Territorial uncertainty and vulnerability as a challenge for urban and regional policy

The organizers invite submission of papers concerning different understanding in various countries of the concept of territorial uncertainty   and vulnerability based on a foundation of different sciences across multiple disciplines (geography, economy, sociology, regional studies, spatial planning, environmental studies, etc.) as well as on the basis of political documents of varied level. Certainly, as a complementary result of this discussion, articles will be particularly welcome referring to concrete and tangible cases regarding dynamics and structure of territorial capital of European regions, including the results of research projects touching upon the aforesaid subject matter.

Our keynote speakers during the conference are:

• Professor Simin Davoudi - School of Architecture, Planning and LandscapeNewcastle University
• University Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Oded Stark - ZEF, University of Bonn
• Kai Böhme - Spatial Foresight GmbH
• Professor Jacek Szlachta - Warsaw School of Economics

In particular, the Forum 2015 sessions will be built upon the discussions on the following dilemmas and research questions:

• Vulnerability and resilience of cities/towns.:
  • Which of the cities/towns are especially susceptible to outer threats?
  • What threats are posed by further suburbanization?
  • How metropolises can take advantage of the current economic situation to enhance development and increase resilience of the settlement system?
  • How should the urban policy be implemented in the face of uncertain socio-economic circumstances?
  • Are metropolises and cities of Central Europe threatened by internal social divisions and whether  revitalization could be helpful in this problem?
• Resilience of natural environment to spatial and economic changes.
  • Does the natural environment pose a threat to development?
  • What are the environmental effects of suburbanization processes?
  • What should be the development strategy for infrastructural and industrial investments in the context of environmental transformations?
  • What is the resilience of environment, especially within the urbanized areas, to external factors, including global warming?
  • Which of the adaptive processes regarding the environmental changes (including climate change) are important for quality of life?
• The role of infrastructure in promoting the development and safety in the regions.
  • In what way should the new linkages in space be created?
  • What is the impact of changes in transportation accessibility on a regional and local development?
  • Could it be that infrastructure contributes to increased resilience of regions to socio-economic and geopolitical threats?
• Stability of local development vs. regional and European policy.
  • In what way can the small and medium cities/towns increase the resilience of regions?
  • How to strengthen the polycentric systems?
  • Does the policy of territorial cohesion help to enhance resilience of local economies?
• Social transformations vs. instability of development.
  • What  are the social, educational, professional behaviours of people under dynamically changing economic conditions?
  • How can you prevent risks arising from demographic processes (depopulation, aging, gender imbalance)?
  • What is a spatial dimension of social safety ?
  • What is the role of services of general interest in territorial social safety?
  • Is it true that there should be territorially distinct social policies?
• Public management under varied social and economic conditions.
  • What approach should be adopted for risk management in the space?
  • What is the role of local planning in increasing the resilience of local self-government units to environmental and economic threats?
  • What are the institutional risks to spatial development?