Join Social Theory for a talk from Prof. Michael Woods, Personal Chair in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University. Reception to follow.

Abstract: “A decade ago, urban scholars started to advance the idea of 'planetary urbanization', asserting that the whole world had become urbanized and thus understandable through urban theory. Rural, by implication, became redundant. In the intervening years, the rural has proved stubbornly resistant to erasure: cropping up as a breeding ground of new pathogens, as both a victim and a villain in climate change, and as a voter base for disruptive politics. This talk draws together two of these threats - rural support for populist and disruptive political movements and the centrality of rural spaces and resources to planetary crises - to argue that rural still matters. It asserts that the idea of rural remains a powerful influence on human behavior and as such is key to understanding social and political challenges. The talk finishes by introducing the notion of rural spatial justice - a multi-dimensional concept that encompasses both (perceived) unfairness in the distribution of resources and inequalities in individual's right to place - as a framework for unlocking the drivers and affects of rural discontent and unblocking obstacles to a fairer future for all.”