‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’: Problematising Property Financialisation

Masterclass with Rachel Weber (University of Illinois at Chicago) and Brett Christophers (Uppsala University)

In this seminar we discuss the burgeoning literature in geography and urban studies on the financialisation of assets in general and property assets in particular. Our aim is to identify and critically reflect on some of the main conceptual and methodological challenges and problems apparent in that literature. We also discuss how we have tried to grapple with these challenges and problems in our own recent research on urban austerity and financialisation – one of us (Weber) in the context of public capital budgeting and commercial property development in the US, the other (Christophers) in the context of local-authority housing companies and commercial property development in England.

Location: Charles Perkins Centre Seminar Rm. 1.1, University of Sydney

Date and time: 18 October, 2:00-5:00pm

Registration: email David Primrose (david.primrose@sydney.edu.au)

Readings:

• Ashton, P., Doussard, M., & Weber, R. (2016). Reconstituting the state: City powers and exposures in Chicago’s infrastructure leases. Urban Studies, 53(7), pp. 1384-1400.
• Christophers, B. (2015). The limits to financialisation. Dialogues in Human Geography, 5(2), pp. 183-200.
• Christophers, B., Leyshon, A., & Mann, G. (2017). Money and Finance After the Crisis: Taking Critical Stock. In Money and Finance After the Crisis: Critical Thinking for Uncertain Times (pp. 1-40).