THEMATIC GROUPS
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Public Spaces and Urban Cultures
Conference of the AESOP Thematic Group Public Spaces and Urban Cultures
“Public space and peace building: from degenerative to regenerative environments”
28-30 January 2024, Pretoria, South Africa
Hosted by the University of Pretoria, Department of Town and Regional Planning
The conference is part of the series of events to the working theme 2022-2024 of the AESOP Thematic Group Public Spaces and Urban Cultures (TG PSUC; https://aesop-planning.eu/resources/news-archive/thematicgroups/public-spaces-and-urban-cultures) titled PUBLIC SPACES, URBAN CULTURES AND CONSTRUCTING PEACE (https://aesop-planning.eu/resources/news-archive/thematic-groups/public-spacesand-urban-cultures/aesop-tg-psuc-representatives-of-forthcoming-events-2021-2023).
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Introduction
Conflict, crime and contestation are major concerns in many public spaces and influence the experiences and perceptions of users in many ways. Although not restricted too, is particularly prevalent in the Global South, including South Africa. Peace-building is an ongoing process that requires constant negotiation and improvement of what is present. Former president of South-Africa, Nelson Mandela said “Peace is not just the absence of conflict; peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish regardless of race, colour, creed, religion, gender, class, cast or any other social markers of difference”. This implies a context where there is the potential for transformation and regeneration through collaboration, participation and cooperation. Regenerative sustainability argues for a paradigm change to an ecological or “living systems” worldview, considering entire socio-ecological systems across many scales and the influences of these on each other. For example, the dynamics present in a public space can be influence by the social-ecological context of the immediate environment surrounding it and the broader city in which it is situated. Embracing a socio- ecological worldview and considering the city and its spaces as socio-ecological systems, requires and understanding of multiple dimensions - environmental, technical, phycological and spiritual to envision humans as part of interconnected living systems. This will assist to reconceptualise the construction of peace in public spaces to facilitate a process towards more regenerative environments.
Theme
This conference aims to explore the construction of peace in various types of public spaces. This means moving beyond short-term peace construction or peace-making and -keeping, to longer-term efforts that would focus on peace-building. This is critical in spaces of conflict and violence that are not only limited to the Global South, but also growing in the Global North. The intention is to interrogate relationship between safe and unsafe spaces from a transdisciplinary perspective with the aim of moving from degenerative to regenerative environments. This means moving between theory and practice and involving participants from academia, private sector and communities to share thoughts and experiences to re-imagine the construction of peace in public spaces through and towards regenerative sustainability.
Given this the conference will focus on three sub-themes:
- Peace construction in public space through peace-making, -keeping and -building
- Constructing peace in the commons through transdisciplinary research and actions
- Tapping into the local potential to enable peace-building through regenerative sustainability
Abstract submission
Deadline for abstract submission: Monday, 27 November 2023
Decision on abstracts: Monday, 8 December 2023
Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words outlining its relation to the theme or sub-themes, conceptual ideas and methods and a short biography (up to 100) with contact details to
Preliminary programme
Day 1: Afternoon drive around Pretoria, visiting three public spaces in various parts of the city
Day 2: Transdisciplinary workshop involving members form academia, built environment professionals, community organisations and members of the local municipality to discuss the re-imagination of peace construction in public spaces and the role of regenerative sustainability.
Day 3: Coreference on public space and peace-building with keynote lecture and the presentation of various academic papers.
Fees
Participation is free of charge; however, travel and accommodation arrangements need to be covered by the participants.
Organisation Team
Local Organisers: Karina Landman and Kundadi Makakavhule
TG PSUG Representatives: Ceren Sezer (Germany) and Matej Nikšič (Slovenia)
Contacts
Karina Landman –
Kundani Makakavhule -
Ceren Sezer -
Matej Nikšič -
Related links
AESOP TG PSUC: https://aesop-planning.eu/thematic-groups/public-spaces-and-urban-cultures
AESOP TG PSUC 2022-2024 working theme: https://aesop-planning.eu/tg-news/public-spaces-and-urban-cultures/call-for-expressions-of-interest-to-host-the-thematic-group-s-meetings-2022-2024
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Global South & East
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Transboundary Planning and Governance
Dear colleagues,
Please take note of a call for papers for a special issue in BELGEO which might be of interest to many in our TG:
« Régions en évolution. Transitions, renouvellement et formes émergentes de régionalisation » / “Regions in evolution. Transitions, renewal and emerging forms of regionalisation”
More information on the call and timeline for submitting proposals can be found here: https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/61818
Best wishes,
Eva
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Global South & East
Date: 31st October, 2023
Time: 4:00 pm London time (Daylight time saving ends on 29th October.)
6:00 pm Central African time.
Organised by: Global South and East thematic group.
Chair: Giulio Verdini, University of Westminster, UK
Speakers:
Tanja Winkler, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Nobukhosi Ngwenya, African Centre of Cities, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Gilbert Siame, University of Zambia, Zambia
Beacon Mbiba, Oxford Brookes University, UK
Eric Makoni, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg Gauteng South Africa
Jennilee Kohima, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Meeting ID: 341 406 344 113
Passcode: 8gxS69
Download Teams | Join on the web
Meeting ID: 341 406 344 113
Passcode: 8gxS69
- Details
- Parent Category: THEMATIC GROUPS
- Category: Transboundary Planning and Governance
In July, many of us had the opportunity to meet at the annual AESOP Congress in Lodz, Poland. Under the umbrella of the TG, we organized a track (Track 4 “Integrated Planning over the borders”) with six papers sessions, a roundtable (Roundtable 9 “Planning across borders in times of war and geopolitical conflict”) and an in-person TG meeting. In this message, I want to summarize some of the discussions we had at the AESOP Congress, and give an outlook of the activities for the rest of the year. Please also note that the TG report from 2022 which summarizes previous activities is available to read on the TG website: https://aesop-planning.eu/thematic-groups/transboundary-planning-and-governance
Follow up “Planning across borders in times of war and geopolitical conflict”: The roundtable at AESOP was well attended and highlighted the connections and clashes between transboundary planning and geopolitical events and conflicts. All organisers and speakers voiced an interest in continuing discussion on the subject, and in our TG meeting, we contemplated various strategies and activities to follow-up on the theme:
- Academic reflection on transboundary planning in times of war and conflict: A short academic reflection on the roundtable to share our discussions with a broader audience.
- Planning education acknowledging war and crisis situations: Thinking about “blind spots” related to war and crisis situations in planning education and communicating these ideas to the AESOP community.
- Pan for Ukraine network: This existing network of schools of planning and architecture in Germany supports Ukrainian students and researchers. Please check the website (https://www.panforukraine.de/about/ ) and get in touch if you want to contribute or participate.
- Learning from other disciplines: Planning research (in Europe) seems to have little grasp on conflict and war, and the role of planning therein. There could be opportunities to learn from other disciplines, such as foreign policy, related to how transboundary planning could deal with conflict or even attempt to mitigate it.
- Support regeneration in Ukraine: Although the war is still ongoing, the regeneration of Ukraine will also pose a challenge in the future. How could we support this process from an academic perspective? One idea was to review relevant articles on regeneration and post-war development and organizing an online session aimed at learning about the issue.
- Facing challenging interpersonal situations head-on: As humans, we often tend to avoid interpersonal conflicts and act like they don’t exist, for example by limiting interaction of students from potentially conflicting backgrounds (e.g. Ukraine – Russia, Serbia – Kosovo, …). However, such behavior might just conceal conflicts and in the long run avoid that wounds really heal. Could there be strategies to face challenging interpersonal situations head-on, instead of pretending they don’t exist? It is not yet determined what the concrete format or outcome of this activity could be, but it might be an issue faced by many in the classroom or workplace, and therefore worth discussing.
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Communicate concerns to policy maker: While we might be eagerly discussing among academics, communication with policy makers is sometimes still a challenge, also in relation to the theme of geopolitical conflict. A recent communication related to the EU’s adherence to the OECD Council Recommendation on “Regional Development Policy” for example does not acknowledge the war in Europe and potential implications for regional development policy. Could we contribute to an increasing acknowledgement of connections and clashes between transboundary planning and geopolitical events and conflicts in policy circles? The initial idea was to direct comments to and share our discussions with representatives from public actors such as the European Commission.
In Lodz, we agreed that not all of these activities would be led by the TG coordinators, but that we would be happy to help with matchmaking among interested persons. If you are interested in developing a certain idea further or contributing in some way, please be in touch and I will connect you with others who have voiced their interest.
TG meeting: Our next TG meeting will take place in December 2023 online. In due time, I will share a date and agenda for the meeting, as well as a link to participate. Please note that we are more than happy to accommodate additions to the agenda and tailor the discussion to your ideas.
AESOP 2024 in Paris: Together with the Local Organizing Committee, we are currently drafting a track description for our track "BORDERS" at the upcoming AESOP Congress in Paris, taking place July 8-12 2024. We will keep you posted on the details and the call for abstracts. If you have any ideas for roundtables and special session for the upcoming congress, please don’t hesitate to be in touch. We are happy to host relevant activities in our track, or facilitate organization where possible (e.g. suggest speakers from our TG list).
Currently, the AESOP Young Academics network is hosting a call for co-chairs among early career researchers. If you are interested to co-chair our track (Track 4: Borders), please apply here by September 30th: https://aesop-youngacademics.net/news/ya-news/co-chair-call-for-aesop-congress-2024-in-paris
Finally, I want to extend again a big thank you to everyone who contribute to our TG activities in Lodz, especially track co-chairs Annalisa Rollandi and Sylwia Dołzbłasz, roundtable organizers Alois Humer and Jörg Knieling, roundtable speakers Erblin Berisha, Maros Finka, Jens Kurnol, Franziska Sielker and Jacek Zaucha, and of course everyone who presented their work in our track, participated in the lively discussion and attended the TG meeting!
Best wishes,
Eva & Alois
- GOING PUBLIC: Framing events as a tool for inquiry in public space research - UPDATE
- POST-CONFERENCE REPORT - "BREAKING THROUGH CONFORMORALITY" (September 14-15, 2023)
- Two-Day Programme for the Conference on "Breaking through 'Conformorality' in Urban and Regional Studies" AESOP - September 14-15 at ILS
- AESOP TG PSUC switch in coordination team
