Planetare Kleinstadt:

The book chapter (in German) outlines a new conceptual framework that informs interdisciplinary small-town research, addressing the relational nature of locally specific articulations and the global interconnectedness of small towns. The chapter utilises the largely unexplored qualities of a multi-scalar and non-city-centred research framework inherent to the controversially debated concept of ‘planetary urbanisation’. Contrary to recent critiques, the contribution aims at re-rooting the concept with its revolutionary spirit of emancipatory urban practice, following Lefebvre’s assumption that ‘centrality’ is a prerequisite for ‘difference’ and thus for ‘emancipation’. In addition, the chapter builds on spatial theories and feminist perspectives, including Spivak’s understanding of the ‘planetary’, which emphasises to ‘think the other’ and thus the plurality of locally specific and diverse urban realities within the planetary context. Following this, the chapter develops a conceptual framework that promotes a situational and place-sensitive approach to the specific characteristics of small towns, without neglecting their multi-scalar relations in time and space.