ETHICS, VALUES AND PLANNING

This Thematic Group (TG) aims to facilitate lively debates on crucial ethical urban planning issues. It organizes events (e.g. colloquiums and conferences) and provides an open space for members to initiate debates.

The TG addresses mainly four themes:
• The correlation between ethics and spatial configurations (e.g. distributive issues, access to resources, freedom)
• The role and meaning of "spatial/urban justice";
• How to appropriately include values in urban governance, design and planning;
• Different types of ethical approaches in planning and their concrete operationalization.

Important aspects:
• The TG acknowledges and welcomes different ethical perspectives and different ideas of justice;
• The TG aims at overcoming dogmas, especially ideologically blinded and biased conversations.

Typology of events and activities

Colloquiums

Format:

One invited speaker and two/three selected discussants. The meetings are open to the public but subject to registration. In these events, an already published article will be presented and discussed. The necessary condition to participate in the event is to read the article in advance. Registered participants will receive a copy of the article.

Structure:

Input: guest speaker’s presentation (15 minutes)
Reactions: discussants’ comments (15 minutes)
Questions and answers: from other participations (30 minutes)

Open space

The TG’s OPEN SPACE is an opportunity provided to all members who want to present and discuss new works or topics (e.g. new books and articles). Initiators must submit their proposals in advance to the coordinators, who will evaluate them. This type of event can be organised and proposed anytime.

Annual Conference

The annual conference will investigate in depth one prevalent topic. A possible objective of the event is to publish a special thematic issue based on the selected submitted abstracts.

past activities and events

Colloquiums

"Just Urban Design: The Struggle for a Public City” with Kian Goh, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and Vinit Mukhija (March 28, 2023)
"If neoliberalism is everything, maybe it is nothing" with Edwin Buitelaar (February 24, 2021)
"Our curious silence about kindness" with John Forester (March 24, 2021)
"Revisiting the concept of the just city" with Stefano Moroni (April 21, 2021)
"Back to normality or perpetual threat? Exploring scenarios of future urban life and planning" (May 26, 2021)
"Overcoming the false dichotomy between procedural and distributive justice" with Ali Madanipour, Sabine Weck and Peter Schmitt (October 13, 2021)
"Human Dignity in Planning" with Ben Davy (November 23, 2021)

Open space events

"What are AESOP's shared values?", Initiator: Ben Davy (June 8, 2021)

Annual Conference

"Breaking through ‘conformorality’ in urban and regional studies", Dortmund (September 14-15, 2023)
“Operationalising the Just City”, Online (February 24-25, 2022)

Annual congress

"Planning for Fair, Plural, and Welcoming Cities", AESOP Congress, Lodz, Poland - Track 9: Inclusion (July 8-12, 2024)
"Planning for inclusive, pluralistic and just cities", AESOP Congress, Lodz, Poland - Track 9: Inclusivity (July 11-15, 2023)
“Making and unmaking spatial inequalities”, AESOP Congress Tartu, Estonia – Track 9: Spatialities (July 25-29, 2022)