Ketmen is inviting authors to contribute to the next special issue of our journal, which will be exploring the new concept of Nomadic Urbanism.

For centuries, the traditionally nomadic nations of Eurasia, such as Mongols, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, roamed the steppes and mountains of their regions and rarely settled. The old cities in the area of Central Asia were built by the settled populations of Uzbeks and Tajiks, and later by the Russian colonial settlers. During the Soviet period, almost all urban infrastructure was developed by the engineers and workers from Soviet Russia. Ethnic Kyrgyz and Kazakhs made only 20% of its urban population, while 60% were ethnic Russians. Three decades after the Soviet Union broke up, the demography has completely reversed, and Kyrgyz and they are now the majority 70-80% of population in cities.

This research will introduce the new term – “nomadic urbanism” and explore how the traditionally nomadic cultures, like Kyrgyz, build and inhabit cities today. We are open to all kinds of explorations and deliberations on this theme, and we invite authors to contribute their thoughts, photo essays and art works.