ISOCARP’s 60th World Planning Congress Diamond Anniversary Series
1st International Conference for New Cities | Planning New Regenerative Cities
New Clark City, Tarlac Province, The Philippines , 10-13 September 2024
We are delighted to announce ISOCARP’s 60th World Planning Congress Diamond Anniversary Series! This year, we won’t just have the typical single congress, but rather a SPREAD-OUT CONGRESS:
- spatially (global north and global south),
- temporally (throughout the year with multiple events), and
- thematically (from classic urban planning and design to contemporary and future planning issues).
The WPC60 Diamond Anniversary Series will feature several events, including the 1st International Conference for New Cities: Planning New Regenerative Cities, in New Clark City, Philippines (10-13 September 2024), and the ‘grand finale’ 60th World Planning Congress: Reinventing the (In)Visible Cities in the historic city of Siena, Italy (9-12 October). Before, between, and after these major events, ISOCARP will host complementary events to celebrate the WPC60 Diamond Anniversary. Stay tuned!
Introduction to the 1st International Conference for New Cities: Planning New Regenerative Cities
In a digitalising world with circular economy, expectations for sustainably humanised and healthy cities and environments are increasing. For urban and regional planners, there is an opportunity and professional responsibility to take a more robust approach to cities through new settlements or redevelopment strategies. Although coined 14 years ago by the World Future Council, a German non-profit foundation, regenerative cities are more contextual to be discussed or revisited, especially when we are now under triple planetary crisis and in fast digital transformation. What we can learn from the past, on-going, and near future city development will enrich the current stock of knowledge to navigate our future.
In New Clark City, about 100km northwest of Manila’s megalopolis in the Philippine Tarlac region, ISOCARP and the Local Organising Committee welcome the entire international planning community to explore the challenges and opportunities of planning for sustainable new cities that are healthy, inclusive, compact, regenerative and embed circular economy, carbon-neutral energy supplies, and nature-based solutions, while fostering sustainable connectivity and complementarity with existing cities in the region, and with Manila Metro in particular.
A particular focus is to explore New Clark City as inspiring practice of regenerating a former military base – aspiring to new concepts of brownfield development. The conference will also explore climate adaptive resilience planning approaches for new (and existing) cities vulnerable to climate change – from drought to floods – and natural risks such as volcanic and seismic activity. Last but not least, the conference will highlight the cultural diversity of the hosting region, as inspiration to blend past traditions, present practices and future innovations into smart new city planning and development, through inclusion of the indigenous population of the Aetas who had historical stewardship of domains part of the New Clark City development area.
While the conference location is hinting to a regional focus on new city development in the fast-urbanising Asian part of the Global South, ISOCARP’s 60th World Planning Congress Diamond Anniversary Series will ensure a historical perspective by connecting New Clark City with grand old new city planning concepts such as Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City (1902), as well with the latest planning developments in and around the medieval Italian town of Siena, hosting the grand finale of the 60th World Planning Congress Diamond Anniversary Series.
Congress Tracks
ISOCARP members and other planning practitioners and researchers will be invited to submit abstracts of conference papers with overall focus on the conference theme “Planning New Regenerative Cities”, with following indicative main and sub-themes or -tracks:
1. New City Planning & Development: Navigating the Future
Strong collaborative efforts between public and private sector cooperation of the government and private sectors in the new city planning is imperative, both in the planning and design phases, as well in the implementation and maintenance phases, including creative financing strategies. Land management, basic infrastructure finance, and incentive policies are examples of key issues in this track.
2. Brownfield urban planning & development: Vibrant New City Density
The changes in urban property trends due to the COVID-19 pandemic and decarbonization strategy will be crucial. Making more energy-efficient infrastructures and sustainable buildings is the critical agenda for new cities. Is high-rise city development still relevant to new township planning? Is Neutral Carbon City manageable? And how can seamless integration of new and existing cities be achieved? These are the rising questions for this track.
3. Climate adaptive and resilient (new) cities: Advancing Adaptive Resource Reutilization
Planning new cities with nature is mandatory and urgent. Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s commitment is a testament to this urgency. Beside Nature-based Solutions, circular/regenerative energy and waste are hot topics. Food security, Human security (potential displaced people), recycling-waste, etc. can be other key issues in this track.
4. New cities and digital economy: Smart Circular Cities and Neighbourhoods
The digital economy may be the backbone of new city development due to expansive digital infrastructures and the new dominance of Generation Z that is more exposed to the digital economy. What kind of future jobs and urban properties will new cities offer? When planning new cities, planners should be more aware of big data and use Artificial Intelligent (AI) to provide solutions for people’s needs.
5. Culturally rooted and inclusive healthy new cities & towns: Sense of New Place
One strategy is to bring everyone closer together into the new city planning. Culturally rooted wellbeing and livability can be considered as the key performance indicators for new cities. Making more people healthier with the new structure of cities (more sports and health-fitness facilities, promoting active and non-motorised mobility, and adequate open space and nature) is an urgent agenda for new towns.
New Clark City Urban Conversations
The conference will also generate a unique opportunity to strengthen regional collaboration among planning professionals/ISOCARP members in the Asia-Pacific region and provide a platform to exchange place-based mitigation for cities and communities severely impacted by recent wars and conflicts, e.g. in the for of a Session on Post-Conflict Urban Recovery and Resilience-Building, exploring the complex challenges of rebuilding fragile cities in the aftermath of conflict and war, with a focus on promoting long-term resilience and preventing future instability, including topics such as:
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- Conflict-Sensitive Planning: Approaches that prioritize peace-building, reconciliation, and addressing root causes of conflict in urban design and infrastructure development.
- Trauma-Informed Urbanism: Creating inclusive, safe, and healing spaces that support the well-being of populations affected by conflict.
- Economic Revitalization & Employment: Strategies for regenerating local economies, providing livelihoods, and fostering social cohesion in post-conflict settings.
- Governance, Institution Building, and Security: Establishing robust urban governance systems, promoting transparency, and strengthening public participation and security for lasting stability.
- Climate Resilience in Fragile Contexts: Interlinking climate adaptation with post-conflict recovery to mitigate future risks.
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