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Disobedient Buildings

Disobedient Buildings (disobedientbuildings.com) is a multi-sited research project about housing, welfare and wellbeing based at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, part of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (anthro.ox.ac.uk), at the University of Oxford. It is funded for four years by the Art and Humanities Research Council. Launched in January 2020, the project employs a multi-disciplinary team of researchers and visual practitioners to study the impact of neoliberal reforms over the past three decades on the everyday lived experiences of inhabitants of ageing tower blocks in different European welfare states: the UK, Romania and Norway.

The Disobedient Buildings podcast is conceived and presented by Inge Daniels, the project's principal investigator, and the project’s two postdoctoral researchers: Gabriela Nicolescu and Anna Ulrikke Andersen. In Season One, the team scrutinises key themes guiding their research such as disobedience, inequality, urban development, welfare and health. The 10 episodes feature interviews with local experts and highlight commonalities and differences experienced by residents in the three field sites of London, Bucharest and Oslo. The podcast asks, what is a disobedient building, why is home ownership promoted, and will the State look after you?

# Episode Title Description People Date
10 How has COVID-19 influenced domestic life? The Disobedient Buildings team reflect on both the positive and negative implications of spending more time in the home and within the community during Covid-19 lockdowns across their field sites. Inge Daniels, Gabriela Nicolescu, Anna Ulrikke Andersen 04 May 2022
9 Does home ownership increase inequality? The Disobedient Buildings team examine the relationships between the privatization of housing and rising inequality in London, Bucharest and Oslo. Inge Daniels, Gabriela Nicolescu, Anna Ulrikke Andersen 04 May 2022
8 What does welfare mean today? The Disobedient Buildings team explore the continuities and differences in the welfare systems in the UK, Romania and Norway . Inge Daniels, Gabriela Nicolescu, Anna Ulrikke Andersen 04 May 2022
7 Are local authorities meeting the needs of diverse communities? Anna Ulrikke Andersen interviews researcher Tom Davies about socially driven building design in post-Second World War Oslo and the challenges inhabitants of those buildings face today. Anna Ulrikke Andersen, Tom Davies 04 May 2022
6 Have people lost their sense of civic duty? Gabriela Nicolescu interviews architecture lecturer Ilinca Păun-Constantinescu about the loss of community and the demise of civic duty in post-socialist Bucharest. Gabriela Nicolescu, Ilinca Păun-Constantinescu 04 May 2022
5 Will the State look after you? Inge daniels talks to Jacky Peacock from Advice to Renters on the housing challenges faced by vulnerable people in London. Inge Daniels, Jack Peacock 04 May 2022
4 Can participatory design reach ‘forgotten people’ in Oslo? Anna Ulrikke Andersen interviews the founders of MakersHub Oslo to discuss the value of participatory design in architectural practice. Anna Ulrikke Andersen, Jack Hughes, Else Abrahamsen 04 May 2022
3 Is ‘ghettoisation’ happening in Bucharest? Gabriela Nicolescu speaks with Ștefan Ghenciulescu about social housing, privatisation and the impact of the market economy on residents in Bucharest. Gabriela Nicolescu, Ștefan Ghenciulescu 04 May 2022
2 Is London the most unequal European City? Inge daniels interviews Geography Professor Danny Dorling to discuss the extent of social and economic inequality in London. Inge Daniels, Danny Dorling 04 May 2022
1 What is a Disobedient Building? The Disobedient Buildings team unpacks 'disobedience' and what the term means in the homes of their research participants in London, Bucharest and Oslo. Inge Daniels, Gabriela Nicolescu, Anna Ulrikke Andersen 04 May 2022