Assembling Informal Urbanism

Forms of informal urbanism, ranging from informal settlement to informal street vending and informal transport, have become integral to how cities work, particularly in the context of the Global South. This chapter outlines an emerging research agenda to explore the ways in which forms of urban informality work in relation to each other and urban formality in a global context. The research agenda primarily focuses on the intersections, overlaps, synergies, and contradictions between forms of informal settlement, informal street vending, and informal transport. It also engages with the spatiality, sociality, and temporality of the relations between forms of informal urbanism across different scales and contexts. Following an introduction to forms of urban informality, this chapter discusses emerging research and reflects on how assemblage thinking can be adopted as a theoretical lens for exploring forms of informal urbanism in a global context.

Authors and Affiliations

1. School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA, UK

   Hesam Kamalipour

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hesam Kamalipour .

Editors and Affiliations

1. School of Architecture and Interior Design, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

   Gregory Marinic

2. Department of Architecture and Environmental Design, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

   Pablo Meninato

Reprints and permissions

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Policies and ethics