AESOP newsletter - March 2025

Several AESOP colleagues have recently received emails from Operation GTE Global Travel Team (operation@gtravelservice.com), claiming to offer travel and accommodation arrangements for the AESOP Annual Congress in Istanbul.

PLEASE BE AWARE: This is a PHISHING ATTEMPT.
Neither AESOP nor the Istanbul Local Organising Committee (LOC) has any affiliation with this company.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:
All participants...

 AESOP extends its sincere appreciation to the University of Liverpool for hosting the AESOP 2025 Heads of Schools Meeting, which brought together planning scholars and professionals from across Europe to engage in meaningful discussions on legitimacy and inclusiveness in planning education.

The event was enriched by outstanding keynote presentations from Lucy Natarajan, Nick Small, and Jonathan Metzger, who...

We are delighted to announce that the AESOP Council of Representatives has elected Karina Pallagst as the next AESOP President (2026–2028).

Karina is a Full Professor of International Planning Systems and Dean of the Faculty of Spatial and Environmental Planning at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau. A highly engaged member of the AESOP community for many years, she will officially join the AESOP Executive...

We are pleased to announce that the AESOP Council of Representatives has elected Hossam Hewidy as the next AESOP GPEAN Representative (2025–2029).

Hossam is a Senior University Lecturer in-charge of urban and regional planning education at the Department of Architecture at Aalto University and has been actively involved in the AESOP community. He will officially assume the role from August 2025 to July 2029, with...

Enza is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Management at Aalborg University and has been actively engaged in the AESOP community. She will officially assume the role of Treasurer from January 2026 to December 2029. From July to December 2025, she...

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new AESOP Thematic Group: Rural Planning, officially approved during the Council of Representatives meeting held in Liverpool in March 2025.

The group is coordinated by:

We are delighted to announce that the AESOP Council of Representatives, during its meeting in Liverpool, has officially approved the proposal submitted by TU Wien (Austria) and Brno University of Technology (Czech Republic) to host the AESOP PhD Workshop 2026.

Workshop Theme: Spatial Planning at the Fringes
This thought-provoking theme invites PhD students to explore spatial, social, ecological,...

We are delighted to announce that the AESOP Council of Representatives, meeting in Liverpool on 12 March 2025, has selected the University of Birmingham (UK) as the host of the AESOP 2027 Congress and PhD Workshop.

Congress Theme:
From Grey to Green – Planning and the De-Carbonisation of the City

European and global cities face increasing pressure to become greener—both literally and metaphorically. The...

These lectures aim to explore pressing contemporary issues in planning, with a strong focus on spatial justice, knowledge production, and transnational urban imaginaries. Here are the selected events:

🔹 Spatial Networks and Social Equity: Applying...

Dear AESOP friends,

We are delighted to announce that our AESOP community continues to grow and thrive.

With great pleasure, we extend a warm welcome to the new members who joined us in 2025, following the approval of their applications during the Council of Representatives (CoRep) meeting held in Liverpool on 12 March 2025.

AESOP Full Members

Department of City and Regional Planning, Faculty of Architecture  – Izmir Institute of Technology...

AESOP is pleased to invite its member schools to apply to host the 20th AESOP Heads of Schools Meeting, which will take place in Spring 2026.

Deadline for applications: 20 June 2025

Applications to be sent to the AESOP General Secretariat (secretariat@aesop-planning.eu) 

Application dossiers should include:

(a) Information about the hosting institution:

AESOP is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief for its journal, Transactions of the Association of European Schools of Planning, starting on 1 August 2025 for a period of 5 years, until 31 July 2030.

Transactions is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal owned and produced by AESOP. It plays a key role in promoting excellence in planning education and research—central goals of AESOP. The journal complements AESOP’s rich ecosystem...

AESOP is seeking expressions of interest for the position of Chair of the AESOP Excellence in Teaching Award Committee, starting from 1 August 2025 for a period of 5 years, until 31 July 2030.

The Excellence in Teaching Award (ETA) is one of AESOP’s most prestigious recognitions. Since its establishment in 2002, the award celebrates and disseminates innovative and inspiring teaching practices across AESOP member...

Deadline for applications: June the 6th, 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...

We’re thrilled to announce that Issue 3/2024 of disP - The Planning Review features a new article in the AESOP section titled “Eventful years – a look back at the activities of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) over the last two years” authored by Thomas Dillinger, AESOP President (2022-2024). The article offers an overview of AESOP’s vibrant activities over the past two years, highlighting how the association has continued to...

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...

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:

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...

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,...

“Transformation of rural mountain areas in the Alps”

AlpPlan Summer Course 2025 for Young Researchers and Professionals

25 – 29 June 2025 in UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch (CH)

In this new edition of the AlpPlan Summer Course, we will focus on how rural mountain areas in the Alps are changing. We will meet in the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch in Inner Switzerland (Canton of Lucerne). There, we will learn about current rural development...

Looking forward: (re-)imagining planning futures

With apologies for any cross-posting

The organising committee for the UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference (PRC) 2025 – hosted by Ulster University, Belfast – is delighted to announce that the conference website and abstract submission pages are now live:

Paper...

The AESOP Thematic Group on Regional Design organizes a Seminar series concerning “Regional design into practices”, an occasion to show and discuss regional design practices around Europe and the world.

We are happy to invite you to join the first approaching appointments:

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
23rd Planning & Complexity Thematic Meeting | 20th year of the AESOP Thematic Group Planning and Complexity

Abstract Submission Deadline: 26 May 2025
[ Download full Call for Papers as PDF ]

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

27-28 November 2025
Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

Planning and design often remain a hierarchical...