Creating inclusive urban space: An inter- and trans-disciplinary approach

The Graduate School of Urban Studies (URBANgrad) at the Technical University of Darmstadt is proud to host the 13th AESOP YA Conference in April 2019. Planning, as a young discipline, is trying to create a unity of intellectual frameworks to understand and enhance the creation of cities. This discussion is particularly important when planning inclusive spaces. Inclusion is a multifaceted concept with its various spatial, social, and economic factors. The aim of the conference is therefore to bring different perspectives to the discussion by critically examining the knowledge upon which what we call planning is formed. We invite researchers and practitioners dealing with public space and inclusivity, health-promoting designs, governance and resilient urban strategies. Attention is paid to how these processes are interdisciplinary conceptualized and in which ways planning responses are promote inclusivity. Understanding the ways by which inhabitants of the city—as critical participants—provide unprecedented and innovative urban paradigms is equally crucial to this notion of inclusive urban space. The intrinsic links, conflicts and power relations between all actors through social, professional, and political processes and their interplay within the physical dimensions of the city must be well understood and worked on. We hope to offer the participants new insights by bridging the limitations of a single discipline; directing the debate towards an exploration of the countless opportunities but also challenges of inter- and transdisciplinary thinking.

The conference is a four-day event consisting of five keynote talks (Roger Keil already confirmed), parallel sessions for young academics to present their research, two parallel workshops and a field trip. In the parallel sessions participants will benefit from the insight of a track chair that is renowned in his/her field, and the feedback of a discussant. The proposed tracks are: ‘Public space’ and the dilemma of inclusion, Health promoting urban planning and design, Citizenship and governance in the production of space, and From sustainable to resilient urban strategies. Each of these tracks also relates to central themes, such as inclusivity, inter- and transdisciplinary thinking and innovative planning approaches. Therefore, abstracts related to these central themes are welcome to submit to any of the tracks. We will consider modifying the tracks in order to do justice to the approved abstracts, and we aim to end up with four official conference tracks.

Registration
The conference is free of charge to members of the AESOP YA Network (registration for the network is free on the AESOP website). If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the conference organizers at aesop-ya2019@architektur.tu-…

‘Public space’ and the dilemma of inclusion
Deadline: 14th of October 2018

The AESOP Young Academics Network is a loosely structured branch of AESOP, which encourages the active participation and exchange of academic work. From PhD students to Post-docs and those starting out in academic positions, the YA Network provides a platform through which the academic leaders of tomorrow can share ideas in an open and inclusive environment, challenging and supporting one another in the attainment of superior academic output.