Geographies of Everyday Governance as Pathways to Sustainable Development?

Speaker: Glyn Williams

Glyn Williams's research asks how development processes can become more responsive to people facing social, economic, or political marginalisation, focusing on the 'everyday governance' of development. Working with academic partners, Williams has undertaken extensive qualitative fieldwork in India and South Africa, examining the ideas and motives behind development projects, the practices of government and other actors engaged in implementing them, and how these are reworked and contested on the ground.

In this talk, Williams outlines some of the research's theoretical inspirations and the practical contexts to date. Recurring themes within this work are the importance of 'conflicting rationalities' between those designing development interventions and their intended 'beneficiaries', and the importance of more participatory forms of governance if these conflicts are to be overcome. Although Williams has not taken environmental issues as a direct focus of his recent work, he concludes with reflections on possible connections between everyday governance and building more sustainable cities.