Urban Research (UR), the imprint of Terreform, directed by Michael Sorkin, a nonprofit urban research and advocacy center founded in 2005. The UR is a book series devoted to cities and their futures. 

''UR's goal is to get the word out about solutions that exceed the imaginative reach of “official” planning and design and to encourage vigorous and wide-ranging debate. We hope to become a key resource for people and organizations engaged in progressive urban research, design, and critical advocacy. We invite the collaboration of all who share our interest in creating sustainable, beautiful, and just cities around the world,'' says Michael Sorkin, Editor in Chief.

Now, UR introduces its new book devoted to mass urbanism derived from urban uprisings worldwide. The book Beyond the Square: Urbanism and the Arab Uprisings focuses on the urban spatial dynamics of the mass protest movements that have convulsed the Arab region since December 2010. The volume shifts attention away from public squares to consider the broader urban context in which the uprisings unfolded.

Edited by Deen Sharp and Claire Panetta, the contributors include Khaled Adham; Susana Galán; Azam Khatam; C. Lanthier; Ed McAllister; Julie Mehretu; G. Ollamh; Duygu Parmaksizoglu; Aseel Sawalha; Helga Tawil-Souri. 

Beyond the Square: Urbanism and the Arab Uprisings focuses on the urban spatial dynamics of the mass protest movements that convulsed the Arab region since December 2010. The volume shifts attention away from public squares — and in particular Tahrir Square in Cairo — to consider the broader urban context in which the uprisings unfolded. 

The essays are topically and geographically diverse, exploring a range of sociospatial phenomena in countries that are at the heart of the Arab uprisings as well as those countries that appeared peripheral to the upheaval. This breadth of perspective highlights the centrality of space and spatial concerns to the ongoing political transformations in the region. In this way, the book provides a distinctive — and critical — analysis of one of the most significant political events of our time.

Buy the book from here -$ 28.00

UR will also held two important events on September 26 and October 27 in New York with the editors and contributors, see the event details below:

Monday, September 26, 2016 at 6:00pm
Hagop Kevorkian Center - New York University
255 Sullivan Street
Join acclaimed artist Julie Mehretu in conversation with Ahmed Kanna, professor of anthropology at the University of the Pacific. Followed by a Q&A with the editors and contributors.
Event sponsors: The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, Urban Democracy Lab and the NYU Department of Anthropology.

Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Graduate Center, CUNY - New York City, Room 4102
A joint panel discussion on:
Beyond the Square: Urbanism and the Arab Uprisings and Zoned Out! Race, Displacement, and City Planning in New York City
Join Deen Sharp and Claire Panetta, editors, and Tom Angotti and Sylvia Morse, editors, to talk about the launch of their two new publications.

All images courtesy of UR

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