"United by Music" was the slogan of the 2024 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Malmö. However, the festive spirit of the event oddly contrasted with what was described as "the largest police operation in Sweden's history" (Ivarsson, 2024). This operation was mobilized in response to the expected civil protests regarding Eurovision's decision to welcome Israel's participation, despite its ongoing genocidal war on Gaza. We examine the temporary disruptions in Malmö's urban space during Eurovision to understand the dissonance between a peaceful pro‐Palestine movement, a supposedly festive event, and the heightened securitization of the city with its alarmist tones. We aim to understand these contrasts within a broader temporal context and across different geographical scales. We argue that the distinct racialized characterizations of neoliberal authoritarian practices in Malmö during Eurovision are deeply enmeshed with the implications of the Western narratives about Israel and Palestine, the growing influence of the far‐right in Swedish politics, and, ultimately, the identity Malmö aspires to and is perceived to have. Rather than being a local manifestation of isolated authoritarian practices, Eurovision in Malmö opens a conceptual space to explore authoritarianism as a multiscalar discourse and practice. This perspective allows us to move beyond the dichotomy of the "democratic West" versus the "authoritarian others" by revealing the persistence of authoritarian practices in democracies.

This chapter explores the role, success and failures of spatial planning in shaping African cities and its influence on livelihoods. To date, planning in Africa has largely failed to address the needs and livelihoods of the poor and struggled to address wider issues such as spatial and economic inclusion, health inequalities, future pandemics and climate change. Planning for sustainable livelihoods across Africa must consider the distinction between universal or more generic approaches to planning and the experience of particular places and people, specifically, accounting for the needs and practices of informal entrepreneurs. This chapter first explores how the legacy of colonial planning has impacted the segregation of spaces and hence of livelihoods, particularly those of the poorer communities. It then discusses the barriers faced by planning to address the informal nature of the livelihoods of lower-income communities. Finally, it sketches out the challenges that need to be overcome and how planning for sustainable livelihoods should thus be tackled in Africa in the future. 

For Kristeva (1982) the abject not only caused visceral disgust but posed a threat to the established order of society. The abject is a product of particular times and places but limited attention has been given to understanding the process of transitioning away from abject status. We address this gap here through an examination of the planning profession in post-apartheid South Africa. The paper examines how the abject is fluid and resilient, evolving to fit a changing planning system and broader political economy where a discourse of abjection by race has been replaced by a focus on poverty.

This paper reflects on the ongoing debate between theory and practice in planning, using the example of South Africa. Based on survey responses, it discusses how planning education in South Africa is perceived to prepare students for practice. While we acknowledge that the majority of respondents view their planning education positively, the results reveal challenges regarding the practical application of theory, especially in the case of land-use management. We then respond to calls for contextualised practices of knowing, emphasising the 'local' in planning education so that theory and practice can be combined across contexts.

This paper investigates imbricated relationship between the socio-spatial organisation of marginalised rurban communities and the late appropriation of the internet in both Brazil and the UK. It focuses on the underlying forces that shape rurban communities’ everyday lives in the context of digital peripheralisation, understanding that, though embodied and imprinted in space, these are correlated to phenomena pertaining to different social levels – the global and the urban – as discussed by Henri Lefebvre. The study indicates a clear relation between socio-spatial-technological processes and the appropriation of internet, and suggests the need to consider those processes while discussing the so-called ‘digital divide’.

This paper argues that planning in the Global South needs to be embedded within a more complex and systemic framework based on understanding cities' functions and transformations, at both local and regional levels, whilst advocating for and incorporating informal and temporary dynamics. This is to differentiate between two competing processes: formal planning and citizen-led place-making, here considered as a form of reactive alternative-substitute place-making that occurs when there is no available alternative. The paper calls for a better integration of such impermanent, adaptable, temporary and alternative forms of place-making into the planning process for regional futures.

Drawing on interviews with selected UK planning academics and survey results from current planning practitioners, this article provides valuable and timely perspectives on how internationalisation is experienced by those within and beyond the immediate institutional context. Although internationally focused planning education helps planners tackle the manifold urban challenges in the global South, the article goes on to argue that relational approaches hold much promise for planners working in so-called developed countries, including the UK, to understand the diverse needs of different diasporic communities. Such knowledge is crucial to develop sustainable planning solutions in the face of uneven processes of urban development.