Abstracts Sought for Planning Conference at AAMU

Alabama A&M University’s Department of Community and Regional Planning is gearing up and calling for abstracts for its Second Annual Urban Planning Conference set for February 21, 2020, in the ARC Auditorium.  The conference will focus on “Environmental, Social and Spatial Justice Planning.”

AAMU planners say global challenges to justice present opportunities for innovative, informed, and reflective planning practices. How cities respond to the climate crisis, the rise of nationalism and the closing of borders, unaddressed legacies of racialized oppression, and economic entrenchment will be a focal point for the field of planning, they add.

Thus, the second annual conference invites presentations of research, practice, and experiential planning practices that address the challenges of environmental justice, social justice, and spatial justice.

Abstracts are welcome from all areas of planning practice and research, particularly those that approach contemporary planning from historically, culturally, and/or socially-informed perspectives. Substantive and methodological topics are entirely open.

Conference organizers are especially interested in case studies, research, and practice that incorporates existing and/or historical precedents in any area of planning, design, or policy related to urban spaces with directions for the future.

In addition to individual abstracts, CRP welcomes proposals for pre-organized sessions and round-tables. This conference is an opportunity to tap into knowledge that can better inform future planning.  They are seeking historically-informed submissions addressing planning practice, research, and/or pedagogy across a wide range of topics, including the following: 

• Climate justice and vulnerabilities
• Environmental justice
• Racial and ethnic diversity
• Decentering whiteness
• Gender equity and inclusion
• New technologies (e.g., crowdsourcing, the sharing economy, driverless vehicles)
• Housing and homelessness
• Economic and community development
• Healthy access and food systems
• Transportation and land use
• Historic preservation
• Politics of planning

Limit abstracts to 300-500 words and include relevant contact information for primary authors/presenters. Direct any questions to Dr. Deden Rukmana, Department of Community and Regional Planning, Alabama A&M University.  Abstracts are due by January 3, 2020, to planning@aamu.edu in .doc or .pdf format.