From dichotomies to dialogues -

connecting discourses for a sustainable urbanism

 

The 14^th edition of the International Forum on Urbanism conference, 25-27 November, is a reflection on and a stepping stone towards resilient urbanism. As many perspectives exist in this field, reflected in studies and practices by scholars, practitioners, policy makers, as well as the daily experiences of people, conflicts in interests and value systems also persist, which call for dialogues between dichotomies of discourses. Nowadays it might not be difficult to have a common definition of urbanism, which is concerned with understanding the spatial organization and dynamics of the built environment and with inventing new ways to maintain spatial quality and equality. However, the world is not yet on the same page about the meaning of resilient and sustainable urbanism, and the ways to approach it. The existing dichotomies of discourses need to be bridged as the challenges cities and regions face now and in the future are enormous, which are affected and determined by unexpected extreme events like the pandemic, economic crisis and climate change.

So, we really need to talk. We need to take the opportunity to transcend and connect different discourses in urbanism, so as to invent better ways of achieving resilience and sustainability. 

After the call for abstracts, the 14th  IFoU conference has successfully attracted a large number of contributions. The accepted papers will be presented in five tracks as follows:

1. “Urban-rural Integration” and “Areas In-Between”

2. The city is an object and a city is in transition

3. Political ecology and adaptive and transformative framework

4. Metropolization and the Right to the City

5. Human-centred and nature-based approaches in cities