AESOP newsletter - February 2025

 Legitimate and Inclusive Planning Education for Changing and Challenging Times

We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for the 19th Heads of School Meeting of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP), taking place in Liverpool.

• CoRep meeting: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
• HoS Meeting: Thursday, 13 March 2025
• Mobile Workshops: Friday, 14 March 2025

📍 Location: Planning University of Liverpool

🔗 Register here: Heads of School Meeting 2025

Theme

Thi…

Deadline for applications: June the 6^th, 2025

Context

The management of AESOP has grown increasingly complex in recent years, particularly due to legal and financial considerations. This challenge has become even more evident as the association resumed its full range of activities after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2024 Annual Congress in Paris welcomed over 1,200 delegates, and similar—if not larger—numbers are expected for the 2025 Congress in Istanbul. At the same time, AESOP…

We've noted that while young scholars are interested in AESOP Thematic Groups, their full participation can be challenging. We are working to improve engagement and networking opportunities for these young academics.

As senior scholars with valuable experience in these groups, your insights are crucial. We invite you to participate in a brief survey to share your perspectives on enhancing young scholar involvement. Click HERE for the survey.

This survey seeks your feedback on:

…

AESOP has Thematic Groups where members discuss specific topics. We've noticed that young scholars, while interested, may find it challenging to fully participate.

We need your input! Please take the survey. Click HERE for the survey.

We are gathering feedback to explore potential improvements to discussions and networking opportunities within these groups.

It will help us understand:

• How you currently engage with AESOP Thematic Groups.
• What kind of group structure works best…

Remembering Alex Fubini: A Journey Through Urbanism, Education, and Friendship

Umberto Janin Rivolin, on behalf of the Politecnico di Torino DIST friends

I met prof. Alessandro Fubini, Alex for all friends, in the 1980s when I was studying architecture at the Politecnico di Torino, Italy. He was already a well-respected academic and professional, deeply engaged in spatial planning and development research and practice. At that time, I was still shaping my own perspective on…

Dear colleagues, 

Cardiff University has recently published restructuring proposals that would severely impact on the School of Geography and Planning. We would like to ask planners, friends, colleagues of many years to sign the letter we have drafted below. The letter will be published on major British newspapers and delivered to the University Executive Board.

If you are happy to support us by adding your name as a signatory, please email Francesca Sartorio at SartorioF[at…

Call for papers

Infrastructures and Compound Urban Crises: Mediation, Management, and Preparedness

20 – 23 May 2025 | International Roundtable Workshop | Limburg, Netherlands

Cities and urban regions are increasingly grappling with a surge of compound crises characterized by growing frequency, intensity, and interconnectedness [^[i]; ^[ii]; ^[iii]; ^[iv]]. Urban crises are driven by global environmental changes, natural hazards, and resource scarcities, alongside rising…

THE DYNAMICS OF PANARCHY – 
Sensing, Planning and Designing grounded local-regional transformations

27-28 November 2025, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
23rd Meeting of the AESOP Thematic Group Planning and Complexity
[ Download Save the Date as PDF ]

Planning and design often remain a hierarchical and linear process of planning, implementation and maintenance that meet with increasing political ambitions for inclusion, diversity and the critique of a…

The Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Department of Geography, is looking for a tenure track lecturer (assistant professor) in the domain of urban and landscape design.

As a selected candidate, you will teach in programmes offered in Dutch and English in urban design, spatial planning and urban studies, mainly at the master’s level. Your teaching duties will be in the field of urban and landscape design and research by design and will be aimed at a mixed group…

City Branding: Concepts and Tools for Reputation Management and Tourism Development

Edited by Alex Deffner, Retired Professor of Urban and Leisure Planning, Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Greece and Mihalis Kavaratzis, Professor of Place Marketing, Department of Marketing, International Business and Tourism, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, Publication Date: February 2025 ISBN: 978 1 03534 753…

Symposium: The political economy of housing production under late neoliberalism

Date: Thursday 22^nd and Friday 23^rd May 2025

Venue: Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, London.

Organisers: Dr Chris Foye (University College London), Dr Edward Shepherd (Cardiff University), and Dr. Lan Deng (University of Michigan).

Contact email: c.foye@ucl.ac.uk

Summary

This 2-day symposium will bring together state-of-the-art research that re-centres the political economy of hou…