Call for Papers


Calls for papers were open until 17th March 2012.
Accepted papers have been notified within 1st May 2012.









Track 1 JPI Urban Europe – a European Urban Future in a Changing World

Track Coordinators: Robin Atkinson, Jens Dangschat, Margit Noll, Cristiana Rossignolo


The Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe contributes a special track to the EURA2012 conference. Within the sessions, academic expertise, inputs from stakeholders, analyses of case studies and trends influencing urban development in the future as well as information on funding activities and the consequences for JPI Urban Europe are going to be discussed. Beside lectures and inputs, emphasis is put on panel discussions and a workshop within the sessions.


Main emphasis of this Urban Europe track is put on promoting an integrative view on urban development and facilitating experience exchange across disciplines and sectors. Scientists, city representatives and funding agencies are invited to discuss latest experiences and results and draw conclusions on future research and innovation needs. By that, the Urban Europe track complements the scientific tracks of the EURA conference.


For more information on JPI Urban Europe see: www.jpi-urbaneurope.eu


Session 1:            The science behind urban development – Are we learning yet?


Session 2a:          Urban case studies & sectoral perspectives


Session 2b:          European urban research area – How to overcome fragmentation?


Session 3:            Demands for urban innovation – Are we ready for the city of the future?


Session 4:            Urban Megatrends – Consequences for integrated urban development


Session 5:            From urban research to innovation – the Urban Europe pilot calls



Track 2 Patterns and Driving Forces of Long-Term Urban Dynamics

Track Coordinators: Gerlinde Gutheil, Hans Kramar, Ivan Tosics

Cities have always been the spearheads of dynamic processes pushing forward technological, economic, social and environmental change. Since sustainability is accepted as a general goal in politics and planning, these mutual and interdependent relations are seen as an integral part of a balanced economic, social and environmental development of our cities. Demographic change, climate change and institutional change are only some of the most prominent megatrends that influence long-term urban dynamics, which are additionally challenged by increasing city competition on a European and global scale. Increasing diversity of different cities enhances uncertainty of planning and makes it more difficult to predict urban systems and to find proper solutions for specific problems. Therefore, track 2 aims at overcoming existing knowledge gaps in long-term urban dynamics in order to find reasonable and applicable responses to global megatrends and their specific local outcomes.

The contributions presented in track 2 include both analytical papers discussing empirical findings on urban development, policy-oriented papers reflecting the implementation of specific strategies and instruments and methodological papers concentrating on model-based approaches. Neglecting the scientific approach the papers are pooled in six sessions with different topics: While more general sessions deal with macro-trends of urban development or intra-urban patterns, there are also more specific sessions which highlight special issues such as the socio-economic transformation or the shrinkage of cities, which bring about new opportunities and threats for urban politics and planning. The different forms of public intervention are focused by several contributions which discuss contemporary and innovative approaches of planning redistributing the tasks between the public sector, the market and the civic society. Finally, track 2 is also addressing questions of flexibility of the built structure both from architectural and socio-economic viewpoints.

 

Session 1:            Macro-trends of urban development

 

Session 2:            Socio-economic transformation

 

Session 3a:          Intra-urban patterns and morphological transformation

 

Session 3b:          Shrinkage - resizing - reshaping of cities

 

Session 4:            (E)valuation of public intervention

 

Session 5:            Flexibility of the built structure



Track 3 Competitive and Inclusive Metropolitan Development and Governance

Track Coordinators: Rudolf Giffinger, Alexander Hamedinger, Willem Salet

The process of metropolization of urban agglomerations is driven by the attraction of specialized economic functions under increasingly competitive conditions. These new or enlarged urban functions of control and command ("steering"), their physical and functional allocation in specific areas and networks is resulting in new European and global urban hierarchies. These competitive practices are resulting in both physical enlargement (beyond the cities borders) and intense social change (socio-economic polarization, socio-demographic diversification and socio-cultural pluralism). The dominant strategies of urban government is to concentrate their strategies and the ever smaller means on their most attractive areas and high skilled labour force ("creative classes"), which pose a threat to socially cohesive and spatially inclusive metropolitan development, which give the challenge of smart urban development a more integrative tone.

STREAM A           Metropolitan and Urban Governance


Session 1             Conceptualisations of metropolitan governance and space


Session 2             Different forms of metropolitan governance


Session 3             Governance, participation and planning


Session 4             Governance, public services and democracy


STREAM B           Metropolitan Development and Policies


Session 1             Development in metropolitan areas,

                                competitive and socially inclusive strategies


Session 2             Strategies of metropolitan development and planning


Session 3             Metropolitan development and imaginations


Session 5             Inclusive urban regeneration policies



Track 4 Vulnerable and Resilient Cities

Track Coordinators: Dubravka Jurlina-Alibegovic, Sibylla Zech


Vulnerability and resilience power for cities and urban agglomerations are related to two different levels, the more general level for entire regions and cities in fields of economy and environment aspects, while social elements become obvious in urban neighbourhoods and/or suburban settlement systems. Competition between regions and cities had increased these imbalances in the past. Old-industrial reasons or deprived neighbourhoods however, had learned to cope with these challenges and developed innovative attempts not only to stand these situations but to bring forward innovative strategies of resilience. Other regions like those in Central European countries are under way with a diversity of results and efforts.

Session 1:            Ecological and physical resilience vs. social resilience


Session 2a:          Climate change policies


Session 2b:          Urban and regional planning and governance for resilience


Session 3a:          Resilience as a concept: case studies


Session 3b:          Vulnerability as a concept: case studies


Session 4a:          Tools for building resilient cities and regions


Session 4b:          Adaptive strategies to activate resilience


Session 5:            Disaster and crises - prevention and riskmanagement



Track 5 Metabolism of Urban Areas - Resource, Energy and Land Use

Track Coordinators: Michael Getzner, Fridolin Krausmann, Julia K. Steinberger


Growing cities and urban agglomerations are enlarging their resource use, which results in a stronger dependence on resource and energy inputs, based on renewable energy sources in cities. Cities import large amounts of resources (energy, materials, land), and pay for their imports via revenues out of exports to other regions. Their structure of imports and exports defines the boundaries of the cities, embedded in resource-rich regions.


These developments may be shaped by tailored strategies of economics of metabolism (determinants of resource use; resource use and economic impacts) as much as by social and cultural impacts of resource saving strategies. For instance, it is crucial to consider the potential impacts of resource saving strategies on the imports and exports of cities, and to discuss the range of potential options for saving resources.


To meet the challenges, new strategies of resource efficient cities have to be developed, including new town and regional planning concepts, technological solutions and forms of participation. Both will strengthen among urban policies the awareness for resource and energy use and will strengthen urban agglomerations as nodes of networks of connectivity.


Track 5 thus includes papers on sustainability of energy and resource use, planning instruments and methodologies, and especially policies in the energy and transport (urban traffic) sector.


Session 1             Urban Energy and Systems


Session 2             Urban transport and traffic


Session 3             Urban transport and traffic II


Session 4a           Urban Ecosystem services


Session 4b           Sustainable Cities I


Session 5             Sustainable Cities II



Track 6 Innovation Hubs and Living Labs

Track Cordinators: Sabine Knierbein, Sofia Morgado, Johannes Suitner


Cities have always been considered as seedbeds of socio-economic progress, urban culture and civil society. In this respect, quality of life and social innovation are seen as glues for future urban development. Hence in times of insecurity and crisis, traditional modes of urban development based on economic growth need to be overcome by new, socially sensitive ways of progress in space. New approaches taking up civic interests, such as new business scenarios, technological solutions, or flexible time and space use need to be developed. Tenets of cultural diversity, tolerance, urban lifestyles and open-mindedness of a pro-active civil society might play a decisive role in this regard.

What are the crucial prerequisites of social innovation and quality of live in contemporary cities? How do these processes react to acknowledged global contexts and what local phenomena do evolve?


Session 1:            Quality of Life, Everyday Life & Everyday Encounters


Session 2:            Public Goods, Public Innovation & Communicative Action


Session 3:            Public Space, Neighborhood Cohesion & Social Interaction


Session 4:            Social Innovation, Solidary Economy & Planning Innovation


Session 5a:          Civil Society Living Labs & Open Source Urbanism


Session 5b:          Local Economies, Cultural Practice & Cultural Regeneration



EURA Conference - Urban Europe - Challenges to Meet the Urban Future