In July 207, the History Department's Dr Simon Sleight delivered a keynote lecture on 'Memory and the Modern City' in Barcelona. Hosted by IAFOR in partnership with the University of Barcelona, the City2017 event offered an interdisciplinary platform for scholars from around the world, and a lively forum for debate.

Dr Sleight's lecture served as a prelude to a Routledge textbook chapter on the same theme, and explored the processes by which some aspects of the past are physically or emotionally inscribed into the built landscape, while others are overlooked or forgotten. Adopting a comparative and international view, the talk called in on cities including Hiroshima, Melbourne, Vancouver, New York, Cape Town and Delhi.