Berkeley Planning Journal: Volume 29 | DISPLACEMENT

We are living today in a time of unprecedented human mobility. While millions migrate unfettered across borders and regions, our contemporary era has become defined by an equally unparalleled scope of forced human displacement. The causes of displacement are varied and often interrelated—from conflict and repression, to development and insecurity, to disasters and climate change—impacting communities on both global and local scales. The UN estimates that there are over 65 million forcibly displaced persons around the world today—a population most visibly documented in coverage of the “European migrant crisis,” but one that is often widely neglected by the international community. Within the Bay Area as well displacement has become a growing concern as gentrification has placed over a quarter of San Francisco’s neighborhoods at risk of being displaced. The many socioeconomic, political, and environmental factors underlying displacement and the resulting vulnerability and instability affecting millions present an urgent challenge for practitioners, politicians, and scholars alike.

To facilitate discussion, critique, and commentary on this pressing issue, the BPJ is seeking submissions related to the topic of displacement from students, scholars, practitioners, activists, artists, and writers across disciplines and specializations. Acceptable submissions include academic articles, critical reflections, book reviews, and photo essays, as well as creative and unconventional content.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Refugee displacement, response, or resettlement
• Slum clearance
• Gentrification and displacement
• The built environment and displaced histories
• Climate-related displacement
• Housing dispersal
• Diasporas, transnationalism, and displacement
• The Sanctuary City and Right to the City

Requirements:

• Scholarly articles submitted for peer review limited to 6,000 words
• Other text submissions limited to 3,000 words
• Photo essays and alternative content limited to 1,500 words and 8-10 images
• Formatting and citations: CMS 16th Edition
• Audiovisual content and submissions not selected for publication in the journal may be considered for publication on the department’s blog, The Urban Fringe.