Kaitiakitanga – New Balances through Planning in the Age of Uncertainty

27–30 April 2027, Wellington, New Zealand

Dear ISOCARP members and ISOCARP friends,

Thank you to everyone who submitted an application for the upcoming 62nd ISOCARP World Planning Congress. The deadline to apply for the Track Rapporteur positions was 5 October 2026, and applications are now officially closed.

Every year, General Rapporteurs and Track Rapporteurs make our congress possible by bringing their expertise to curate the content of tracks, create and moderate quality sessions and engage participants in the productive conversations that are at the heart of the ISOCARP events. We sincerely appreciate the strong interest and dedication shown by applicants from the public, private, and academic sectors worldwide. Our team is currently reviewing all submissions and will be contacting selected applicants soon.

As a home for already more than half of the world’s population, centres of innovation, magnets of talent, and locus of economic productivity, cities are uniquely placed to reflect on the quality of life, address well-being, and prototype solutions to global problems, capturing advances in Artificial Intelligence for the benefit of all people. At the same time, cities are called to lead the response to the climate crisis through localizing global frames of reference towards urban resilience.

At this crucial point, the global urban planning community and associated disciplines are rethinking processes, urban development models, and planning across scales to forge new pathways for cities to adapt to the convergence of crises and take on opportunities for a better quality of life for present and future generations. Cities and regions worldwide are putting strategies and resources, learning from peer networks, and prototyping new ways of planning and governing to accelerate implementation and act now.

The 2027 Congress, to be hosted in Aotearoa New Zealand, offers a unique opportunity to learn from Indigenous knowledge systems that understand the relationships between land, water, communities and wellbeing, alongside planning traditions from every continent. It recognises that different places hold different knowledge traditions, and that planning’s future depends on genuine dialogue across this diversity.

The Congress draws inspiration from Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua — I walk backwards into the future, with my eyes fixed on the past — inviting us to balance the knowledges of the past as we transform for the future. We invite the global planning community to Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, to explore this through the guiding principle of Kaitiakitanga.

Every year, General Rapporteurs and Track Rapporteurs make our congress possible by bringing their expertise to curate the content of tracks, create and moderate quality sessions and engage participants in the productive conversations that are at the heart of the ISOCARP events. We would like to invite you to volunteer for a position as Track Rapporteur in the Congress Team and to indicate of your preferred Track. We are looking forward to receiving applications from the private, public and academic sectors, from all over the world!

• Track 1 Housing, liveability and wellbeing: advancing spatial justice for communities often excluded from planning.

Housing lies at the heart of the social, economic and environmental transformations reshaping cities and regions worldwide. Yet the challenge extends beyond the provision of dwellings. Housing is a deeper concept that embeds deeper meanings and that involves a wide diversity of factors attached to it. Questions of affordability, access, health, mobility, belonging and opportunity are increasingly interconnected, shaping how individuals and communities experience everyday life. In an era of uncertainty, planning must confront the uneven distribution of these opportunities and burdens, recognising that the places where people live profoundly influence their ability to thrive.

This track explores how planning can contribute to more just, liveable and caring futures by addressing the spatial inequalities that continue to exclude many communities from decision-making and from the benefits of urban development. It invites critical reflection on how housing, diversity, wellbeing and social inclusion are understood, measured and delivered across different contexts. Contributions may examine transformative approaches to spatial justice, community participation, place-based planning, social infrastructure and inclusive urban transformation, while considering how planning can create conditions for flourishing communities across generations.

• Track 2 Climate change and regeneration: understanding complexity, feedback loops and ecosystems, through a dedicated climate action track on resilience, extreme heat impacts, climate adaptation to action on the ground.

Climate change presents a profound challenge to conventional planning approaches. Increasing exposure to extreme heat, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and climate-related hazards reveals the limitations of linear models of decision-making and highlights the need to engage more deeply with complexity, uncertainty and systemic change. As the relationships between social, ecological and economic systems become increasingly apparent, planning is called upon not only to reduce vulnerability but also to support the conditions for long-term regeneration.

This practice-oriented track examines how planners, communities and institutions are responding to climate change through action on the ground. It welcomes contributions that engage with complexity, adaptation, regenerative approaches, system thinking and resilience from a holistic perspective (including social, cultural, governance, economic and environmental aspects). We invite these contributions to recognise the feedback loops and interdependencies that shape contemporary urban and regional challenges. Particular emphasis is placed on translating knowledge into practice whilst understanding how practices shape knowledge, bridging strategic ambition with implementation, and exploring how planning can foster transformative responses that strengthen both human and more-than-human systems.

• Track 3 Urban and rural connection: Strengthen the relationship as an essential, interdependent rather than a separate concern.

Urban and rural areas are frequently conceived as separate planning domains, despite being linked through complex and enduring relationships. Food, water, energy, ecosystem services, labour, culture and mobility all flow across territorial boundaries, creating forms of interdependence that are increasingly significant in a period of environmental, economic,social and cultural transition. Recognising these connections is fundamental to understanding how places function and how their futures are shaped.

This track considers how planning can strengthen the relationship between urban and rural areas as part of a shared and interconnected system. It invites contributions that explore regional futures, territorial governance, multilayered landscape planning, material flows and circularity, Indigenous stewardship, deep life-centred adaptation, ecological resilience and the evolving relationships between generations of people and place. Particular attention is given to approaches that move beyond traditional binaries and seek more integrated ways of understanding and managing the interdependencies that underpin regenerative and prosperous regions.

• Track 4: Translocal responsibility and governance: understanding networks, flows and lateral connections between places and people.

Contemporary planning challenges rarely respect their designated administrative and political boundaries. People, knowledge, finance, resources and environmental impacts move through increasingly complex networks that connect places across multiple scales and localities. These flows create new forms of interrelationships, revealing how local decisions are shaped by, and in turn shape, processes occurring elsewhere. In this context, planning requires governance approaches capable of enacting relational foresight while balancing it in real time with a sense of political urgency.

This track explores the implications of translocality for planning and governance. It welcomes contributions that examine how institutions, communities and practitioners navigate the networks and systems, flows and lateral connections that increasingly influence urban and regional development. Topics may include collaborative governance, participation, policy learning, mobility, migration, cross-boundary planning and new forms of collective action. The track seeks to advance understanding of how formal and informal governance can respond to complexity while fostering shared responsibility for places, diverse communities and future generations that are increasingly interconnected.

• Track 5: Technological innovation: transcending Global South/ North dichotomy with humility, ethics and care.

Technological innovation is transforming the ways in which cities and regions are planned, governed and experienced; it is shaping how places are thought of and constructed. From artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics to digital participation and emerging forms of urban intelligence, technological change offers significant opportunities to support decision-making and address complex challenges. However, these developments also raise important questions concerning power, representation, equity and whose knowledge is valued in shaping the future.

This track invites a critical and reflective examination of technological innovation through the lens of humility, ethics and care. Rather than reproducing simplistic distinctions between the Global North and Global South, it seeks to explore how diverse planning traditions, cultural contexts and knowledge systems can contribute to more inclusive and responsible technological futures. Contributions may consider the opportunities and limitations of digital transformation, the governance of emerging technologies, data justice, Indigenous and local knowledges, and the evolving relationship between human judgement and technological capability. At its core, the track asks how innovation can meaningfully serve people, place and future generations.

Track Rapporteurs’ Responsibilities 

​​Track Rapporteurs Benefits​

Being part of the Congress Team is an unforgettable experience and commendable contribution to the advancement of planning knowledge and the strengthening of our society of planners from around the world. Working in a tightly knit team throughout the project and eventually enjoying the outcomes during the event is indeed a highly rewarding and fulfilling endeavour. Last but not least, the networking opportunities and exposure to academics and practitioners in the field is also considerable.

As per ISOCARP policy, Congress Team Rapporteurs shall receive a free Congress registration.

Please note that Track Rapporteurs are expected to cover their own travel, accommodation, and related expenses associated with attending the Congress.

Eligibility Criteria 

Track rapporteurs and the General Rapporteur are expected to:

1. Have extensive experience and knowledge of the respective track/area they will cover.
2. Have attended at least one ISOCARP Congress.
3. Be an ISOCARP member.
4. Be able to travel to and attend the 62nd ISOCARP World Planning Congress in person, with on-site presence required throughout the Congress.
5. Be tech-savvy and comfortable navigating online reviewing platforms, meeting platforms, online shared documents and spreadsheets.
6. Be available to commit to an intensive period of work during November, December, and January, with a significant level of engagement expected in the lead-up to and following the Congress.
7. Have carefully read key responsibilities of their role and have sufficient time to commit to fulfilling these responsibilities before, during, and after the event.