Congress Theme

ISOCARP’s 49th World Planning Congress asks: What is effective planning practice at the global frontiers, whether planning for the local community, or mature metro, or mega-city, or vast urbanizing region?  Speakers and delegates will re-assess the lessons from the past and future practice at the new frontiers.  Valuable lessons can be gained from both successes and failures. Contemporary urbanization is different from past city development.  Above all else we have now entered the urban millennium so cities and city planning are critical to the majority of the world’s now urbanized population.  In this sense we have entered a “new world.”  The scale and speed of change challenge the traditional plans of governments in rapidly changing urban regions.  The drivers of urbanization may still be what they have always been – agglomeration advantages, economic opportunity, more exciting lifestyles, and intensified interactions – but their impacts are now multiplied many times over.

While traditional physical planning and urban form and design are still critical for sustainable outcomes they may need new thinking and new styles of planning practice to be effective.  Effective new styles of planning practice will build on past successes, if planners can find better ways of applying what they already know.  Discovery and new approaches are needed as well.The 2013 Congress seeks abstracts according to three topics to address the theme of frontiers of planning.  We seek cutting edge contributions towards this theme from a diversity of planners and urban specialists including practitioners, teachers, researchers, policy makers and urban managers.  We also seek abstracts on any relevant topic of city and regional planning as part of our International Planners Exchange.  Such abstracts may include best practice cases, planning methods and strategies.

Furthermore, we invite abstracts on the topic of planning education as part of the Forum on Planning Education. At issue is whether we’re doing it right.The 2013 Congress will offer concurrent tracks to correspond with the three topics, exchange, and forum. Authors should review the guidelines for Abstract and Paper Submission.  If you want your paper to be peer reviewed by ISOCARP’s Peer Review Panel, please note your request in your abstract.  For 2013, ISOCARP will accept and publish both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed papers.

• Topic 1:  Migration as the new face of change
• Topic 2: Valuing what already exists
• Topic 3: Community and stakeholder engagement
• International Planners Exchange
• Forum on Planning Education: Are we doing it right?

For 2013, ISOCARP will conduct both an interactive forum and paper sessions to explore these stimulating questions.  We invite planners from the professional, academic, and managerial levels to offer their perspectives about planning education and ask whether our universities and accrediting bodies are teaching and certifying the right skills to meet the challenges of the global frontier.

Download a detailed description of this year’s Congress Theme and the different topics: Congress Theme.

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General Rapporteur and Congress Team