Keele University is hosting the latest event in a high-profile talk series addressing issues facing the UK and U.S. in domestic, transatlantic and global contexts.

Unfolding Our Shared Future: Challenge, Possibility and Potential in the 21st Century is a travelling festival that has previously been held at several Russell Group universities including Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. 

The event at Keele Hall on Wednesday, May 8th will be live streamed from 4.30pm and members of the public can register to watch it via Keele’s website.  An invited audience of around 50 people will be in attendance, including representatives from local organisations with links to urban regeneration.

The panel for the event will feature two internationally renowned researchers in the field, who will be joined virtually by an official from The Embassy of the United States of American in London. The panelists will discuss the challenge of urban regeneration, including urban policy, public space, architecture, and gentrification. The panel includes:  

• Professor Loretta Lees, Director of the Initiative on Cities at Boston University in the U.S. An urban geographer and urbanist who is internationally known for her research on gentrification, urban regeneration, global urbanism, urban policy, urban public space, architecture, and urban social theory. In 2023 she was ranked in the top 2% of most highly cited scholars internationally.  

• Ray Bromley, Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York at Albany, who served from 1981 to 1985 as Advisor on Regional Planning to the Peruvian Prime Minister's Office. His research has focused on national, regional and urban planning, on informality, casual work and self-help housing, and on the 20th century history of ideas in urban studies and planning.   

Dr James Peacock, Director of Keele's David Bruce Centre for the Study of the Americas, said: "We’re delighted to be welcoming two high-profile speakers to Keele and Staffordshire for this prestigious event, particularly during the University’s 75th anniversary year. 

"Keele has a long association with American studies and research in the Americas more widely, with its contribution to both teaching and research in the field being internationally recognised over many years, so it feels fitting to be hosting the discussion on our campus."

Unfolding Our Shared Future is a high-profile public event to mark the launch of Keele's new David Bruce Centre for the Study of the Americas - formerly known as The David Bruce Centre for American Studies. The Centre is an important hub for researchers across Keele and in the wider scholarly community conducting research in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Professor Mariangela Palladino, Dean of Research for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, said: "Our ambition for the centre was to expand its hemispheric reach and to extend its focus to be more inclusive. This is an essential milestone in our continuous efforts to decolonize research at Keele. I am delighted to see this taking shape."

The series is delivered by the American Politics Group of the Political Studies Association and the host universities with the support of the U.S. Embassy in London.