with Boya Xu a Chineese student of landscape contemplating taking her masters in Britain. Above is a work sample she shared with me