Wojciech Kębłowski

The text builds on extensive material collected in the field between 2021 and 2023. There's more texts to come — stay tuned!

While the the BRI empowers
the local community by shifting it from Europe’s peripheries toward the center of the Global East, it simultaneously increases their exposure to geoeconomic dynamics that unfold far beyond local control.

I outline various strategies that local actors in Małaszewicze employ to capture the global potential of the port infrastructure.

As one of Europe's largest transhipment ports, Małaszewicze is an obligatory stop for freight train connections labeled “China-Europe Railway Express” and an important node in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In the article, I explore how Małaszewicze, a small locality located near the border between Poland and Belarus, has become deeply entangled with China’s global ambitions.

Catching China-Europe trains: local agency and Global China in the Polish borderland This article explores how Małaszewicze, a small locality in Eastern Poland, is deeply entangled with China’s global ambitions. Positioned at the European Union border, Małaszewicze is home to one o...

I am really thrilled to see this published in Eurasian Geography and Economics — I feel this is one of the best text I've ever written.

www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CSDAE...

Trying to cope with the intensity of Hong Kong, my new home for almost a month now, I've started recording some (mostly visual) notes from the city. Feel free to check them out on my substack!

wojoinhk.substack.com

You can even subscribe so that you don't miss the next post ;)

Here you can consult the broad overview of my research areas at the intersection of urban political economy, transport/mobilities, and global China: www.arch.hku.hk/staff/upad/k...

Feel free to share this among your graduate and PhD students!

International candidates are very welcome, and there's ample opportunities for funding their research at HKU.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact me by sending their CV and a statement of research interests by e-mail.

Having moved to The University of Hong Kong's Department Urban Planning and Design, I am currently accepting applications for Postdocs, PhD students, and Research Assistants working along my research lines.

I am truly excited to be here, and looking forward to the journey ahead!

My new office might be empty for now, yet outside the window, countless stories are waiting to be captured. Stay tuned!

I am truly delighted to announce that today I am starting a new job at The University of Hong Kong, joining the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the Faculty of Architecture as Assistant Professor.

Delighted to have seen Merlin Gillard defend his thesis yesterday.

Do check his work about the production of public transport through the lens of labour, fares and surveillance, comparing Luxembourg and Santiago de Cuba!

Conference Programme - INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCECapitalist Transformations in Eastern and Central Europe Registration Conference ProgrammeDeadline for abstract submission: 31 December 2024 CAPITALIST TRANSFORMATIONS IN EASTE...

Check out the conference programme here:
capitalist-transformations.com/conference-p...

Participation is free of charge, but you need to register beforehand. See you there!

Excited to take part of this panel at the upcoming Capitalist Transformations in Eastern and Central Europe’ conference, an academic event that takes place online between 19 - 22 May 2025.

From a couple of walks across #Detroit's #CBD

“Elon Musk might have started as a Henry Ford but he will exit as a Leonid Brezhnev”

“In selecting Soviet-style reality denial over Chinese-style reality monitoring, they’ve fashioned echo chambers that will ultimately fracture their grand designs.”

“Musk’s DOGE apparatus converts remaining employees into nodding mannequins, while his cohort hunts dissenters across digital platforms with algorithmic efficiency”

The New Legislators of Silicon Valley - The Ideas Letter Morozov describes a newly emerged Silicon Valley class of “oligarch-intellectuals,” billionaire tech elites who combine vast wealth, ideological ambition, and the philosophical pretense to reshape pub...

@evgenymorozov.bsky.social at his best: “The oligarch-intellectuals … are treading the Soviet path”

www.theideasletter.org/essay/silico...

We also observed that #FFPT has rapidly shifted from the policy margins to the mainstream, having transformed from a highly controversial measure to a widely accepted strategy across the US. #policymobility #policytransfer

We looked at their demographic, economic and political profiles and found out that localities with higher Democratic Party support were more likely to abolish fares in #masstransit, while larger transit agencies with substantial vehicle fleets resumed fare collection sooner.

From the fringes to the mainstream and back? The geography of pandemic-driven evolution of fare-free public transport in the United States The article examines the surprising uptake of the fare-free public transport (FFPT) policy in the United States during the first two years of the COVI…

New article!

We explore the geography of #fare-free #public #transport (#FFPT) in the United States. Across the country, 73 urban public transport networks went fare-free during the COVID-19 pandemic, on top of 29 that had existed before.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Transiting #Detroit in this little retro-futuristic gem called People’s Mover

Empty #Detroit #aag

It might be on the rise, coming back and hip again, but Detroit still feels so eerily empty

A truly surreal trip to the Polish(?) Hamtramock, Detroit, unwinding after the #aag

Quote of the #AAG thus far just now by @stefankip.bsky.social "Let’s thank the far-right for identifying the threat and hope — scientists, queer people, people of colour, … we are the threat, we are here”