All Rights ReservedAndres, Lauren2025-05-282025-05-282014Andres, L. (2014). AESOP’s Thematic Groups – Part 1: French and British Planning Studies Group. disP – The Planning Review, 50(2), 80–830251-362510.1080/02513625.2014.945296https://doi.org/10.1080/02513625.2014.945296https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14235/2839disP – The Planning Review, 50(2), 80–83 (2014)This article provides an in-depth overview of the AESOP Thematic Group on French and British Planning Studies, founded in 1998 to foster dialogue between the Anglophone and Francophone academic worlds. The group promotes comparative research on urban planning systems, cultures, and policies in France and the UK. It operates through biannual meetings alternating between both countries, engaging researchers and practitioners alike. The group's work has resulted in several major publications, including two books and special issues of Town Planning Review. Topics explored include metropolitan democracy, spatial planning systems, cultural policy in European cities, and the interrelationship between rail infrastructure and urban development. The article emphasizes the group’s informal yet intellectually rigorous approach and its commitment to intercultural dialogue and collaborative scholarship.enrestrictedAccessArticle80-83