AESOP Eprints
Institutional Repository of the Association of European Schools of Planning
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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”
AESOP | Lecture Series Event 22 Democracy and Planning: Neither Looking Down, Nor Up
(AESOP, 2025) Balducci, Sandra
In this AESOP Lecture Series 22 presentation, titled “Neither Looking Down Nor Up: 50 Years of Planning and Participation”, Professor Sandra Balducci delivers a deeply personal and intellectually rich reflection on her five decades of engagement in the field of urban and regional planning. Beginning with her formative experiences as a young activist in Milan’s peripheral neighbourhoods, she retraces her academic path through the Politecnico di Milano and UC Berkeley, while highlighting the influence of key mentors and intellectual traditions that shaped her thinking.
Balducci explores the changing roles of planners—from expert designers to democratic facilitators—focusing particularly on conflict, participation, and the complexities of translating knowledge into action. She introduces the concept of the “trading zone” as a critical space where actors from different worlds (policy, academia, activism, citizens) can interact and co-produce situated knowledge. Through examples from local government, European research projects, and teaching practice, she illustrates how planning can serve as an enabling infrastructure for dialogue and transformation.
The lecture also offers a candid critique of the current academic evaluation systems, warning against the reduction of research to bibliometric performance, and advocating instead for meaningful, engaged scholarship that embraces uncertainty, plurality, and care. Ultimately, Balducci calls for a reinvention of planning education, urging institutions to move beyond simulation and toward pedagogies rooted in real-world challenges, collective learning, and democratic hope.
AESOP Head of Schools Meeting 2025 – Opening Session (Liverpool, 13 March 2025)
(AESOP, 2025) Mayer, Doug; Håkansson, Maria; Sykes, Olivier
This video documented the opening session of the AESOP Head of Schools Meeting, held on 13 March 2025 at the University of Liverpool. The session began with welcoming remarks by Olivier Sykes, followed by a keynote introduction by Doug Mayer, Dean of the School of Environmental Sciences. He presented the interdisciplinary structure of the school and emphasized the growing importance of planning in addressing complex environmental and societal challenges, such as climate change, urban regeneration, and social inequality.
Maria Håkansson, AESOP President, welcomed representatives from member schools and highlighted the significance of this annual meeting in fostering dialogue on planning education. The programme included keynote lectures, a presentation of the PlanEd project, the AESOP Quality Recognition Board report, and multiple breakout sessions addressing legitimacy, professionalism, and inclusivity in planning.
The event concluded with an invitation to two field tours exploring regeneration projects and soft densification in Liverpool and New Brighton, aimed at encouraging exchange and collaboration among planning educators across Europe.
Keynote 1 : Liverpool Local Planning and Inclusive Growth
(AESOP, 2025) Small, Nick
In his keynote speech at the AESOP Head of Schools Meeting 2025, Councillor Nick Small, Cabinet Member for Growth and Economy at Liverpool City Council, presented the city’s strategic direction for inclusive growth. He emphasized that growth should be people-centered, guided not only by the local plan but primarily by the newly drafted Inclusive Growth Strategy. The address outlined the socioeconomic challenges facing Liverpool, particularly in North Liverpool, an area marked by structural deprivation. Small introduced initiatives such as the proposed “Opportunity North Liverpool” new town project and the establishment of a Locally Led Urban Development Corporation (LLUDC), aimed at regenerating key urban zones, attracting investment, and improving housing and job opportunities. He also highlighted local success stories, such as grassroots women entrepreneurship in Anfield, and stressed the need to better integrate the city’s underutilized waterfront with surrounding communities. The speech connected these strategic efforts to broader planning reforms and called for a balance between fast-tracking development and maintaining democratic accountability.
Keynote 2 : Engaged Urban Pedagogy: reflecting on participatory practices & legitimacy in planning education
(AESOP, 2025) Natarajan, Lucy
In this keynote presentation, Dr. Lucy Natarajan (Associate Professor, University College London) reflected on themes of inclusion and legitimacy in planning education, drawing on insights from the co-edited book Engaged Pedagogy in Planning Education (with Michael Short). Her research focuses on the inclusion of publics and civil society in strategic planning processes, particularly in relation to major infrastructure and spatial plans.
The presentation introduced a conceptual framework based on participatory planning theory and critical pedagogy, developed through a collaborative research project and a teaching-focused conference track during the COVID-19 lockdown. The framework identifies three key domains of inclusive educational practice: curriculum review and design, teaching delivery, and embedding engagement beyond the classroom.
Natarajan emphasized the need to include diverse knowledges and non-academic perspectives in the design of planning programmes, highlighting examples where students and external stakeholders contributed to curriculum development. She addressed the challenges of navigating emotional and political sensitivities in classroom settings and advocated for teaching practices that are reflective, supportive, and inclusive of different social and cultural experiences.
The talk offered grounded insights into how planning education can better respond to issues of legitimacy, diversity, and co-production in both content and method.