Eliot Tretter
Biographic Data
| ID | 1041328 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Eliot Tretter |
| GIVEN NAMES | Eliot |
| FAMILY NAME | Tretter |
| SIGNATURE | TRETTER E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Calgary |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 80 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Exiles in New York City: Warehousing the marginalized on Ward’s Island , by Philip T. Yanos: New York City, Columbia University Press, 2025
Exiles in New York City: Warehousing the Marginalized on Ward’s Island is a short book about Ward’s Island, now known as Ward-Randall Island. Located at the meeting point of the Bronx, Manhattan, a...
Urban futures of digitalized fossil labour: Mutual articulations of smartness in cities and extractive work
Little research to date has drawn out the connections between digitalizing extractive labour and digital urbanism. In this article, we argue that these are complementary, mutually reinforcing processes: digital urbanism enables the digitalization of extractive labour, and digitalization centralizes extractive labour in urban centres. More specifically, ‘smart’ digitalization as a political-economic strategy works on both the extractive labour and…
Digital transformations of the urban – carbon – labor nexus: A research agenda
Digitalization is profoundly impacting natural resource extraction. Mines and wells are monitored and managed in new ways from real-time data streams to algorithmic decision-making to implementation of automated vehicles. How mines and wells are superintended is restructuring the geographies of employment as more of the day-to-day mining operations are centralized in urban locations distant from sites of extraction. Digital infrastructures allow …
Creative re-uses: The promises and challenges of temporary land use in Calgary
Yimbyism, the Environment, and the Remaking of Race and Class Coalitions In austin, Tx
Recently, debates about the future of Austin's housing policies have been reshaped by the rise of a vocal group of well-organized and self-styled YIMBYs. In particular, this group has been important in the restructuring of political coalitions that both support and oppose the Urbanist elements contained in the ongoing land-development code (LDC) reform effort, especially the realignment of mainstream environmentalists. One significant stake in th…
Yimbyism and the Housing Crisis in Canada and the United States: A Critical Reflection
In this introductory essay, we provide an overview and theoretical context for this Intervention of seven critical reflections on the recent 'pro-housing' movement YIMBYism ('Yes in My Backyard'). In cities across the United States and Canada, YIMBYism has become important in local debates about housing and land use; some key North American urban centers are the focus of the commentaries included here. On the whole, academic discussions of YIMBYi…
New Geographies of Racism: Canadian Urbanization, the Biopolitical, and Racial Capitalism
New Geographies of Racism:Canadian Urbanization, the Biopolitical, and Racial Capitalism Eliot Tretter (bio) Evelyn Peters and Chris Andersen, eds., Indigenous in the City: Contemporary Identities and Cultural Innovation (Vancouver: ubc Press, 2013) Ted Rutland, Displacing Blackness: Planning, Power, and Race in Twentieth-Century Halifax (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2018) Owen Toews, Stolen City: Racial Capitalism and the Making of Winn…
Producing Alberta's Tar Sands: Oil, Ideas, Rents, and New Enclosures
The production and transfer of knowledge are essential for producing oil. In this paper, I examine the nexus between a subnational quasi-state publicly funded hydrocarbon research program and a novel knowledge-production regime and explore how this relationship resulted in the production of oil from Alberta's oilsands. In particular, the paper highlights the significance of the Alberta Oilsands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA), a quasi-…
The environmentalization of urban entrepreneurialism: From technopolis to start-up city
This paper investigates two trends in contemporary forms of urban entrepreneurialism: (a) an increasing focus on cultivating entrepreneurship, and (b) the promotion of entrepreneurial ecosystems that leverage culture and sustainability to attract and support entrepreneurs. We argue that these trends signify a shift from the entrepreneurial city to new strategies that shape cities for entrepreneurs. Underpinning this development is a broad normali…
Turn your brand into a destination”: Toponymic commodification and the branding of place in Dubai and Winnipeg
The selling of naming rights to corporate sponsors has led urban policymakers to increasingly view the identities of public places as rent-generating assets to fund urban infrastructure. Yet few scholars have critically analyzed this emerging global trend of toponymic commodification and the seeking of “naming rent.” Through a combination of archival research, on-site field observations, and semi-structured interviews, this study examines how the…
Shadows of a Sunbelt City: The Environment, Racism, and the Knowledge Economy in Austin
Live Music, Intercity Competition, and Reputational Rents: Austin, Texas the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’
In this paper I draw on a body of scholarship that focuses on how a central feature of capitalist urbanization is the willingness of firms to participate in a form of rent-seeking that exploits geographical differences. I then extend this analysis to the cultural economy. I use as my case study Austin, Texas, which since 1991 has branded itself the “Live Music Capital of the World.” The existing literature on Austin's urban entrepreneurial strate…
Sustainability and Neoliberal Urban Development: The Environment, Crime and the Remaking of Austin’s Downtown
This paper explores the development of the smart growth programme in Austin, Texas. Drawing on growth machine theory, it documents the conflict in Austin in the 1980s and 1990s between pro-growth and anti-growth machine coalitions over urban sprawl. Around that time, the business community also began to focus on the redevelopment of city’s downtown and the need to address the problems of crime and homelessness. By the mid 1990s, the need to ‘clea…
Contesting Sustainability: SMARTGrowth' and the Redevelopment ofAustin'sEastside
The compatibility between an agenda for sustainable urban development and the neoliberal economic restructuring of urban space has been observed within cities in developed countries across the globe. From providing economic support to local 'green' industries to creating bike lanes, municipalities develop sustainability strategies that are designed to boost their competitive advantage. Moreover, municipalities are responding to demands from popul…
The ‘Value’ of Europe: The Political Economy of Culture in the European Community
During the 1970s and 1980s the “cultural sector” became one of the primary motors for wealth creation in the European Community. At the European and national scales, a group of actors helped transform Europe's vast array of practices and services (tourism, heritage, books, audio-visual products, etc.) into “cultural industries” and pushed the EC to develop a common cultural policy to support these industries. Documenting these changes at the Euro…
X: Architecture, Planning, and Consumer Culture on the American Home Front
The Cultures of Capitalism: Glasgow and the Monopoly of Culture
While many have recognized since the 1970s the strong relationship between culture and urban renewal, particularly as cities began to use cultural amenities to change their images and lure potential investors, little has been written about how and why cultural assets may be valued investments in their own right. There is at least one notable exception, in the work of David Harvey, and this approach takes as its starting point the importance of th…
Scales, Regimes, and the Urban Governance of Glasgow
Over the last two decades, urban regime theory has become one of the most dominant paradigms of thought in urban studies. In particular, regime theory offers a complex account of urban governance, or how local governments, the business communities, and community organizations gain the capacity to shape the policies that affect cities, that is, govern. Although regime theory is a dominant theory in urban studies, it does, nevertheless, have its sh…
Contesting Sustainability: SMARTGrowth' and the Redevelopment ofAustin'sEastside
The compatibility between an agenda for sustainable urban development and the neoliberal economic restructuring of urban space has been observed within cities in developed countries across the globe. From providing economic support to local 'green' industries to creating bike lanes, municipalities develop sustainability strategies that are designed to boost their competitive advantage. Moreover, municipalities are responding to demands from popul…
Sustainability and Neoliberal Urban Development: The Environment, Crime and the Remaking of Austin’s Downtown
This paper explores the development of the smart growth programme in Austin, Texas. Drawing on growth machine theory, it documents the conflict in Austin in the 1980s and 1990s between pro-growth and anti-growth machine coalitions over urban sprawl. Around that time, the business community also began to focus on the redevelopment of city’s downtown and the need to address the problems of crime and homelessness. By the mid 1990s, the need to ‘clea…
The Cultures of Capitalism: Glasgow and the Monopoly of Culture
While many have recognized since the 1970s the strong relationship between culture and urban renewal, particularly as cities began to use cultural amenities to change their images and lure potential investors, little has been written about how and why cultural assets may be valued investments in their own right. There is at least one notable exception, in the work of David Harvey, and this approach takes as its starting point the importance of th…
Turn your brand into a destination”: Toponymic commodification and the branding of place in Dubai and Winnipeg
The selling of naming rights to corporate sponsors has led urban policymakers to increasingly view the identities of public places as rent-generating assets to fund urban infrastructure. Yet few scholars have critically analyzed this emerging global trend of toponymic commodification and the seeking of “naming rent.” Through a combination of archival research, on-site field observations, and semi-structured interviews, this study examines how the…
Producing Alberta's Tar Sands: Oil, Ideas, Rents, and New Enclosures
The production and transfer of knowledge are essential for producing oil. In this paper, I examine the nexus between a subnational quasi-state publicly funded hydrocarbon research program and a novel knowledge-production regime and explore how this relationship resulted in the production of oil from Alberta's oilsands. In particular, the paper highlights the significance of the Alberta Oilsands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA), a quasi-…
The environmentalization of urban entrepreneurialism: From technopolis to start-up city
This paper investigates two trends in contemporary forms of urban entrepreneurialism: (a) an increasing focus on cultivating entrepreneurship, and (b) the promotion of entrepreneurial ecosystems that leverage culture and sustainability to attract and support entrepreneurs. We argue that these trends signify a shift from the entrepreneurial city to new strategies that shape cities for entrepreneurs. Underpinning this development is a broad normali…
Scales, Regimes, and the Urban Governance of Glasgow
Over the last two decades, urban regime theory has become one of the most dominant paradigms of thought in urban studies. In particular, regime theory offers a complex account of urban governance, or how local governments, the business communities, and community organizations gain the capacity to shape the policies that affect cities, that is, govern. Although regime theory is a dominant theory in urban studies, it does, nevertheless, have its sh…
Yimbyism, the Environment, and the Remaking of Race and Class Coalitions In austin, Tx
Recently, debates about the future of Austin's housing policies have been reshaped by the rise of a vocal group of well-organized and self-styled YIMBYs. In particular, this group has been important in the restructuring of political coalitions that both support and oppose the Urbanist elements contained in the ongoing land-development code (LDC) reform effort, especially the realignment of mainstream environmentalists. One significant stake in th…
Yimbyism and the Housing Crisis in Canada and the United States: A Critical Reflection
In this introductory essay, we provide an overview and theoretical context for this Intervention of seven critical reflections on the recent 'pro-housing' movement YIMBYism ('Yes in My Backyard'). In cities across the United States and Canada, YIMBYism has become important in local debates about housing and land use; some key North American urban centers are the focus of the commentaries included here. On the whole, academic discussions of YIMBYi…
Digital transformations of the urban – carbon – labor nexus: A research agenda
Digitalization is profoundly impacting natural resource extraction. Mines and wells are monitored and managed in new ways from real-time data streams to algorithmic decision-making to implementation of automated vehicles. How mines and wells are superintended is restructuring the geographies of employment as more of the day-to-day mining operations are centralized in urban locations distant from sites of extraction. Digital infrastructures allow …
The ‘Value’ of Europe: The Political Economy of Culture in the European Community
During the 1970s and 1980s the “cultural sector” became one of the primary motors for wealth creation in the European Community. At the European and national scales, a group of actors helped transform Europe's vast array of practices and services (tourism, heritage, books, audio-visual products, etc.) into “cultural industries” and pushed the EC to develop a common cultural policy to support these industries. Documenting these changes at the Euro…
Scales, Regimes, and the Urban Governance of Glasgow
Over the last two decades, urban regime theory has become one of the most dominant paradigms of thought in urban studies. In particular, regime theory offers a complex account of urban governance, or how local governments, the business communities, and community organizations gain the capacity to shape the policies that affect cities, that is, govern. Although regime theory is a dominant theory in urban studies, it does, nevertheless, have its sh…
The Cultures of Capitalism: Glasgow and the Monopoly of Culture
While many have recognized since the 1970s the strong relationship between culture and urban renewal, particularly as cities began to use cultural amenities to change their images and lure potential investors, little has been written about how and why cultural assets may be valued investments in their own right. There is at least one notable exception, in the work of David Harvey, and this approach takes as its starting point the importance of th…
X: Architecture, Planning, and Consumer Culture on the American Home Front
The ‘Value’ of Europe: The Political Economy of Culture in the European Community
During the 1970s and 1980s the “cultural sector” became one of the primary motors for wealth creation in the European Community. At the European and national scales, a group of actors helped transform Europe's vast array of practices and services (tourism, heritage, books, audio-visual products, etc.) into “cultural industries” and pushed the EC to develop a common cultural policy to support these industries. Documenting these changes at the Euro…
Sustainability and Neoliberal Urban Development: The Environment, Crime and the Remaking of Austin’s Downtown
This paper explores the development of the smart growth programme in Austin, Texas. Drawing on growth machine theory, it documents the conflict in Austin in the 1980s and 1990s between pro-growth and anti-growth machine coalitions over urban sprawl. Around that time, the business community also began to focus on the redevelopment of city’s downtown and the need to address the problems of crime and homelessness. By the mid 1990s, the need to ‘clea…
Contesting Sustainability: SMARTGrowth' and the Redevelopment ofAustin'sEastside
The compatibility between an agenda for sustainable urban development and the neoliberal economic restructuring of urban space has been observed within cities in developed countries across the globe. From providing economic support to local 'green' industries to creating bike lanes, municipalities develop sustainability strategies that are designed to boost their competitive advantage. Moreover, municipalities are responding to demands from popul…
Live Music, Intercity Competition, and Reputational Rents: Austin, Texas the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’
In this paper I draw on a body of scholarship that focuses on how a central feature of capitalist urbanization is the willingness of firms to participate in a form of rent-seeking that exploits geographical differences. I then extend this analysis to the cultural economy. I use as my case study Austin, Texas, which since 1991 has branded itself the “Live Music Capital of the World.” The existing literature on Austin's urban entrepreneurial strate…
Shadows of a Sunbelt City: The Environment, Racism, and the Knowledge Economy in Austin
Turn your brand into a destination”: Toponymic commodification and the branding of place in Dubai and Winnipeg
The selling of naming rights to corporate sponsors has led urban policymakers to increasingly view the identities of public places as rent-generating assets to fund urban infrastructure. Yet few scholars have critically analyzed this emerging global trend of toponymic commodification and the seeking of “naming rent.” Through a combination of archival research, on-site field observations, and semi-structured interviews, this study examines how the…
Producing Alberta's Tar Sands: Oil, Ideas, Rents, and New Enclosures
The production and transfer of knowledge are essential for producing oil. In this paper, I examine the nexus between a subnational quasi-state publicly funded hydrocarbon research program and a novel knowledge-production regime and explore how this relationship resulted in the production of oil from Alberta's oilsands. In particular, the paper highlights the significance of the Alberta Oilsands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA), a quasi-…
The environmentalization of urban entrepreneurialism: From technopolis to start-up city
This paper investigates two trends in contemporary forms of urban entrepreneurialism: (a) an increasing focus on cultivating entrepreneurship, and (b) the promotion of entrepreneurial ecosystems that leverage culture and sustainability to attract and support entrepreneurs. We argue that these trends signify a shift from the entrepreneurial city to new strategies that shape cities for entrepreneurs. Underpinning this development is a broad normali…
New Geographies of Racism: Canadian Urbanization, the Biopolitical, and Racial Capitalism
New Geographies of Racism:Canadian Urbanization, the Biopolitical, and Racial Capitalism Eliot Tretter (bio) Evelyn Peters and Chris Andersen, eds., Indigenous in the City: Contemporary Identities and Cultural Innovation (Vancouver: ubc Press, 2013) Ted Rutland, Displacing Blackness: Planning, Power, and Race in Twentieth-Century Halifax (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2018) Owen Toews, Stolen City: Racial Capitalism and the Making of Winn…
Creative re-uses: The promises and challenges of temporary land use in Calgary
Yimbyism, the Environment, and the Remaking of Race and Class Coalitions In austin, Tx
Recently, debates about the future of Austin's housing policies have been reshaped by the rise of a vocal group of well-organized and self-styled YIMBYs. In particular, this group has been important in the restructuring of political coalitions that both support and oppose the Urbanist elements contained in the ongoing land-development code (LDC) reform effort, especially the realignment of mainstream environmentalists. One significant stake in th…
Yimbyism and the Housing Crisis in Canada and the United States: A Critical Reflection
In this introductory essay, we provide an overview and theoretical context for this Intervention of seven critical reflections on the recent 'pro-housing' movement YIMBYism ('Yes in My Backyard'). In cities across the United States and Canada, YIMBYism has become important in local debates about housing and land use; some key North American urban centers are the focus of the commentaries included here. On the whole, academic discussions of YIMBYi…
Digital transformations of the urban – carbon – labor nexus: A research agenda
Digitalization is profoundly impacting natural resource extraction. Mines and wells are monitored and managed in new ways from real-time data streams to algorithmic decision-making to implementation of automated vehicles. How mines and wells are superintended is restructuring the geographies of employment as more of the day-to-day mining operations are centralized in urban locations distant from sites of extraction. Digital infrastructures allow …
Urban futures of digitalized fossil labour: Mutual articulations of smartness in cities and extractive work
Little research to date has drawn out the connections between digitalizing extractive labour and digital urbanism. In this article, we argue that these are complementary, mutually reinforcing processes: digital urbanism enables the digitalization of extractive labour, and digitalization centralizes extractive labour in urban centres. More specifically, ‘smart’ digitalization as a political-economic strategy works on both the extractive labour and…
Exiles in New York City: Warehousing the marginalized on Ward’s Island , by Philip T. Yanos: New York City, Columbia University Press, 2025
Exiles in New York City: Warehousing the Marginalized on Ward’s Island is a short book about Ward’s Island, now known as Ward-Randall Island. Located at the meeting point of the Bronx, Manhattan, a...
Political science (14 works) · Economics (12 works) · Law (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Business (9 works) · Urban Planning and Governance (9 works) · Geography (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Cultural Industries and Urban Development (6 works) · Politics (6 works)