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- Promoting Excellence in Planning Education and Research
- Congresses, Workshops, Meetings, Lectures and Summer School Events
- Safeguarding the development of AESOP’s Quality Recognition Programme
- Awards in Teaching, Best Published Paper, Best Congress Paper
- International, peer-reviewed, open-access journals
Recent Submissions
Proceedings of the IV World Planning Schools Congress, July 3-8th, 2016 : Global crisis, planning and challenges to spatial justice in the north and in the south
(AESOP, 2016) Randolph, Rainer
We are publishing here the extended abstracts presented at the IV WPSC. Those which were discussed in the Track Sessions, as well as a considerable number of contributions in Plenary and Special Sessions and Roundtables. Farnak Miraftab´s Opening Keynote “Insurgency, planning and the prospect of a humane urbanism” was published (in portuguese) in ANPUR´s journal Revista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais (Brazilian Journal of Urban and Regional Studies), v.18, n. 3 (2016), p. 363-377 (http://rbeur.anpur.org.br/rbeur/article/view/5499).
It is our conviction that these texts reflect an important panorama of ideas, thoughts, experiences and practices of the nearly 600 researchers, scientists, students and practioneers who attended the congress in Rio de Janeiro with the aim to have an unique opportunity to discuss the matter of planning with colleagues from all over the world.
As it puts our colleague Carlos Balsas in the conclusions he wrote about his experiences by participating the discussions at the congress: “Attention was directed at the need to look forward to more planning not less, more planning research not less, and more educational opportunities to strengthen urban and regional planning. … Alternative paradigms based on the radical deconstruction of prevailing knowledge sets and philosophies by some of those living in southern and northern hemispheres are making positive strides and can be confidently further developed”
Master's Program in Urban and Spatial Planning IUAV University of Venice
(AESOP, 2025) Chettiparamb, Angelique; Silva, Paulo; Dabović, Tijana; Cotella, Giancarlo
EVALUATION REPORT
After an in-depth examination of its academic curriculum and teaching pedagogy, the MSc Programme in Urban and Spatial Planning offered in the IUAV University of Venice has been conferred the AESOP Certificate of Quality. The Master of Science in Urban and Spatial Planning delivered at University of Venice has been evaluated by two members of the AESOP Excellence in Education Board (EEB) appointed by the Chair. The EEB certifies that the above programme fulfils the Quality Recognition criteria. Quality in Planning Education
The MSc in Urban and Spatial Planning delivered at IUAV University of Venice brings together the following aspects of quality in planning education:
Programme Curriculum and Identity
- An effective blend of practice-oriented studio courses focused on research areas in regional and urban planning meeting global, national, regional and local challenges. A studio-based learning process provides a combination of good theoretical foundations with practical approaches.
Principles of Pedagogy
- Strong focus on interdisciplinary, practical, and ethical education. The program integrates theoretical courses and design studios to foster a holistic approach, blending disciplines like sociology, geography,
economics, and ecology.
- It prioritizes hands-on learning through real-world case studies, workshops, and internships with public agencies and private companies. This pedagogy also values diversity, supporting student inclusion and collaboration in multicultural, multidisciplinary teams.
- Ethical responsibility is a cornerstone, encouraging students to address socio-spatial inequalities and global challenges like climate change and resilience while balancing stakeholder interests.
Showcase Practices
- Intensive international workshops, gamification, and real-client projects. These practices connect students with global planning challenges and diverse geographical contexts, enhancing their problem-solving and adaptive skills. International workshops provide opportunities for hands-on learning in multicultural settings, while gamified courses like maritime spatial planning simulate real decision-making processes.
- Design studios engage students in addressing complex local issues, promoting innovative solutions for urban regeneration, sustainability, and social inclusion, underscoring the importance of planning as a socially responsible and participatory process.
The meaning and content of education in (urban) planning and planning practice in different social contexts
(AESOP, 2016) Magela Costa, Geraldo; de Melo Monte-Mór, Roberto Luís; Watson, Vanessa; Roy, Ananya
National Constitution produced the institutional support and legitimacy for propositions and actions that involve civil society in the process of planning.
Metropolitan planning, experienced as a federal and state technocratic practice during the military governments, lost its momentum during the redemocratization process of the 1980s and only in this century was it restored. In Belo Horizonte, UFMG, the federal university, has played a central role in metropolitan planning since 2009, working with the State, municipalities and organized popular sectors and communities. A methodology based on participatory processes reoriented planning approaches to emphasize life space as opposed to abstract space, while focusing on metropolitan restructuring based on a blue-and-green-weft and on the construction of urbanity and metropolitan citizenship. These experiences have raised questions about planning practices and theories as they bring transdisciplinary approaches to academic teaching, researching and university practices and relations beyond its walls.
Nature in the city: interactions and contradictions
(AESOP, 2016) de Moura Costa, Heloisa Soares; Nasr, Joe; Refinetti Martins, Maria Lúcia; Sharma, Utpal; Osório, Leticia
The session has as theoretical reference the field of Political ecology of urbanization, seeking to articulate some interactions and contradictions related to the multiple ways that nature reveals itself in the city. The session welcomes topics discussing disputes over natural assets such as land, water, air, and biodiversity, resulting in social and environmental conflicts leading to different notions of justice, vulnerability and risk. Discussing nature in the city may help the understanding of the emerging concept of the urban commons; their forms of appropriation and reproduction as in water fronts, urban agriculture, protection areas among other contentious uses. The session aims to explore the role and agency of social agents involved, their forms of representation, appropriation or knowledge relates do nature.
Small and medium-sized towns: role and policy challenges in a globalized world
(AESOP, 2016) Demaziere, Christophe; Beltrão Sposito, Maria Encarnação; İnce, İrem; Inkoom, Daniel; Mitrea, Andrei; Todes, Alison
During the last decades, metropolises and large city-regions around the world have been considered by many scholars and policymakers as the main drivers of development (Friedmann, 1986; World Bank, 2009). Within the context of the current economic slowdown in many countries, large cities are seen again as catalysts. Economists claim that urban location advantages augment when the city size increases due to externalities that stem from investments in public services, large markets of outputs, and large and diversified markets of inputs. In contrast, small and medium-sized towns have been left aside and far less a subject of a scientific discussion (Bell and Jayne, 2009). But critical views have emerged. For instance, J. Robinson (2002) argues that urban research has been dominated by studies on large cities in developed countries. Through the concept of “ordinary cities”, she claims that all cities, regardless of their size or location, show dynamic and innovative aspects; and at the same time they face constraints and challenges. In the global South, it seems important to explore the role of small towns within rapid urbanization. On other continents, and especially in Europe, how can secondary towns contribute to territorial cohesion, for instance in rural and peripheral regions undergoing ageing and depopulation?