(Un)planned City - Call for Conference Submissions

Bratislava is a city that has been fundamentally shaped by the ideas of modernism. More than two-thirds of its current area has been built over the last hundred years in accordance with the principles of modern architecture and urbanism. However, these concepts have only been partially reflected in the city's form, or even differently than their authors had anticipated. The reasons for the discrepancy between the plan and its realization largely stem from significant social and political changes that the city faced in the past century, as well as the conflict of interests among local actors and state representation and their visions of shaping the city as a national or regional center. The example of planning and construction in Bratislava over the past century is not unique in the European context. On the contrary, it could serve, to some extent, as a model example of the transformation of new centers in the successor countries of the former Habsburg monarchy, as well as other European cities.
The international conference (Un)planned City aims to present these seemingly contradictory and paradoxical tendencies in the planning of European cities. We are interested in contributions that will discuss the broad topic of intentionality and spontaneity in the construction of modern cities, not only from the perspective of urbanism history, spatial planning, and architecture but also from a broader interdisciplinary perspective, incorporating views from philosophy, sociology, political science, geography, or anthropology. The conference welcomes studies of specific cities and locations, as well as contributions dedicated to the methodological and theoretical aspects of the topic. Last but not least, the conference will seek to open space for discussion about new possibilities of presenting and analyzing knowledge about the urbanization of cities through interdisciplinary approaches or the use of new technologies.
 
SECTIONS
(Un)planned Bratislava
Contributions will focus on the modern planning of Bratislava, the analysis of urbanistic and architectural intentions and realizations, and their broader context in the past century.
(Un)planned Metropolises
Contributions will focus on the planning and construction, as well as the overall transformation of the urban structure of new capital cities and regional centers in Europe from the end of the 19th to the end of the 20th century.
History of (Un)planning the Modern City
Contributions will focus on the reflection of the history of European urbanism in the 19th and 20th centuries and on the historiography of urbanism in Europe.
Exploring and Presenting the (Un)planned City
Contributions will focus on the theoretical reflection of the mechanisms of modern planning and construction of cities, as well as on new possibilities for the analysis, modeling, and mediation of spatial, social, or political changes in the modern city.
 
SCHEDULE
January 14, 2020                    
call for abstracts (length 900 characters including spaces in English)
February 10, 2020                 
deadline for submitting abstracts
February 10 – 17, 2020
 abstract assessment and selection of contributions
February 17, 2020
 call for submission of contributions (30,000 characters including spaces)
April 30, 2020
submission of contributions
June 17 – 18, 2020
 international conference (Un)planned City, HÚ SAV – FA STU, Bratislava

The working language of the conference is English. Selected contributions will be published in the conference proceedings, which will be released as a thematic issue of the journal Architecture & Urbanism (WOS, SCOPUS, CEEOL) in 2020. Please send contributions to: architektura-urbanizmus@savba.sk

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