Ur­ban Re­ge­ne­ra­ti­on Trends in Eu­ro­pe

The main purpose of the conference is to strengthen the scholarly exchange among academics about the variety of European traditions, systems and experiences in urban regeneration. A special focus is placed on recent developments that are characterized by a political environment oscillating between neoliberal tendencies and a retightening of state control over urban development. As a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic but also of climate change the role of building and planning regulation has become stronger.

We understand urban regeneration as all efforts managed, funded or at least guided to some extent by public authorities that aim at improving, stabilizing or revitalizing existing neighborhoods. This comprises area-based strategies, improvements of public infrastructure and interventions into the physical structure of the built environment. Their strategies may be redevelopment, renewal, careful regeneration, socially integrative management and others. Those efforts aim at dealing with reurbanization trends recently challenged by new suburbanization due to overheated development, sharp increases in house prices and more and more professionals working from home.

The major objective of the conference is to give an overview of the variety of approaches applied in European countries. Therefore, it takes a particular look at the “systems” of urban regeneration that build upon an interplay of specific legal frameworks, policies, public funding schemes, physical planning tools, partnerships and governance arrangements applied with the intention of solving “urban problems”. For this purpose, papers should present case studies of those national or regional systems or outstanding examples of long-term efforts by major cities. In-depth and comparative studies of specific features that are currently substantially modifying the practice of urban regeneration in Europe or have had a strong impact on shaping it in the past are also welcome.

The conference will be held in English as a Zoom-Meeting. The program envisages two types of presentations:

3 March 2022: Keynote speeches on urban regeneration systems (to be presented in 20 min). Feedback and discussion sessions will provide an opportunity for exchange between the lectures.  

4 March 2022: Thematic sessions on innovative practices or city-related case studies possibly organized into parallel tracks (to be presented in 15 min). Each paper presentation will be followed by short feedback and a Q&A session.

Participation in the conference will be free of charge. There is a limit of 250 participants, and therefore participants will have to officially register by 15 February 2022.

The Working Group for Urban Regeneration at German-Speaking Universities (Arbeitskreis Stadterneuerung an deutschsprachigen Hochschulen) was founded in 1990 and has been publishing the German Yearbook of Urban Regeneration (Jahrbuch Stadterneuerung) since 1991. Since 2008, the working group has organized annual conferences with varying central themes. The papers presented at the annual conferences constitute the basis for an edited volume (Yearbook of Urban Regeneration) appearing after the conference. Since 2016, the Yearbook has been published by Springer, usually in German. Based on the presentations at the 2022 conference and scheduled for publication in 2024, the Yearbook on Urban Regeneration in Europe will be published in English. Thus, selected authors will be asked to edit their presentation for publication as a book chapter.

For further information, please refer to

www.springer.com/series/14364

Please direct all inquiries and your abstract to

altrock[at]asl.uni-kassel[dot]de

Please register under

schimanski[at]asl.uni-kassel[dot]de