All, I’m sharing the Urban Futures – Cultural Pasts call from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona. Hope it’s of interest.

BARCELONA : Urban Futures - Cultural Pasts

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya


Dates: 15-17 July, 2024
Place: Barcelona (with virtual options)
Abstracts: 15 July, 2023 (early) | 10 Dec, 2023 (Round 1)

https://amps-research.com/conference/barcelona/ 


Call:

Every region of the world has its particular cultural, social and artistic heritage. In urban centres this is at its most pronounced. The city, as we see it today, results from a history of planning initiatives, artistic visions, social forces and engineering projects. In thinking about its future, we are obliged to build on its past and its present: its varied buildings and urban plans; its artistic heritage and craft traditions; its design vernaculars and regional practices; its neighborhood bonds and community ties; its economic conditions and social norms, and more. The city then, is a living question: past, present and future.
When thinking about the future of specific cities we are also obliged to think more broadly – to understand the local and the global context in we live: the transnational forces of globalization, the universal concern for sustainability; and the worldwide trends of consumerist cultures etc. In this regard too, the city is a complex issues: a question of specific responses to global issues. 
The host city of this event, Barcelona, and by extension the whole region of Catalonia, is a  perfect example of this. A place of cultural identity; a site of architectural masterworks; a centre of visionary urbanism; and a place of artistic creation over centuries, it is also a place of contestation. Alongside its celebrated public art is unaffordable housing; next to its tourist sites are pockets of industrial decline; alongside its cultural heritage are forces of political and social unrest. In celebrating and conserving the history and present of the place, there is a need to plan a future that is fair, just, open and, in the final analysis, sustainable.

In addressing the questions and issues raised by the region, this conference opens debates relevant to cities the world over. Across the Mediterranean issues of sustainable futures are paramount. In Europe more widely, the gentrification of traditional neighborhoods is endemic. In North America and Australasia the respect for Indigenous cultures and crafts is urgently needed. In Africa and Asia, how to sustainably design for growth in existing contexts is a pressing 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 key to our pasts, but also to our sustainable futures.

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PUBLISHERS:
UCL Press |  Routledge, Taylor and Francis

ORGANISERS:
AMPS, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain


MORE DETAILS:

https://amps-research.com/conference/barcelona/ 

Run by SURFACE for more information visit:
http://www.surface.salford.ac.uk