The Centre for Urban Studies and the Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development Studies (GPIO) are currently inviting applications for a postdoctoral researcher in Planning and Urban Geography to study how financialization practices, and debt (at household and municipal level) affect urban redevelopment practices.The position is for 1,5 years (1,0 fte) or 2 years (0,7 fte).

The successful candidate will work as a research assistant to Profs Maria Kaika and Ewald Engelen. The post will be held at the GPIO, which is one of the six Departments in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA), and the successful candidate will be affiliated with both Planning and Geography thematic groups.

The project aims to go beyond the dominant analysis that depicts: 1) the financial crisis as the inevitable result of market liberalisation and financialization and 2) cities as the inevitable victims of this process.
The aim is to investigate the dialectic between housing policies and planning practices on one hand, and the processes of the ‘urbanization of capital’ on the other hand and the role this dialectic played in fueling the global financial crisis and its aftermath.
It will focus on one or two case studies, (one of which will be Amsterdam) to develop an empirically grounded longitudinal (pre and post crisis) comparative analysis of two different institutional and economic settings.
The project will use both quantitative and qualitative methods (life stories, diaries, interviews, archival material, debt and housing market data, etc.).

Candidates are expected to

• develop and conduct high-quality research;
• provide a contribution to the development of the field through scholarly publications and participation in national and international research networks;
• prepare applications for external funding for long-term research projects to fit in the Centre for Urban Studies;
• live and work full time in Amsterdam and be prepared to conduct brief fieldwork periods abroad.

The following skills are required:

• a doctoral degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. urban geography, urban planning, urban studies, urban political economy, urban sociology, etc.);
• demonstrated ability to publish in international peer-reviewed journals;
• experience with research and knowledge of literature on urban political economy, cities and financialization, debt, and financial crisis;
• some experience in funding applications;
• an excellent command of qualitative (incl. ethnographic) and quantitative research methods;
• excellent communication skills in English;
• competent in the use of social media and blogging (these will form part of the project’s research methods and dissemination practises).

What can we offer you ?

A challenging work environment with a variety of duties and sufficient scope for individual initiative and development within an inspiring organisation. We cherish enquiring minds and persevering spirits, and allow you space to dig deeper with your questions. Diverse, unique, dynamic, internationally oriented and ambitious: these are all characteristics which typify UvA staff. Strongly committed to the city of Amsterdam and the international society of which it is part, the UvA stands for independence, creativity, innovation, an international perspective and a critical yet open mindset.

The position concerns a temporary appointment of 38 hours per week (for 1,5 years) or 26,6 hours per week (for 2 years) as from 1 February 2019 or soon thereafter, depending on the successful candidate’s availability.

Salary depends on past education and relevant work experience, with a minimum salary of €3,545 and a maximum of €4,033 gross per month based on a full-time appointment for a 38-hour working week (in keeping with scale 11, as per the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities). We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary employee benefits, including a generous holiday scheme and year-end bonus.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.   

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

http://www.uva.nl/home

Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development Studies

The post will be held at the  Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development Studies (GPIO), which is one of the six Departments in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA), and the successful candidate will be affiliated with both Planning, and Geography thematic groups.

http://www.uva.nl/en/disciplines/human-geography-planning-and-international-development