Faranak Miraftab is professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her work seeks to understand the global and local development processes and contingencies involved in the formation of the city and citizens’ struggle to access urban space and socio economic resources. Her inter-disciplinary work explores three interconnected themes: a) neoliberal governance and the ways in which the state-society relations are managed and governed; b) grassroots mobilizations and the ways in which they claim right to urban livelihood and resources; and c) transnational and trans-local practices that shape globalization from below. She has taught and researched in several countries including Chile, Mexico, CanadaFaranak Miraftab is professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her work seeks to understand the global and local development processes and contingencies involved in the formation of the city and citizens’ struggle to access urban space and socio economic resources. Her inter-disciplinary work explores three interconnected themes: a) neoliberal governance and the ways in which the state-society relations are managed and governed; b) grassroots mobilizations and the ways in which they claim right to urban livelihood and resources; and c) transnational and trans-local practices that shape globalization from below. She has taught and researched in several countries including Chile, Mexico, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the United States....more