Mapping critical spatial practice as an agent of radical imagination within contexts of urban conflict

The proposed research explores the role of spatial production, and specifically Critical Spatial Practice, as an agent of radical imagination in contexts of urban conflict in both the global North and South. This focus aligns with the scope of the CDD pathway, as it explores how the mentioned practices, in a period marked by contestation and crisis, navigate and transform different structures of power, supporting the democratic development of cities and active engagement of civil society in the processes of claiming, designing, managing, and inhabiting the urban realm. The project also reframes the notion of conflict through the lens of 'radical imagination', turning it into a positive dynamic, a breeding ground for the radical change needed in times of crises, but also a fundamental force for the production of democracy. Moreover, the project recognises also the role of Critical Spatial practice as a catalyst for social movement, through its continuous effort to re-imagine society whilst acting within the present institutions. An extensive analysis of such practices could potentially provide insights on the role of spatial production in the creative resolution of conflicts and the democratic development of the urban realm