Infrastructures of Labor explores how infrastructures are not just technical artifacts but are comprised of human labor. From networked infrastructures in the global North to do-it-yourself “people as infrastructure” systems in the global South, the panelists will present research considering how human bodies and communities are interwoven with the built environment and its technological systems. This exploration will illuminate the forms of dirty labor and exploitation that infrastructures depend on, the informal systems through which people make their cities conform to them in unpredictable ways, and the insurgent politics that may arise from rebelling through infrastructure.

PANELISTS
Kafui Attoh / Assistant Professor of Urban Studies / The Murphy Institute / CUNY
Catherine Fennell / Assistant Professor of Anthropology / Columbia University
Malini Ranganathan / Assistant Professor / School of International Service / American University
Rosalind Fredericks / Assistant Professor / Gallatin School of Individualized Study / NYU

MODERATOR
Penny Lewis / Associate Professor of Labor Studies / The Murphy Institute / CUNY

About the Political Infrastructures Series:
Far from being neutral technical elements of the urban landscape, infrastructures are political in all sorts of ways. Urban infrastructures, including housing and architecture; public services such as water, waste, electricity, and transportation networks; and data systems are key sites of conflict and contest between government and urban dwellers. They can serve as key performative elements of governing as well as sites for claims-making by elite and disenfranchised citizens alike. Urban infrastructures can crystallize patterns of uneven development and injustice, highlighting the city’s vulnerabilities and producing political dissent. This series takes a critical approach to understanding the politics of infrastructure by thinking through the different ways that urban infrastructures are implicated in citizenship struggles, urban labor questions, planning practice, and resilience strategies for uncertain futures. It will bring together people thinking about the design, function, break-down, and even demolition of infrastructures in a diverse range of cities in the global North and South for insight into how the material city shapes lives and urban possibilities.