CENTRALITY in the AGE of DISPERSION
Human settlement has always evolved around centres. Be it ancient Greek polis or 20th century neighbourhoods – each of them focused various human activities and formed a specific node in the geographical space. Changes in settlement structures were considered to be hierarchical and evolutionary. Those natural concentration mechanisms are undermined by various dispersion processes, having multiscalar and temporal character, and thus undermining the well-established settlement structures.
Network society, demographic transitions, global economy, instant communication, teleworking, online services – among others – challenge the urban planning paradigms all over the world.
- What is the current centrality/dispersion balance in urban development?
- What is special about centrality and dispersion today?
- How to proceed with spatial management and urban decision-making in this complex and unstable environment?
The conference addresses the demand for a new approach in territorial governance, planning and calls to gather experts from various scientific disciplines to present their research on urban centres and discuss dispersion occurrences.
CENTRAL THEMES:
MEASUREMENT
- The concept of centrality in urban planning discourse
- Quantifying concentration and dispersion
- Complex centre–periphery relations in various scales and temporalities
- The role of ICT in evaluating and managing central functions
DESIGNING URBAN AND SUBURBAN CENTRES
- Designing urban and suburban centres
- The role of public spaces in providing livability in urbanized and urbanizing areas
- Promoting historical and cultural heritage in urban centres
- Transforming urban centres: between depopulation, renewal and gentrification
MODELS AND PARADIGMS
- The paradigm of Polycentric Development
- Urban centres as an inherent component of the Compact City concept
- Implementing Transit-Oriented principles in urban centres
- Self-contained communities and Urban Villages
SPATIAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
- Urban and suburban housing and its relation to urban centres
- Policy solutions for preventing dispersion
- Neighbourhoods and districts – in the search for functional self-containment
- Urban mobility on the way to urban centres
GEOGRAPHY AND ECONOMY OF URBAN CENTRES
- Services distribution in urban areas
- Divided centres: the problem of trans-border regions
- Market versus planning: finding the balance in urban centres
- Mitigating traffic congestion
THE POWER OF COMMUNITIES
- Spatial planning stakeholders: urban centres as a field of conflict
- Distribution of power in urban centres: expertise, authority, democracy, lobbying
- Community involvement in urban centres
- Quality of central spaces: functionality, perception and aesthetics
GLOBAL CHALLENGES
- Continental, national, regional, urban and local service centres
- Glocality as a driving factor for development of urban centres
- Urban resilience: global warming, demographical crisis, water supply, war
- Urban/rural division: expansion, annexation, dissolution, decision-making
PUBLICATION
Fees
This conference is designed as a low-budget event, organized by the means of Wrocław University of Science and Technology without any support from commercial conference companies. We aim to reach a high commitment to effective resources management and implement organisational solutions with low environmental impact.
The conference fees will cover the necessary arrangements related to coffee breaks and info-packs for the participants:
100 EUR / 480 zł per participant
SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS
- 30/04/2023
For more information about conference please click here: https://centrality-dispersion.pwr.edu.pl/
To submit the abstract please click here: https://centrality-dispersion.pwr.edu.pl/call-for-papers
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Kind regards
CONFERENCE ORGANISING COMMITTEE
