Exploring the Autonomy of Cities Philosophical, Legal, and Policy Dimensions

Workshop

Center for Critical Democracy Studies, The American University of Paris

Cities have long served as centers of economic activity, cultural innovation, and political experimentation. Yet, their role and status within larger political systems remain a subject of ongoing debate. In recent years, calls for granting greater autonomy to cities have gained momentum, driven by challenges such as urbanization, climate change, and growing inequalities. This event invites examination of the conditions under which cities should be granted autonomy, the implications of autonomy for equality, and the challenges specific to cities in navigating their relationship with regional, national, and global governance systems. The workshop’s aim is to foster a dialogue on whether autonomy (and in which form? which constitutional status?) is the appropriate framework for empowering cities or if alternative approaches, such as empowerment through subsidiarity, are better suited to achieving justice and effective governance.

Organized by: Nathanaël Colin-Jaeger (AUP), Nefeli Lefkopoulou (Sciences Po Paris), Marc Goetzmann (Université de Tours).

DAY 1

Thursday, June 12

10h00-10h30 - Welcome & Coffee

10h30-12h45 - Session 1

• Nir BARAK (Ben Gurion University) | Assessing Justification for Municipal Autonomy
• Bartosz BISKUP (Université de Tours) | Partiality, Autonomy, and the Right to the City
• Oskar STEINER & Luca VENGA (CEE, Sciences Po Paris) | What ‘Auto’ for the City? Automation and Othering in Making of City Autonomy

12h45-14h15 - Lunch

14h15-16h30 - Session 2

• Nufar AVNI (Politecnico di Torino, Hebrew University) | Local autonomy in motion: The Case of Municipally-initiated Weekend Public Transportation
• Oriane ROTY (Université de Tours) | French Community Land Trust and the Management of Housing Crises
• Chiara CERBONE (University of Parma) | Urban Autonomy and Food Policies: The Case of Milan as a Model for Local Governance

16h30-16h45 - Coffee Break

16h45-17h45 - Keynote: Raul MAGNI BERTON (ESPOL, Université Catholique de Lille) | Free Our Cities

17h45-19h45 - Free Time

19h45 - Dinner

DAY 2

Friday, June 13

09h30-10h00 - Breakfast

10h00-12h15 - Session 3

• Maddalena VIVONA (University of Graz) | Who Owns the Ballot
• Philip RENNINGER (University of Arizona) | Sovereignty, Self-Government, Subordination: The Modi Operandi of Urban Law
• Benjamin BOURCIER (ESPOL, Université Catholique de Lille) | The principle of cooperation and non-cooperation and relative autonomy?

12h15-12h30 - Closing Remarks

12h30-16h30 - Lunch