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UPE12 TRACKS

 

  • T01 // INCLUSION AND HEALTH: towards livable cities

  • T02 // GREEN AND SUSTAINABILITY: towards effective cities

  • T03 // INNOVATION  AND INTELLIGENCE: towards competitive cities

  • T04 // LEISURE AND TOURISM: towards attractive cities

  • T05 // GOVERNANCE AND POLICIES: towards learning cities

  • T06 // ECONOMY AND JOBS: towards equitable cities

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T01 // INCLUSION AND HEALTH: towards livable cities

Chair: Eduarda Marques da Costa, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal​

SC: Donald Miller, Chair, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

      Katie Williams, University of the West of England, United Kingdom

      Samuel do Carmo Lima, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brasil

      Teresa Heitor, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal 

 

The improvement of life frameworks in cities and metropolis, in order to achieve well-being, requires best practices to promote inclusion as a means to creating a healthy city.

 

The rapid growth of the urban phenomenon witnessed since the 50s (more than 3 % per year, with over 55 % of the population today urban), gave rise to cities and metropolis marked by strong tensions, segregation and both social and territorial disparities, which are multidimensional in nature and not confined only to a sector of society (economy, education, health, culture, ...). Hence, the production of health and improvement of the social inclusion, in its many facets, is increasingly present in the agendas of politicians and technicians who intervene more directly in urban management.

 

The concern with the construction of healthier cities increased starting from the mid-seventies. First, in 1974, it was driven by the findings of the Lalonde Report, later, in 1978, the International Conference on Primary Health Care in Alma-Ata, where the World Health Organization launched the ambitious challenge of obtaining the "Health for all". Afterwards, in 1986, the World Health Organization formally launched the "Healthy Cities" project, recommending that a healthy city is one that, with the multi-sectorial coordination of the various public policies and of the wide set of stakeholders (government, political parties, public and private institutions, unions, associations, NGOs, families and individuals), promotes collective production of health and the improvement of the urban quality of life.

 

This track encourages the presentation of initiatives focused on the design of well-being frameworks in cities and metropolitan areas, including promoting social inclusion, and improving the health of residents.

T02 // GREEN AND SUSTAINABILITY: towards effective cities

Chair: José Manuel Simões, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal 

SC: Chris Zuidema, University of Groningen, Netherlands

      Cristina Castel Branco, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal 

      Nicole Gurran, The University of Sidney, Australia

      Peter B. Meyer, The E.P. Systems Group, USA

 

The sustainability paradigm has inspired the emergence of new urbanism movements and the renovation of old ones, where we can find “smart-cities”, smart growth, Eco cities, eco-neighbors, green urbanism; all integrated in a general movement of sustainable development.

 

These movements share some common principles, namely minimizing traffic delays generated by private auto use, promoting mixed uses and providing close-by services, recovering the neighborhood unit concepts to the present context of mobility and household’s demands. These movements are studied in systemic approaches that rationalize water and energy consumption and minimize CO2 emissions. In this context, urban policies have been gradually integrative, joining objectives to promote a compact urban form with a sustainable settlement and human occupation.

 

In this track we invite you to discuss these movements terms, but especially as applied, to different contexts (European, North America, South America, China and other), highlighting specific program designs in different urban and environmental policy contexts.

T03 // INNOVATION  AND INTELLIGENCE: towards competitive cities

Chair: Paulo Morgado, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

SC: Adrienne Keane, Macquarie University, Australia 

      Arnaud Banos, Universite de Paris, France

      Manuel Laranja, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

      Perry Pei-Ju Yang, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

      Robin Ganser, Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Germany

 

Intelligence represents, from a territorial approach, a new planning paradigm, based on knowledge-based economies and in a globalized innovation. Cities can better address the challenges of an increased competition for knowledge and innovation depending on how much/well they can bridge local resources, innovation institutions and broadband networks (Komninos, 2009).

 

Besides all the technological apparatus of this new intelligent cities approach, social scientists have also incorporated such a paradigm into urban planning through focusing on knowledge, creativity and social capital.

 

Cities strive for improved development, for recognition, for more residents and tourists, for quality of life and the means they use to compete for it are increasingly based on new and differentiated assets, such as innovation and intelligence.

T04 // LEISURE AND TOURISM: towards attractive cities

Chair: Carlos Cardoso Ferreira, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

SC: Armando Montanari, University La Sapienza, Roma, Italy

      Elisabeth Hamin,  University of Massachusetts, USA 

      Caroline Scarles, University of Surrey, United Kingdom

      Robert Maitland, University of Westminster, United Kingdom

 

The recreational and tourism dimension has been an important strategy of affirmation and development of cities; the dynamics that recreational and tourist activities imprint to urban fabric represents a potential gain of attractiveness and increased competitive conditions.

 

But tourism and leisure in an urban context also challenges its multiple players - politicians, technicians, entrepreneurs, residents and visitors - about the sustainability of this dynamic, prefiguring many challenges:

 

  • which tourism is taking shape and which one the city wants?

  • how to reconcile the lived city with the visited city?

  • will innovation and creativity be compatible with the authenticity of the places?

  • how to generate co-creation of touristic value of/for different players?

These issues will be discussed in this track, as well as others that may be relevant to a broad and current discussion on leisure and tourism in the city.

T05 // GOVERNANCE AND POLICIES: towards learning cities

Chair: Fernando Nunes da Silva, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

SC: Eran Razin, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

      Hilda Blanco, University of Southern California, USA 

      Maria Prezioso, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy

      Rocky Piro, Denver Department of Community Planning and Development, USA

      Sarah Coffin, Saint Louis University, USA

 

Being nowadays a concept widely used by economic and political institutions, governance is a set of mechanisms, processes, relationships and institutions through which citizens exercise their interests, rights and obligations (UNDP, 1997). The application of this concept to the territorial dimension is transposed by Davoudi (2008) to the concept of territorial governance: a complex set of values and resources, a political and economic fact or a social construction deriving from the collective action of groups, interests and institutions.

 

It is within this framework that learning strategies for regions and cities are drawn - involving communities and institutions - thus having a key role to play if decisions are made in a participatory way (UNESCO, 2013). Making use of their social capital, all stakeholders converge to an explicit commitment to placing innovation and learning at the core of development.

 

This track will address these cities strategies/policies, the models of cooperation and partnerships between players and their participation in the construction of development (governance).

T06 // ECONOMY AND JOBS: towards equitable cities

Chair: José Antunes Ferreira, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

SC: Daniel Rauhut, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research , Norway

      Jorge J. Karol, University of La Plata, Agentina

      José Reis, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal

      Peter Phibbs, University of Western Sydney, Australia

 

In the last decades, large changes in the world economic order have occurred. The crises affected product growth, and induced a decline in production of some sectors and a consequent increase of unemployment in North America and Europe, while BRIC`s and other emerging industrial and trade economies are of growing importance in the world arena.

 

These changes have a large and expressive relevance in cities and metropolis, where capital, innovation and qualified human resources are concentrated unleashing labor labor market segmentation and structural unemployment, contributing to increase inequalities.

 

Employment solutions, not only to improve competitiveness, but also to promote equity and social inclusion have been leading policy goals addressing territorial and social cohesion, namely in EU countries.

 

This track accommodates papers that will discuss these aspects.

 

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