THEMATIC GROUPS
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Public Spaces and Urban Cultures
An event organized by UnCommon Public Space Group, Department of Urban Planning, University of California (Los Angeles, USA) and the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Thematic Group on Public Spaces and Urban Cultures, within the working theme 2022-2024 “Public Spaces, Urban Cultures, and Constructing Peace”
Date: Monday, November 06, 2023, 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm CET / 7:00 am - 10:00 am PST
Local organizers: Claire Nelischer, Andres F. Ramirez, Gus Wendel, Christopher Giamarino
AESOP Thematic Group PSUC representatives: Stefania Ragozino (Italy), Christine Mady (Finland)
About the workshop:
This online workshop will incorporate presentations and structured collaborative activities to introduce bi-directional, place-based, and humanistic approaches to the study of public space, and the possibility of the "event" as a form of inquiry in public space research. It invites public space scholars working on issues related to justice and peace in public space to consider how events could serve as a tool to generate new understandings and foster community relationships in public spaces.
Highlighting examples from Los Angeles, we will share the recent work of UCLA's UnCommon Public Space Group to use transdisciplinary, community-based approaches to explore pressing public space issues, and advance justice and peace in urban public environments. Drawing from these examples, we will define our emerging approach to the use of events in public space research as a means to generate new understandings and foster peaceful and just relations in public space; frame this approach in relation to relevant theories and methods; and offer a working set of principles and practices events as a tool of inquiry in public space research.
Drawing from their own research experiences and ideas, participants will engage in facilitated, small group discussions on the limits and possibilities of events as tools of public space research, and will work collaboratively to develop and refine principles for such an approach, and prompting new questions, ideas, and opportunities.
The workshop will conclude with a discussion of avenues for further development and collaboration around the concept of events in relation to public space research, including a future chapter presenting principles for events-based inquiry that will integrate examples, ideas and ongoing research from workshop participants.
To participate:
To facilitate generative discussions and focused collaboration, this workshop will be limited to 20 participants. Those interested in participating are asked to submit a 300-word prospectus that includes:
- Your name, title, and affiliation
- Your email address
- A confirmation of your availability on November 06 during the workshop time (4:00 pm - 7:00 pm CET / 7:00 am - 10:00 am PST)
- A 300-word statement describing your own public space research effort (past, present, or future) through which you are considering the potential of community-based events as a tool for building understanding of public space and relationality with community, and outlining your goals for participating in this workshop
Submissions will be evaluated for fit with the workshop's content and goals, as summarized above. Selected participants will be assigned to breakout groups for the workshop based on shared research interests and approaches.
Please submit your prospectus by October 27, 2023 - extended deadline to: Andres F. Ramirez,
Image source: (Un)Common Public Space Group. "Inhabiting the Night" event in Westlake/MacArthur Park, Los Angeles. 2022
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Ethics, Values and Planning
In this two-day event, which took place at the ILS - Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development (Dortmund, September 14-15, 2023), we had the chance to explore the significance and impact of conformism/conformorality in the planning field and within our scientific community. Although this topic might sound new and fresh, this conference was inspired by some previous works of our invited keynote speakers, Matteo Colombo (Tilburg University) and Claudia Basta (Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency PBL). As a Thematic Group, we thought this topic deserved to be further explored and enriched with new reflections. The conference confirmed that this issue is not only relevant in our research community but also needs to be taken seriously because of its silent impact and the way it can affect scientific inquiries and scholarships.
On the first day, we had the pleasure of attending two keynote speakers. Matteo Colombo, who works mainly in the field of neuroscience and moral psychology, discussed the fundamental aspects of conformorality and connected them with the urban environment. Claudia Basta, on the other hand, shared a valuable personal experience on how conformorality has obstructed her scholarship path and prevented her from enriching her perspective with new ideas. Her inspiring talk was titled “On academic conformorality, and why it threatens academic freedom.” The two talks will be available online soon.
On the second day, the conference hosted ten highly inspiring talks:
- Questioning traditional redistributive urban policies: A heterodox approach to the just city - Stefano Moroni (Polytechnic University of Milan)
- Antifragility and Resilience: Two Sides of the Same Coin? - Francesco Curci and Daniele Chiffi (Polytechnic University of Milan)
- Green public space and its change - Paulina Budrytė (Kaunas University of Technology)
- Easy theories for complex neighborhoods? How conformorality tames wicked problems in neighborhood management - Mark Scherner (University of Vienna)
- Ordinary Neighborhoods - Raffael Beier (TU Dortmund)
- Urban Displacement, an Unqualified Negative? Between Harm, Fairness, and Effectiveness in Conventional Responses - Brett Allen Slack (Polytechnic University of Milan)
- To plan or not to plan: Is this the question? - Anita De Franco (Polytechnic University of Milan)
- Import-Export Rules: Saving the greater number or sheer insensitivity? - Nana Serwaa Antwi (Polytechnic University of Milan)
- MEGA-AMBITIONS - How generic and holistic values drive the interplay between mega-regionalization and urban megaprojects in Greater China - Henry Endemann (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
- A Planning and Urban Development Perspective on Digital Sovereignty. Diverging digital values in cities - Unger Lena (TU Dortmund) – This talk was cancelled.
The various contributions made it clear that, quite surprisingly, conformorality (or, more in general, conformism) has both positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, it can favour certain collective learning processes through a "copy-and-paste" mechanism. On the other hand, it can harshly prevent the creative development of new ideas and reflections, severely limiting society and, in particular, the scientific community. What appears to be evident is that within the scientific community, it can be beneficial for many scholars to conform to certain prevalent and winning ideas to better align with successful groups. Benefits can derive from, for example, smoother review processes in scientific journals or funding opportunities. An interesting expression/concept that emerged in the final discussion round requiring further investigation is that of the "conform-zone."
THE ORGANISERS
Stefano Cozzolino and Anita De Franco
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Ethics, Values and Planning
Breaking through ‘conformorality’ in urban and regional studies
September 14-15, 2023 - ILS (Dortmund, Brüderweg 22-24)
Thursday, September 14th |
Registration and gathering |
Welcome and introduction to the conference |
Keynote 1 Conformorality: Some consequences for science and society. Conformism is a widespread and robust phenomenon with salient moral and epistemic consequences - Matteo Colombo (Tilburg University) |
Keynote 2 On academic conformorality, and why it threatens academic freedom - Claudia Basta (Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency PBL) |
Discussion |
Social dinner (optional) |
Friday, September 15th |
Gathering and coffee |
Session 1 Questioning traditional redistributive urban policies: A heterodox approach to the just city - Stefano Moroni (Polytechnic University of Milan) Antifragility and Resilience: Two Sides of the Same Coin? - Francesco Curci and Daniele Chiffi (Polytechnic University of Milan) |
Break |
Session 2 Green public space and its change - Paulina Budrytė (Kaunas University of Technology) Easy theories for complex neighbourhoods? How conformorality tames wicked problems in neighbourhood management - Mark Scherner (University of Vienna) |
Break |
Session 3 Ordinary Neighbourhoods - Raffael Beier (TU Dortmund) Urban Displacement, an Unqualified Negative? |
Lunch |
Session 4 To plan or not to plan: Is this the question? - Anita De Franco (Polytechnic University of Milan) Import-Export Rules: Saving the greater number or sheer insensitivity? - Nana Serwaa Antwi (Polytechnic University of Milan) |
Break |
Session 5 MEGA-AMBITIONS - How generic and holistic values drive the interplay between mega-regionalisation and urban megaprojects in Greater China - Henry Endemann (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) A Planning and Urban Development Perspective on Digital Sovereignty. Diverging digital values in cities - Unger Lena (TU Dortmund) |
Break |
Collective discussion |
Happy hour (Optional) |
For any query or information, please get in touch with the organisers:
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Public Spaces and Urban Cultures
We are pleased to inform you that during the AESOP conference in Łódź 11-15 July 2023, the 2021-2023 coordination team switched from Stefania Ragozino (University of Naples, CNR-IRISS National Research Council of Italy), Christine Mady (Aalto University, Finland), and Tihomir Viderman (BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany), to Christine Mady (Aalto University, Finland), Tihomir Viderman (BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg), Germany, and Matej Nikšič (Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenia) for the year 2023-2024. We acknowledge and thank Stefania for her tremendous efforts during the period as main coordinator, and welcome Matej to the team! While this change happened, the TG PSUC continues with its events for the 2022-2024 theme "Public spaces, urban cultures and constructing peace".
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Planning, Law and Property rights
The International Academic Association on Planning, Law, and Property Rights (PLPR) will hold its 18th annual conference from the 18th until the 22nd of March 2024 in Munich (Germany).
PLPR invites all papers addressing topics at the intersection of planning, law, and property rights for presentation to colleagues. The abstract submission is now open!
More information on the conference can be found on our website: https://plpr2024.bole.ed.tum.de/
Abstracts are welcome until 30th of September 2023 via the online conference management system Converia: https://www.events.tum.de/frontend/index.php?sub=185
Hope seeing you in Munich!
Best regards
Local Organizers and PLPR Executive committee
- Call for abstracts "Urban Conflicts and Peace: Everyday Politics of Commons"
- BEYOND ‘INVITED’ PARTICIPATION: practices of agonistic citizenship in urban transformation: Planning Theory lecture series 2023
- AESOP TG PSUC Workshop Helsinki "PUBLIC LIBRARIES AS GENERATORS OF PEACE"
- Online Lecture on Publication from the South