On Wednesday 25th September, the Geography Department took A-Level students from Year 12 and 13 to a lecture at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS). The lecture, The Changing City – Alternative uses of Urban Space was led by Professor Oli Mould, who teaches at Royal Holloway, University of London. The lecture enabled students to understand more about the contemporary city and how it is forever changing, but too often it is to suit the needs of capital rather than people. However, that doesn’t mean that people aren’t finding ways to use the city in very different, engaging, fun, political or subversive ways to express their ‘right to the city’. This lecture gave students an overview of the ideas, theories, political ideologies and case studies of how city places and spaces are developing, and importantly, how urban citizens are responding to that change with changes of their own, and by doing so creating a city that is not just for profit, but also for people. This lecture complemented A-Level units currently being studied by students; the Changing Places and Contemporary Urban Environments topics. Overall, students left feeling inspired to read more into ‘Marxist Geography’ and already excited for our next lecture in November!
