World Town Planning Day

On 8 November 2014 World Town Planning Day will be celebrated all over the world. It was initiated in 1949 by the late Professor Carlos Maria della Paolera of the University of Buenos Aires to advance public and professional interest in planning. It is a special day to recognise and promote the role of planning in creating livable communities. World Town Planning Day presents an excellent opportunity to look at planning from a global perspective, an event which appeals to the conscience of citizens and public authorities in order to draw attention to the impact resulting from the development of cities and territories.

ISOCARP National Delegations also organise events in the framework of WTPD. Several ISOCARP members informed us on events held in their country.

Belgium:

The Flemish Association for Space and Planning (VRP), Belgium celebrates WTPD on 7 November, visit www.vrp.be

India:

The School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, in India will be organising an International Seminar and a Essay Writing competition to celebrate the World Town Planning Day.

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Poster

Iran:

The ceremony was begun with the greeting message of the president of ISOCARP along with the motto of year “urban efflorescence, creating job and creativity “. Then, the minister of housing and urban planning of Iran and the head of board of the society of Iranian urban planners and the major authority of city council of Tehran lectured about the aims of the urban planning of Iran.

A photography competition was hold in this meeting with three winners. As the previous ceremonies three pioneers in urban planning were introduced and appreciated.

At the end of the meeting the manifest of this year were presented.

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Kenya:

World Town Planning Day was celebrated in Nairobi on 5th November. The event also launched the Kenya Town Award for Excellence as an annual event that ran together with WTPD. Participants were drawn from national and county governments, city/town authorities, the private sector and professionals – town planners, engineers, architects, EIA experts etc. The events was jointly organised by Town and County Planners Association of Kenya (TCPAK), Town Planners Chapter(AAK) and ISocarp Nairobi Liaison Office. UN-Habitat was invited to attend. The event went on well and presided over by Kenya Ambassador/Permanent Representative to UN-Habitat, Prof Sam Ongeri; the event was also attended by Mariamu El Maawy, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development. In total 125 participants attended.

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Newsletter 1

Newsletter 2

Lithuania:

Urban Forum on complex modernization in Lithuania
The best Lithuanian urban planning and design professionals, development experts came to Siauliai city on November 28th, 2014 to participate in the traditional, eighth Urban Forum. The Urban Forum was held by the Ministry of Environment together with the Siauliai municipality and University, and other business, academic and NGO partners. The Lithuania Urban Forum invited urban planners to mark World Town Planning Day. This forum discussed the future of Lithuanian cities and towns, – chaotic cities, or handled in a rational, planned form? The main Forum theme “Complex urban modernization” focuseds on the modernization of neighborhoods together with their infrastructure, not only on the renovation of individual buildings.

Architects, planners, engineers, builders, educational institutions, businesses, associations, state and local government representatives, as well as guests from Sweden and the Netherlands, came to the Siauliai sports arena. The Forum participants listened to the Minister of Environment, the Vice Minister, Urban Planning and Architecture Department Director Marius Narmontas and well known urban design professionals – Prof. dr. Sigitas Cereskevicius, Assoc. Mindaugas Pakalnis, doc. dr. Dalia Bardauskiene and others reported on the complex issues of urban renewal. Guests from Sweden and the Netherlands shared their experience in this field.

The debates reviewed modernization, new development and compact neighborhoods problems, opportunities and ways how to deal with them, as well as the development of the Siauliai city vision. Assembled in the workshop Forum’ participants visited one urban problematic Siauliai area – the former Ch. Frenkel’ leather factory. Participants offered solutions how to revive, make viable, attractive for city residents abandoned urban space. It is assumed that creative and constructive suggestions will be useful for the development of territory development strategy and implementation.

The Eighth Forum material and Resolution will be published in a separate publication. All Forums Electronic versions are avalible in the website of the Ministry of Environment http://www.am.lt/VI/index.php#r/1290.

Urban Forum photo album: http://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/siauliu-urbanistiniame-forume-miesto-pletros-vizijos-salies-architektu-akimis-56-469827?cf=vl#galerija/58548/1272813

Philiadelphia, USA:

World Town Planning Day: Creative Connect
November 8, 2014, 3:00 pm
Logan Square Café, 200 North 18th street, Philadelphia

Join fellow planners for the first CREATIVE CONNECT event of the season at Logan Square Café’ in Sister Cities Park!
This event provides a casual get together to network with colleagues and share inspirational tales of world travels and creative cities around the world.
World Town Planning Day celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), founded in 1965.

Portugal:

The University of Minho through its group UM-Cidades, pays a tribute to Tribute to Prof. Manuel Costa Lobo on 7 of November.

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Romania:

The Association of Professional Planners in Romania in cooperation with the Register of Romanian Planners and the Romanian Union of Architects celebrates this year the World Town Planning Day, through a professional debate on the topic of “Global and Local Challenges in Town and Regional Planning”. The debate brings together representatives of the main professional associations and institutions in Romania, involved in spatial planning from both private and public sectors, including administration, educational and research sectors too. Based on the recent Charter of European Planning of ECTP-CEU, the event will underline the importance of interdisciplinary dialogue and multilevel cooperation and the role of professional bodies as a connector between communities and governments in finding the best solutions for development of cities and territories. ISOCARP VP Awards / Communication is invited to the event, planned for the 7^th of November at the Centre of Architectural Culture in Bucharest.

Serbia:

The celebration of the World Town Planning Day in Serbia was marked by the opening of the 23rd International Urban Planners’ Exhibition. Held in Belgrade from the 7th to the 15th of November 2014, the Exhibition represents a traditional annual manifestation organized by the Serbian Town Planners Association. It provides an insight into the most significant current accomplishments of planning theory and practice in Serbia and abroad, reflecting the turbulences and contradictions of our time.

The exhibition takes places from 1991, each year in a different host city, and after the exhibition, the entire or partial setup is presented in other selected cities in Serbia and the Balkan region.

Members of ISoCaRP regularly participate in this event which is held around the 8th of November – the World Town Planning Day.

Sudan

The Sudan delegation lost one of their key planners and activist in the planning field, Planner Al Tayib Hag Ali: the director of Khartoum Structure plan implementation unit at the Ministry of Planning and Public Utilities of Khartoum State “the capital Region”.

Therefore the National delegation decided to postpone the celebration of WTPD to jointly arrange a forum to eulogize the deceased Planner and celebrate world town planning day. The event took place on 23 November in collaboration with the state ministry of planning- Khartoum State and the university of Khartoum department of planning and urban design.

Tunisia:

The Tunisian Association of Town Planners celebrated the World Town Planning Day by organizing at Beni Mtir a workshop on “What model for urban strategic planning for small localities”. Beni Mtir is the smallest municipality in Tunisia with 815 inhabitants. Professionals, scholars, students and representatives of local civil society organizations participated in this workshop.

Turkey:

World Town Planning Day is being celebrated with a national 3-day colloquium every year in Turkey. The 38th of the Colloquium will be hosted by Istanbul Technical University Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Chamber of Urban Planners Istanbul Branch under the theme of “Future of Cities”. For more information, please visit http://www.spo.org.tr/genel/bizden_detay.php?kod=5860#.VFJGC0tozBI (in Turkish).

“The world is facing formidable challenges in terms of long-lasting economic crises, environmental catastrophes, world-wide health problems, growing energy, water and food needs and scarce resources. Yet, people living in urban areas are also experiencing an important transformation parallel to the changes in the world: we are witnessing protests that start simultaneously around the world, this time initiated by people who not only aim to protect their own rights but also to protect their cities, their parks, urban spaces and their rights to the city from uncontrollable occupation of capitalism – this time “they” are “occupying” what belongs to them. In this sense, it is possible to talk about a reaction of masses towards unjust, anti-democratic, environmentally disruptive policies of governments that solely aim fast economic growth at every cost.

In this era, urban planning discipline cannot resist but change the ways in which it approaches to new challenges the world is facing and demands by people who ask for their rights to the city in every way. The planning discipline needs to reformulate its education and practice and define its tools with an interdisciplinary approach. Thus, it is crucial to develop an approach that is shaped by long-term visions, aims and various ways of thinking about the future of cities, and more importantly rethinking our definition of the “future” in terms of urban plans and policies.

In this sense, the theme of the 38^th World Town Planning Day Colloquium in Turkey has been announced as “The Future of Cities”. The Colloquium will be hosted by Istanbul Technical University Urban and Regional Planning Department between 6 and 8 November 2014. The Colloquium includes 56 paper presentations, Global Planning Education Association Network’s (GPEAN) annual meeting, Turkish Union of Planning Schools’ meeting and several discussions, student exhibitions and workshops.”