On shaky ground: the making of risk in Bogotá

How does risk become a technique for governing the future of cities and urban life? Using genealogical and ethnographic methods, a paper by Austin Zeiderman recently published in Environment and Planning A, tracks the emergence of risk management in Bogotá, Colombia, from its initial institutionalization to its ongoing implementation in governmental practice. Its specific focus is the invention of the ‘zone of high risk’ in Bogotá and the everyday work performed by the officials responsible for determining the likelihood of landslide in these areas. [access the paper]