Each region of the world has its own particular cultural, social and artistic heritage. In urban centers this phenomenon is more pronounced. The city, as we see it today, is the result of a history of planning initiatives, artistic visions, social forces and engineering projects.
In thinking about its future, we are forced to build on its past and its present: its various buildings and urban plans, its artistic heritage and craft traditions, its design languages and regional practices, its neighborhood ties and communities, its economic conditions and social norms and more.
The city is a living matter: past, present and future
When we think about the future of specific cities we are also forced to think more broadly – to understand the local and global context in which we live: the transnational forces of globalization, the universal concern for sustainability and global trends in consumer cultures etc. Even in this respect the city is a complex entity, a question of specific responses to global issues. The host city of this event, Barcelona, and by extension the entire region of Catalonia, is a perfect example of this and offers examples of the themes that this conference will examine.
A conference opens debates relevant to cities around the world
Throughout the Mediterranean, issues related to sustainable future are of primary importance. In Europe more generally, gentrification of traditional neighborhoods is endemic. In North America and Australasia Respect for indigenous cultures and crafts is urgently needed. In Africa and Asia, how to sustainably design growth in existing contexts is an urgent problem. In Latin America and the Middle East development that avoids the homogenizing forces of globalization is vital. In these contexts, this conference argues that these interchangeable global issues are central to our past, but also to our sustainable future. In response to this call, the organizers welcome perspectives on these topics from different disciplinary areas. They seek a broad range of knowledge and insights, developed in isolation or in interdisciplinary collaboration.
Examples of particular research areas of interest to the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya include:
Community Design and user autonomy: challenges and paradoxes
Circularity of materials - Climate change and reuse Governing the common goods of the ecosystem
Governance and spatial planning Cultural heritage: politics, people and place
Cultural past: the tangible, the intangible and the digital
For more detailed information regarding the presentation of abstracts, etc.
Dates: 15-17 July 2024 Location: Barcelona/ES
