Lonely? Mean? Hostile? Cities get a bad rap. But why? Romit Chowdhury has lived in cities worldwide; from Kolkata to Rotterdam. He tells Alexis and Rosie about the wonder of urban “enchantment” found in a stranger’s smile, our changing ideas of the “urban”, and why anonymity is not always in fact the enemy of civility and friendship in the city.Plus: how did “walking the city” emerge as a revolutionary research method? And why is Romit so fascinated with public transport – from exploring auto-rickshaw drivers’ masculinity in Kolkata, to studying sexual violence on the busy trains of Tokyo.Romit, Alexis and Rosie also share their tips for thinking differently about urban life – from Japanese film to novels that explode norms about bodies in the city.Guest: Romit ChowdhuryHosts: Rosie Hancock, Alexis Hieu TruongExecutive Producer: Alice BlochSound Engineer: David CracklesMusic: Joe GardnerArtwork: Erin AnikerFind more about Uncommon Sense at The Sociological Review.Episode ResourcesRomit, Rosie, Alexis and our producer Alice recommendedClaudia Piñeiro’s novel “Elena Knows”N. K. Jemisin’s book “The City We Became”Shinya Tsukamoto’s filmographyTeju Cole’s novel “Every Day is For the Thief”From The Sociological Review“Karachi” – Shama Dossa“Whose City Now?” – Ray Forrest“Trash Talk: Unpicking the deadlock around urban waste and regeneration” – Francisco Calafate-Faria“Rising with the Rooster: How urban chickens are relaxing the pace of life” – Catherine OliverBy Romit Chowdhury“Sexual assault on public transport: Crowds, nation, and violence in the urban commons”“The social life of transport infrastructures: Masculinities and everyday mobilities in Kolkata”“Density as urban affect: The enchantment of Tokyo’s crowds”Further readings“Dangerous Liaisons – Women and Men: Risk and Reputation in Mumbai” – Shilpa Phadke“For Space” – Doreen Massey“The Metropolis and Mental Life” – Georg Simmel“The Arcades Project” – Walter Benjamin “Delhi Crime” (TV series) – Richie Mehta“The Country and the City” – Raymond Williams“Why Women of Colour in Geography?” – Audrey Kobayashi“‘Delhi is a hopeful place for me!’: young middle-class women reclaiming the Indian city” – Syeda Jenifa Zahan“The Way They Blow the Horn: Caribbean Dollar Cabs and Subaltern Mobilities” – Asha Best“Black in Place: The Spatial Aesthetics of Race in a Post-Chocolate City” – Brandi Thompson SummersSupport our work. Make a one-off or regular donation to help fund future episodes of Uncommon Sense: donorbox.org/uncommon-sense

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