As a Global Visiting Research Associate at the Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation (GCHU), I had the privilege of contributing my expertise on the socio-political dimensions of urban security and redevelopment in the Caribbean to members of the GCHU, the broader University of Oxford community, and external partners. This opportunity allowed me not only to share insights from my fieldwork on urban militarization and redevelopment in Kingston, Jamaica, but also to situate these insights within a broader comparative and interdisciplinary framework.
During my time at Oxford, I engaged with a wide range of seminars and public lectures hosted by the GCHU, Nuffield College’s Political Science Department, the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, and the Latin American Centre. These events addressed pressing questions around the shifting political economies of urban centers in the Global North, as well as the evolving frameworks of urban governance and security in the Global South. They provided a valuable context for me to reflect on and further develop my research and enabled me to contribute regional insights from Kingston, Jamaica, into global conversations on policy responses to urban issues across geographies. A particular highlight was contributing to discussions during the GCHU seminar on the housing crisis, which addressed not only affordability and displacement but also environmental sustainability in the UK. Engaging with colleagues across geography, anthropology, public health, and planning, I was able to introduce Caribbean perspectives into these dialogues, demonstrating how postcolonial small-island contexts can illuminate global urban challenges in uniquely instructive ways.
Equally rewarding were the interdisciplinary collaborations with postgraduate researchers and faculty members forged during my residency at Oxford. These initial connections have laid the groundwork for a global network of scholars and practitioners whose research converges at the intersection of urbanisation, conflict, sustainable development, and the psychosocial dimensions of insecurity. With participants from institutions across the Caribbean, Europe, the United States, Australia, and South America, this emerging scholar network aims to produce transformational and transnational conversations and literature that will deepen our collective understanding of urban precarity and resilience.
During my visiting associateship, I made extensive use of Oxford’s exceptional research resources, including the Bodleian Libraries, to develop a manuscript for publication in Urban Studies. This article will appear in a forthcoming special issue on the urbanisation of conflict. This article examines the mechanisms of urban militarisation and community participation in Kingston and reflects both the empirical grounding of my research and the theoretical enrichment that came through my engagement with the Oxford community.
In sum, my visiting associateship at the GCHU has been a deeply enriching chapter in my academic career. It has sharpened my research, expanded my intellectual community, and strengthened my commitment to cross-regional, interdisciplinary scholarship on urban health, security, and development. I look forward to continued collaboration with the GCHU and to contributing further to global debates on just and inclusive urban futures.
Virtual seminar hosted by the Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation, Kellogg College, in collaboration with the Latin American Centre.
Drawing from ethnographic research in Kingston Trench Town, conducted by Dr. Tashanna Walker, Global Visiting Research Associate at GCHU, this seminar explores the logics and lived effects of militarized governance in Jamaica, with particular attention to the Zones of Special Operations Act (ZOSO). Dr. Walker’s presentation introduces the concept of “sensory fatigue” to describe the psychological toll of persistent violence, poverty, and over-policing. The seminar brings a Caribbean lens to global debates on urban securitization, individual and collective community health, and postcolonial governance in Global majority cities.
Main Presenter: Dr. Tashanna Walker, Visiting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania Dr. Walker’s research delves into the intersections of militarisation, redevelopment, and state power, with a focus on marginalised communities. Her work has informed national legislative reforms in Jamaica and contributed to broader discussions on security policy. Holding multiple academic and consultancy roles, she has worked with organisations such as USAID, PAHO, and UNESCO. Her dedication to public engagement and policy impact has made her a key figure in bridging the gap between academia and social justice initiatives.
Special Respondents:
Dr. Alex Moulton, Assistant Professor, Hunter College CUNY. Dr. Moulton’s examines Black geographical epistemologies and history, ecological justice, community resource governance, landscape legacies of colonization, and political ecology of environmental change. He was named a CUNY Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies Fellow for the 2024 academic year and has authored multiple publications.
Dr. Rivka Jaffe, Professor, University of Amsterdam. Dr. Jaffe’s research connects geography, anthropology and cultural studies, to inform the spatialization and materialization of power, difference and inequality within cities. She heads the Urban Geographies programme group within the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research and recently authored The Rule of Dons: Criminal Leaders and Political Authority in Urban Jamaica (2024)