Read the Welcome to Porto by the ISOCARP President Pierre Laconte (2006-2009) and the Local Organising Committee.
Download the Congress Programme at a Glance or study the Detailed Time Framework (day-by-day).
Have a look at the Congress Brochure.
Theme and Objectives
This year’s topic is Low Carbon Cities. Download here detailed information on the Congress’ Theme and Objectives.
Technical Seminars
The Technical Seminars are designed to bring together public institutions, NGOs, the private sector, experts and academics in a lively, participative multi-sector debate on critical issues in the planning and management of cities and regions. They intend to provide useful, practical information to delegates that will supplement the material provided by keynote speakers and the papers presented at parallel sessions.
The Technical Seminars are a key part of the Congress on Low Carbon Cities. A number of specific topics especially relevant to the theme will be covered in two parallel seminars, one centred on planning and technologies for energy efficiency and a second illustrating a series of initiatives towards low carbon undertaken by cities and regions.
The Seminars are organised around 15-minute presentations. In addition, a substantial amount of time will be allocated for questions and discussion, and it is hoped that key points will emerge that delegates may be able to apply, or adapt to their situations back at home.
Download the Programme Technical Seminars.
Congress Team
General Rapporteur
The General Rapporteur of ISOCARP’s 2009 World Planning Congress is Dr Chris Gossop (United Kingdom). He is a chartered town planner with a very broad range of experience that has embraced work in both local and central government, as well as in a pressure group, the Town and Country Planning Association. He currently works as a planning inspector for the Planning Inspectorate (England and Wales), in which role he has determined many hundreds of planning appeals, as well as presiding over numerous inquiries and hearings. In tandem with this work, he has sought to maintain and develop his interest in international planning. For example, in 1995, he co-ordinated preparations for the UK’s involvement in the United Nations conference on human settlements, Habitat II.
He joined ISOCARP in 2000 and has participated in all its congresses since that date. For most of that time he was a member of the UK’s national delegation. He was its bureau member until September 2008 and his election as Vice President (Publications), a role which he is pursuing in parallel with his work as General Rapporteur. He has written numerous papers and articles for planning journals, and spoken at many events both in the United Kingdom and internationally. His interests are broad, ranging from spatial planning at all its levels, to environmental management, to city design and transport planning. He is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute’s international Committee. He lives in the new city of Milton Keynes, about 100 km to the north-west of London.
Workshop Rapporteurs
WS 1: Bruno Dercon, Indonesia
WS 2: Iliana Mignaqui, Argentina
WS 3: Jeremy Dawkins, Australia
WS 4: Martin Dubbeling, Netherlands
WS 5: Natasa Pichler-Milanovic, Slovenia
Workshop Chairpersons
WS 1: Irene Keino, Kenya
WS 2: Simon Moussalli, Lebanon
WS 3: Antonia Cornaro, Switzerland
WS 4: Helena Freino, Poland
WS 5: Joy Sen, India
Young Planning Professionals’ Workshop
Zeynep Enlil – Vice President ISOCARP, Turkey (Chair)
Fernando Brandão Alves – Adviser Coordinator, Portugal
Coordinators ISOCARP and LOC:
Júlia Lourenço, Local Organising Committee (LOC) Portugal
David Prosperi, USA
Javier de Mesones, Spain
Coordinators (Dutch Ministry VROM)
Pauline van den Broeke;
Yigall Schilp, Netherlands
Scientific Committee
Pablo Vaggione, Secretary General ISOCARP (Chair), Spain
Jim Reilly, USA
Peter Robinson, South Africa
Bernd Scholl, Switzerland
Marcella Villa Luna, Peru
Wang Rusong, China
Jeanne Wolfe, Canada
Manuel da Costa Lobo, Portugal
Nuno Portas, Portugal
Fernando Nunes da Silva, Portugal
Local Organising Committee
Luis Valente de Oliveira (Honorary President), Paulo Pinho (President), Fernando Brandão Alves (Executive President – Chair), Sara Santos Cruz (Secretary General), Isabel Breda-Vázquez, Alvaro Costa, Paulo Conceição, Emilia Malcata, Cecília Silva, Vítor Oliveira
Congress Venue
The Congress Venua is the building of FEUP – Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (English: Faculty of Engineering – A Faculty of international Reference).
Excellence, Innovation, Entrepreneurship. Qualities that make the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) a faculty of reference in Portugal and abroad. Founded in 1926 – and with its roots built over de Polytechnic Academy, created in 1837 – FEUP is one of the 14 faculties of the University of Porto, the largest university of Portugal and an institution of international reference that aims at being recognized as one of the 100 best in the world in 2011.
Working closely with several institutions of reference such as the European Space Agency (ESA), IBM, Microsoft and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), as well as research universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Texas at Austin (UTA) or the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto dedicates strong attention to the Bologna process. Therefore, FEUP has renovated its educational programmes accordingly, taking into account positions of many stakeholders in Portugal and abroad, and in the framework of the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI), the Council of Associations of Long Cycle Engineers of University or Higher School of Engineering of the European Union (CLAIU) and the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Education and Research (CESAER).
Sustained by the high quality R&D that is produced as a result of the Excellence of its several research units and their strong international partnerships, FEUP puts itself in the XXI century as an institution that seeks to ensure that its students will be able to design, develop, implement and operate complex systems, generating added value, in a context of environmental sustainability and following social and professional ethical principles.
Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
Schedule and Procedures
For information on important dates, a time framework, and general procedures such as abstract submission, please download Schedule and Procedures.
Registration and Fees
For detailed information on how to register for the Congress and the fee categories, please download the Registration Details.
Partners and sponsors
Download the list of all partners and sponsors (in Pdf)
AEP – Portuguese Business Association
AMP – Portuguese Association of Municipalities
AdE Porto – Porto Energy Agency
APPLA – Portuguese Association of Spatial Planners
AUP – Portuguese Association of Urban Planners
CCDRN – North Regional Coordination and Development Commission
CMP – Municipality of Porto
DGOTDU – General Directorate for Territorial Planning and Urban Development
JMP – Metropolitan Área of Porto
Jornal de Planeamento
Ministry for Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional Development
OA – Institute of Architects
OE – Institute of Engineers
UP – University of Porto
VROM – Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Netherlands