Paul Chatterton Biography, Human Geographer

Paul Chatterton teaches and researches in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds on international protest movements mainly looking at the popular uprising in Argentina since

2001 and the Zapatistas autonomous communities of Mexico; the ways in which city centres are increasingly becoming privatised and corporatised; and alternative models of development focusing on self-management. (Find out more).

Paul Chatterton is a writer, research and scholar-activist based in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds. He is committed to engaged, participatory forms of teaching and learning, as well as action-oriented forms of collaborative enquiry. He is course director of a Masters Programme in Geography called ‘Activism and Social Change’ (see www.activismsocialchange.org.uk) and is also founder member of Trapese, a popular education collective which undertakes workshops and training on direct democracy, campaigning skills and advice for grassroots projects. He has led fieldtrips to the Chiapas region of Mexico, where he used to live and volunteer for two years, spending time with colleagues and students in indigenous communi-ties.

His current research interests focuses on three areas. The first is an exploration of the kinds of values, spaces and citizenship which emerge from contemporary protest groups, especially those focused on climate disobedience. The second involves an exploration of urban development and the turn towards increasingly privatised and corpo-ratised city centres. The third explores how groups broadly defined as anti-capitalist/alter-globalist, develop, share and transmit their ideas, especially in relation to tactics and strategies for building al-ternatives.

In terms of his research activity, in 2009 he hosted a Leverhulme funded ‘artist in residence’ in the School of Geography during which the artist, Jai Redman, developed a collaborative project with staff and students called ‘Leeds Plan B’ (www.leedsplanb.org.uk). He has co-managed two Economic and Social Research Council grants in-cluding Autonomous Geographies’ (see www.autonomousgeographies.org) which explored the ways in which social activists and community groups developed self-managed models for organising social and eco-nomic life beyond the welfare state, and ‘Urban nightscapes’ which focused upon the growing evening or night-time economy in cities which developed a socio-spatial, and political-economy informed, analysis of the production, regulation and consumption of urban nightlife.

Recent publications include research papers in peer reviewed journals such as Progress in Human Geography, Urban Studies, Acme,

Antipode, the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and Geofo-rum on topics such as Argentina’s popular uprising, teaching freedom and defiance in Geography, and being a public-scholar. He has also written an activist handbook collaboratively with Trapese published by Pluto Press called ‘Do It Yourself: A handbook for changing our world’ (see www.handbookforchange.org). He was one of the found-ing members of the ‘Participatory Geographies Working Group’ and is currently co-editor of Antipode ‘A Radical Journal of Geography’, and Senior Deputy Editor for ‘City: analysis of urban trends, culture theory, policy action’.

Paul Chatterton teaches in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds where he and researches and teaches on: international pro-test movements mainly looking at the popular uprising in Argentina since 2001 and the Zapatistas autonomous communities of Mexico; the ways in which city centres are increasingly becoming privatised and corporatised; and alternative models of development focusing on self-management. At the university, he is co-managing a grant funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (see www. au-tonomousgeographies.org) which explores the ways in which social activists and community groups are developing self-managed models for organising social and economic life beyond the welfare state. He is also working on a collaborative research project entitled ‘Who runs Cities?’ (see www.whorunsleeds.org.uk) which promotes citizen en-gagement in urban governance.

His recent publications include: A guide to the autonomous Argen-tinian social movements (www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/ publications/Taking-BackControl) and an activist handbook collaboratively written with the popular education collective Trapese published by Pluto Press called ‘Do It Yourself: A handbook for changing our world’ (see www.handbookforchange.org ).

Paul is also course director of a new Masters Programme at the Uni-versity of Leeds called ‘Activism and Social Change’ (see www.activ-ismsocialchange.org.uk). He is one of the founders of the Common Place social centre in Leeds (www.thecommonplace.org.uk), and is cur- rently helping to start up an eco-village in Leeds.

“Every design ought to sustainable design, meaning something people refuse to thrash.”- Satyendra Pakhale

Hope and Glory? By John Grant & Jules Peck

“There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood,leads on to fortune; on such a full sea are now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves or lose our ventures.”

The section examines the critical role of entrepreneurial ventures as one of the key sources of radical enough responces required to deal with issues such as climate change.

It’s all about the soil, Peter Segger

Can we listen to the soil? Can we think about it’ needs as well as our own? Can we learn to feed the soil as well as us?

30 years can teach us how, this section delves into Peter Segger’s beliefs and expertise in this area.

Timetable of events

Information on dates and times of events throughout the 6th and 8th of April.

EVERYDAY DESIGN OUGHT

TO BE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN,

MEANING SOMETHING PEOPLE

REFUSE TO THRASH.

E V E R Y D AY D E S I G N O U G H T T O B E

S U S TA I N A B L E D E S I G N , M E A N I N G

S O M E T H I N G P E O P L E R E F U S E

T O T H R A S H .

EVERYDAY DESIGN OUGHT TO BE SUS-

TAINABLE DESIGN, MEANING SOME-

THING PEOPLE REFUSE TO THRASH.