AESOP newsletter - April 2026

The right to elect new National Representatives rests with the AESOP Full Members in each country. If you are interested in joining the CoRep, please contact your current National Representative directly.

Please find below the information regarding the…

AESOP is pleased to invite its member schools to apply to host the 21st AESOP Heads of Schools Meeting, which will take place in Spring 2027.

Deadline for applications: 19 June 2026

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

Application dossiers should include:

(a) Information about the hosting institution:

• Educational and research profile
• Organisational capacity to host the event
• Potential collaboration with local stakeholders…

AESOP is looking for candidates willing to organise the AESOP Lecture Series in 2026. 

The application has to be from an Academic on behalf of an AESOP member institution.

The Lecture Series was initiated in 2012 as part of AESOP’s Silver Jubilee Year celebrations. Since then, a series of Lectures has been regularly organised with prominent ‘urban thinkers’, both academics and practitioners. The idea has been to attract not only the local academic community, but also a wider…

The AESOP Task Force on AI in Planning is hosting a webinar on “AI in Planning” featuring two leading experts in the field: Professor Tom Sanchez of Texas A&M University and Professor Zhong-Ren Peng of the University of Florida.

This event will take place online on May 27^th, from 15:30 to 17:00 CET (Central European Time)

“Join the zoom webinar”  

Professor Zhong-Ren Peng, University of Florida

Symbiotic Planning Theory: From Compliance to Governance in Human–AI Co-Creation

Arti…

Planning for publics: Reconceptualising the governance of the commons in relation to the margins

Worldwide cities and planners are struggling to find effective ways to manage resources and involve local communities, especially in the margins, in the effort to provide just and sustainable living environments. Within this state, we propose revisiting the commons, with the emphasis on the commoning as a process. 

This special issue examines planning for the commons by…

Our webinar series is happening!

You can view the first webinar here: https://zoom.us/signin?_x_zm_rtaid=BKmW0dF8QcuQyJJYsYtV5g.1776288095574.46575c3a9687785e4258fd3982b16768&_x_zm_rhtaid=577#/login

The first seminar discussed neo-endogenous rural development, conceptualised in the early 2000s as an approach to rural development that is locally rooted yet outward-looking, and characterised by dynamic interactions between local areas and their wider environments.

Rather than…

Our first article introducing the Rural Planning TG appeared in disP - The Planning Review!

You can read the full article here.

It also features a photo from our first in-person meeting at the AESOP 2025 conference in Istanbul!

Urban Complex Futures: Critical Leverage Points

An exciting workshop/conference ahead on 8-9 January 2027 in Nicosia/Cyprus on 'Complexity Unpacked: Analytical Tools & Practical Insights for Uncertain Futures'. Solon and team are busy getting everything on the ground for us - do not forget to submit your contribution latest by 15 June 2026. See full Call for Papers: https://aesop-planning.eu/tg-news/planning-and-complexity/complexity-unpacked-nicosia-cyprus-2027

We have been…

CALL FOR PAPERS

Complexity Unpacked: Analytical Tools & Practical Insights for Uncertain Futures

24th Conference of the AESOP Thematic Group on Planning and Complexity

Location:         University of Nicosia, Department of Architecture, Cyprus
Date:               8–9 January 2027

[ Download Call for Papers as PDF ]
📅 New Abstract Submission Deadline: 15 July 2026

Planning operates within, and as part of, complex socio-spatial systems. Cities and regions are not merely objects of…

After about ten years of activities, the AESOP Planning/Conflict thematic group launches a

call for applications to become involved in the TG’s coordination.

Envisioned is the establishment of a coordination committee in charge of the TG and of its activities,

composed of:

- one co-coordinator, particularly in charge of relations with AESOP,

- two co-coordinators, particularly in charge tasks such as internal communication (TG website and relations with members) and external…

The workshop Planning Education in the Age of AI took place at RWTH Aachen University on 23 January 2026. The event was jointly organised by the AESOP Planning Education Thematic Group (Andrea Frank and Juliana Martins) and RWTH Aachen University (Fabio Bayro Kaiser).

The workshop featured thought-provoking presentations from practitioners, researchers and educators, alongside a dedicated space for in-depth discussion and collective reflection among participants. Drawing on…

The XII international Conference of the Sustainable Food Planning TG will be hosted by the University Iuav of Venice on October 21-24, 2026. The Conference "Strengthening the values of food in times and spaces of fragility" invites scholars, practitioners, activists, and policymakers to explore how food values are mobilised, negotiated, and transformed across spaces and scales of fragility. The call for papers will be launched in early February. Stay tuned!

Click here to see…

URBAN STUDIES ⦁ CALL FOR A NEW GENERATION 2026/2027

URBAN STUDIES, a postgraduate program at the University of Rijeka, has announced an open call for its third generation of participants!

URBAN STUDIES are postgraduate study program of spatial and strategic design of complex urban systems, phenomena and transformations enrolled in the artistic interdisciplinary field of Science and Art. Intended for everybody whose research or practice influences the built and programmed…

Interested in studying MSc Transport Planning, Postgraduate Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate, or individual modules at the University of Westminster, in central London?

Join our upcoming online information session to learn more about the programme — with a particular focus on available bursaries and financial support.

Date: Wednesday, 22 April 2026
Time: 16:00 (UK time)
Location: Online

The programme is based in central London and is designed to be flexible:

• Full-time: 1 year…

This PhD summer school focuses on climate change adaptation and flood recovery, with a particular emphasis on strengthening long-term resilience in both urban and rural areas. Floods are among the most disruptive climate-related hazards in Europe, and recent events have shown that flood recovery involves not only technical reconstruction but also broader questions of planning, governance, and long-term resilience.

The summer school uses flood-affected regions as learning…

The AESOP Thematic Group ‘Public Spaces and Urban Cultures’ invites submissions for the Futures special issue ‘Prefiguring Hopeful Futures’.

This special issue approaches prefiguration as a bridge between urban publics and futures scholarship. We welcome contributions on prefigurative practices in public and social spaces, from commons and gardens to repair cultures and more-than-human ecologies. The focus is on how futures are enacted, sensed, and sustained in the present…

The Instituto Universitario de Urbanística (University Institute of Urban Planning) has launched a call for chapters for a collective volume entitled “The deployment of the Spanish Urban (and Rural) Agenda: perspectives and challenges towards 2030,” which will be published as part of the new DOSSIER Ciudades series. This call, coordinated by Federico Camerin, aims to report on the progress, challenges, and critical elements of the implementation of the Spanish Urban (and…

Aalto University invites applications for an Assistant or Associate level professor in Spatial Landscape Analytics at Aalto University. The position is full time and it is shared between Aalto ARTS / Department of Architecture and Aalto ENG / Department of Built Environment.

The call is open until Thursday May 7, 2026.

The position will open on Sept. 1, 2027, or as agreed. For more information and link to the application form please visit: Professor in Spatial Landscape…