AESOP-INDIA PLANNING EXCHANGE: TOWARDS GLOBAL NORTH-SOUTH RELATION IN KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION

Organizers

Chandrima Mukhopadhyay, UN-Habitat India
Giusy Papalardo, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Contributors

Sandip Chakravarty, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
Chandrima Mukhopadhyay, Global South and East TG coordinator
Saebom Sophie or Marjan, YA CT
Oren Yiftachel, UCL
Bruce Stiftel, Georgia Institute of Technology

The roundtable is proposed at the background of the AESOP International PhD Workshop in India in 2026. In the past, AESOP members have advocated for learning about planning education and practices from countries/continents beyond the boundary of Europe, and especially from the Global South and East countries. One of the main aims of forming the Global South and East thematic group was that the budding planners of AESOP has a lot to learn from the complexity of the Global S&E countries. The international workshop is a step towards that direction with innovative pedagogy. The focus of the workshop will be on the proposed eleven industrial and economic corridors in India. While such corridors are not always about planning, in Indian context, these corridors are the catalyst for rapid urbanisation, economic development, and are strategic and spatial planning tools. With this background, we will frame our discussion around the following questions:

1. Why India is a significant location for such an international workshop from an urban and regional planning perspective? (Chandrima Mukhopadhyay, Coordinator of Global S&E Thematic group)
2. An in-depth explanation of Indian planning practices (and urbanisation process); (Sandip Chakravorty, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad)
3. The legacy of hosting an international workshop for AESOP and YA; (YA CT member- name TBC)
4. The importance of bringing multiple international development organisations on board to collaborate; (Chandrima/Bruce Stiftel, Georgia Institute of Technology, US)
5. What is the implication of the workshop for the Global North- South relationship in terms of knowledge production about south, research grants, publications about southern urban issues in international high-impact journals etc? (Bruce Stiftel & Oren Yiftachel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in Beersheba & Honorary Professor at UCL)

The discussion could conclude with a presentation on the format of the workshop including pedagogy, and locations.

Key words: International, PhD workshop, India, Strategic and Spatial plans, Cross-border learning