Postcolonial Urban Aspirations and Colonial Futures Tue., March 07, 2023 | 5:30 PM — 6:30 PM 1307 E 60th Street Chicago, IL 60637 United States Sponsored By: The Pearson Institute You're invited to hear from The Pearson Institute's special guest, Somdeep Sen, who will discuss Postcolonial Urban Aspirations and Colonial Futures. In the existent literature, it has long been established that urban development is embossed with colonial legacies – especially with regard to the often, taken-for-granted understandings of “progress” and “modernity” (or “modernization”) that inform urban development policy and practice. However, Sen focuses on the coloniality of the futures that these teleological projects of progress and modernization lead to. Undoubtable, futuristic visions of the modern, smart, and global city, filtered through international organizations, aid agencies and consultancies, are frequently based on metropolitan ideologies. Empirically, Sen's research will focus on smart city projects that have been implemented in Mumbai, India. RSVP Recent News More news Alumni Profile: Evy Lanai, MPP’25 Wed., January 21, 2026 Harris School of Public Policy Debuts Civic Leadership Academy’s 2026 Cohort Thu., January 15, 2026 Do Primary Elections Really Fuel Congressional Polarization?: Professor Anthony Fowler Investigates Thu., January 15, 2026
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