In a global seminar series led by Dr Suraya Scheba (UCT), Dr Cian O’Callaghan (Trinity College Dublin), and Dr Andreas Scheba (HSRC/UFS), scholars, activists, and early career researchers came together to explore how vacant urban spaces are politicised, reclaimed, and reimagined across Cape Town, Dublin, and Vienna. Through walking tours, workshops, and collaborative dialogue, the series uncovered the transformative potential of occupation and commoning to challenge dominant urban narratives and forge new forms of city-making across the Global North and South.

The series fostered a comparative and grounded approach to urban vacancy, highlighting its role in housing struggles, experimental urban futures, and contested property relations.

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