Who are we?
The Urban Media Research Group (UMRG) was established in 2025 with the goal of creating a network of scholars interested in projects focused on the critical study of media used and produced within the context of contemporary cities. We are interdisciplinary and operate across fields such as urban studies, media and communications, digital media, arts and activism, and related areas.
The research group was born with the mission of improving integration between scholars, activists, artists, and other practitioners.
What do we want?
The UMRG addresses the increasing mediatisation of life in the contemporary city while seeking to document and propose projects or publications that engage with the growing adoption of media outlets as a corollary of new forms of urban living, control, and other critical questions, such as the advent of surveillance cameras, mobile phones, and artificial intelligence, to stay in a few examples.
The project also suggests alternatives for reversing inequalities caused by access to media outlets and surveillance, which are expanding globally. The UMRG operates in a context where further research is necessary to better understand media production in urban spaces today, especially among minoritized groups.
Who could join us?
Scholars, artists, activists, workers, students and other practitioners interested in one or more of the areas below are encouraged to contact us. We are always updating to reach the broader public as possible.
What are our next steps?
Scholars who subscribe to the UMRG are invited to discuss or propose new project ideas, as well as media or scholarly pieces, policies, protocols, and training initiatives in response to the problems raised by ongoing research.
A future lab for the teaching of urban media is to be set up so as to bring together scholars from different disciplines to embed their teaching and practice with more awareness of the importance of urban media research.
Urban Media and Participatory Spaces Research Group 