Category Archives: cities

Just published: a chapter on Senegal’s saintly sphere

Posted on March 13, 2021 by ericrossacademic

I haven’t posted in nearly a year. Covid lock-downs, on-line teaching and virtual conferences have taken much of the fabulousness out of my academic life. The rollout of mass vaccination–going rather well in Morocco–brings the prospect of better times returning … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartography, cities, publication, shrines | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Just published: our co-authored study of grid planning practices in Senegal

Posted on February 9, 2020 by ericrossacademic

I am delighted to announce the publication of Grid Planning in the Urban Practices of Senegal. This book is the fruit of years of collaboration between Dr. Liora Bigon and myself. In truth, Liora did all the tedious work: submitting … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, maps, publication | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Christmas in Dakar

Posted on December 27, 2019 by ericrossacademic

I spent Christmas in Dakar this year. The geography department of Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar invited me to do so. I am the external examiner on a doctoral thesis committee. Modou Ndiaye, who I first met two years … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, cities, teaching | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Reflections on a conference on local and urban governance in Praia, Cabo Verde

Posted on October 6, 2019 by ericrossacademic

Once again, I began an academic year by attending a small, focused conference–the best kind–in a fabulous place: Praia, capital of the Republic of Cabo Verde. The conference, organized by the International Geographical Union and the University of Cape Verde, … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, conferences | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Just published: four entries in the Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies

Posted on August 3, 2019 by ericrossacademic

Wiley-Blackwell has just published its five-volume Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies, edited by Anthony Orum. I am happy to have contributed four entries to this work. These contributions allowed me to revisit a few of the key thinkers and … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, cities, publication | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Accompanying students to Beijing

Posted on May 10, 2019 by ericrossacademic

During the Spring 2019 semester I participated in the latest edition of AUI’s International Field Seminar, accompanying nine students to Beijing. The international Field Seminar is a semester-long undergraduate course that deals with an array of social and cultural issues … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, field trips | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Just published: an encyclopedia entry on the history of cities in Africa

Posted on November 28, 2018 by ericrossacademic

This is just a quick note to announce that the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History has just published a 12,000-word article on the history of cities in Africa that I drafted earlier this year. This was, assuredly, the most … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, publication | Tagged | 1 Comment

Just published: a co-authored article on entangled planning in Senegal

Posted on March 27, 2018 by ericrossacademic

Another part of my joint research project with Dr. Liora Bigon has come to term. Following the panel discussion on grid planning that we organized at last September’s Urban Planning in Africa conference in Lisbon, and following our action-packed week … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, publication | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Notes from the field, January 2018 in Senegal

Posted on February 26, 2018 by ericrossacademic

I have just returned from a week of field work in Senegal. While I have often done field work there, this time was different. First, I was joined by two other researchers for a team excursion. My two companions de … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, cities, field trips, shrines, Sufism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Attending a conference on urban planning in Africa, again!

Posted on September 13, 2017 by ericrossacademic

He’s done it again! Four years after organizing the first international conference on urban planning in Africa, held in September 2013, Professor Carlos Nunes Silva of IGOT, University of Lisbon’s Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, has convened a second … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, conferences | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments