Michael Ziv-Kenet is a PhD student at the department of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He’s interested in democratic theory and cities, specifically, political representation in cities and the normative aspects of cities’ arrogation of democratic legitimacy. In his research he examines representative claims made by urban political actors, as a method to identify their understanding of the relations between the ‘city’, urban government, and society, and as a political action of creating and recreating political constituency. As a resident of Jerusalem, he participates in local political action on urban regeneration in Jerusalem, and especially in the working-class neighbourhood of Kiryat Ha-Yovel, in south-west Jerusalem, where he lives; engaging residents and state and local officials in promoting equitable and sustainable processes of urban regeneration. In addition, he is a TA on the Institute of Urban and Regional Planning’s seminar on the topic of urban renewal.

For contact with Michael: michael.zivkenet@gmail.com