Prof. Dr. Agata Lisiak publishes paper on geographer Doreen Massey in The Sociological Review

In a new paper published in The Sociological Review, the oldest sociology journal in the UK, Prof. Dr. Agata Lisiak and Emma Jackson revisit geographer Doreen Massey’s 1991 essay "A Global Sense of Place" and recreate her walk on Kilburn High Road in London to reflect on the inherent relationality of walking. An avid supporter of Liverpool Football Club, Massey was known to sing the club’s anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” during her hikes in the Lake District. In their paper, Lisiak and Jackson propose taking the song title quite literally – as a definitive statement rather than a promise – because, as they argue, walking is never a solitary activity; it always happens together with others.

Acknowledging that Massey’s walk can be read both as situated in time (a specific week in 1991) and as a composite of many walks helps demystify the aura of genius revelation that is still commonly associated with urban walking. Instead, the authors approach walking with an awareness of the countless factors that inform what walkers (do not) see and hear. Lisiak and Jackson argue that engaged walking – walking that seeks to overcome the many shortcomings of this key urban research method while acknowledging what remains hidden from the walker’s immediate view, and centering the politics of the street – can reveal much about the power structures that (re)shape our cities.

This paper emerged from Lisiak and Jackson’s collaboration on an episode of Spatial Delight, a Volkswagen Foundation-funded podcast about space, society, and power that Lisiak produced, wrote, and hosted in 2022–2023.

Post Date: 01-27-2025