THEMATIC GROUPS

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Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS

Category: Public Spaces and Urban Cultures

Published: 24 June 2026

Here is the information on the upcoming conference in the series "Public Spaces, Urban Cultures, and Hope" 17-19 September at TU Wien.

Steering committee: Sabine Knierbein, Andrea Glauser, Lisa Gaupp und Sarah Chaker

The Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien) https://www.tuwien.at/.  and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna https://www.mdw.ac.at/.  are offering two combined conferences:  

Public Spaces, Urban Spaces and Hope (https://skuor.tuwien.ac.at/de/events-urban-cultures-public-spaces-hope/. TU Wien, 18^th September 2026, TU Wien campus)

and 

Groove the City-Move the Street 2026(https://www.mdw.ac.at/ikm/events/groovethecity/. 17^th + 19^th September 2026, mdw campus)

which will take place in Vienna and seek to combine the fields of urban music studies and urban studies. Both public universities are joined in this endeavor by the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Thematic Group on Urban Cultures and Public Spaces (https://aesop-planning.eu/thematic-groups/public-spaces-and-urban-cultures. AESOP TG PSUC) and by the Urban Music Studies Scholars Network (https://urbanmusicstudies.org/). Urban Music Studies).

Together, today we are very pleased to announce that the preliminary conference programs have been made available on the websites of the https://www.mdw.ac.at/ikm/events/groovethecity/. and the https://skuor.tuwien.ac.at/de/events-urban-cultures-public-spaces-hope/. TU Wien.

Registration for guests (without an active contribution) is now open - please register for the conference via the followinghttps://www.conftool.org/groovethecity2026/index.php?page=login. ConfTool-LINK. The registration fee of € 50 includes catering costs (during coffee breaks, some lunches, and one evening meal with vegan and vegetarian options) as well as participation in the musical program. With a possible solidarity contribution of € 100 (instead of € 50), you support early career researcher, speakers in precarious employment situations and contributors from the Global South. 

As you can see from the program, there is an opportunity to participate in two soundwalks in selected neighborhoods of Vienna: In Soundwalk I (Saturday, from 3.30 pm) the number of participants is limited. If you would like to participate in Soundwalk I, please register with Irene Poandl (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), providing your name (and, if applicable, the names of any accompanying persons). Available spots will be allocated on a "first-come, first-served" basis. Soundwalk II (Saturday, from 6.30 pm) has no limit on the number of participants, so no separate registration is required.

We very much look forward to welcoming you in September in Vienna at the mdw –  University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien). Further information as regards can be retrieved from our conference websites at https://skuor.tuwien.ac.at/de/events-urban-cultures-public-spaces-hope/. TU Wien  and at https://www.mdw.ac.at/ikm/events/groovethecity/. mdw which will be continuously updated. 

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Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS

Category: New Technologies & Planning

Published: 22 June 2026

The Thematic Group New Technologies and Planning recommends a series of events from Tuesday 30 June to Friday 3 July at the World Planning Schools Congress (WPSC) 2026 in Helsinki

You are cordially invited to join!

Save the dates:

• Roundtable 2602 · Tue 30.6. · 14:00-15:30 Room: U149 U6 | The Global-to-Local-to-Global (GLG) approach to climate mitigation planning with Michele Campagna, Tijana Dabovic, Carl Steinitz, Tess Canfield.
• Roundtable 1035 · Tue 30.6. · 17:45-19:15 Room: U141 U3 | How Can We Rethink Spatial Planning Practice in the Digital Age? with Pouya Sepehr, Didem Türk Grigoletto, Christin Müller, Thorsten Wiechmann, Pilvi Nummi, Christopher Pettit, Michele Campagna, Julio Paulos, Anna M. Hersperger, Christian Fertner.
• Thematic Group New Technologies and Planning General Annual Meeting | Wed 1.7. · 12:30-14:00 Flora staff restaurant, Fabianinkatu 33, with Michele Campagna and Paulo Silva, jointly held with the AESOP Task Force AI & Planning meeting, coordinated by Thorsten Wiechmann, Juliana Martins, and Paulo SIlva
• Track 13 Technologies from Tue 30.6 to Fri 3.7 Room: Y124 E-Sali

Consolidated list of AI-related contributions from the WPSC program by the AESOP Task Force AI & Planning link

For more detail: https://event.eventos.fi/wpsc2026/website/program

Last update: 21.06.2026

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Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS

Category: Urban Futures

Published: 15 June 2026

Dear Community!

In two weeks, WPSC Helsinki starts and the Thematic Group 'Urban Futures' will have its annual public meeting. So, no matter whether already engaged or simply interested, please join us on 

June, 30th @ 17:45h - Room U401, Otakaari 1

We will bring you up-to-date regarding our past activities, like earlier this year our workshop in Istanbul at Mimar Sinan Unviersity of Fine Arts on 'How do we say future?' (see picture), and planned activites. The meeting will as well provide an opportunity for you to suggest themes and topics for the activities of the group.

Thomas Machiels and Peter Ache

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Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS

Category: Rural Planning

Published: 09 June 2026

We had our second webinar: "Teaching beyond the city: Rural planning pedagogy"!

You can view the webinar here: https://ucl.zoom.us/rec/share/BTvaoPAT-NAk4C_8S-NjyODMx4gT_jRtTv32Dea7ip4NmcCtKidYHlvIWEXK3w3-.ToRuwoJN4_-AzlwK

Teaching rural planning is rarely a requirement of professional planning bodies and, today, the teaching of rural planning is often neglected in the design of undergraduate and graduate programs in the planning field. At the same time, rural communities are facing rapid change, from housing pressures and infrastructure gaps to climate resilience and economic transition. How do we prepare the next generation of planners to meet these challenges thoughtfully and effectively?

This webinar placed ‘rural’ within planning education and explored approaches to teaching rural planning in universities and professional programs. Through a panel discussion, the webinar discussed how rural contexts differ from urban settings, and how the spatial context of ‘rurality’ may present different types of planning challenges.

These issues were explored through a roundtable discussion chaired by Mark Scott (University College Dublin), with Kathryn Frank (University of Florida), John Sturzaker (Royal Town Planning Institute), Aliye Ahu Gülümser (Istanbul Technical University) and Karen Ray (University College Cork). Critical questions in the panel discussion included:

• Is there a place for ‘rural’ on professional planning programs?
• What knowledge should the teaching of rural planning create?
• What rural planning knowledge should the next generation of planners develop?
• How does rural planning contribute to sustainable development pedagogy?

Whether you are a planning educator, practitioner, graduate student, or academic leader, this session offers practical insights, fresh perspectives, and collaborative ideas to strengthen rural planning education and better serve rural communities and sustainability challenges.

 Dr Kathryn Frank: " ... Rural planning supporting rural as rural. That sounds simple, but it matters. Rural is often treated as a residual category. Whatever is not urban. That's a very weak starting point for planning education"