EURA Conference
Urban Europe |
Challenges to Meet the Urban Future
(CALL FOR PAPERS CLOSED)

Vienna, Austria
DEADLINE: 17.03.2012
EURA European Urban Research Association
Vienna University of Technology

Urban Europe - Challenges to Meet the Urban Future is the topic of the next conference of the EURA European Urban Research Association organized by the Department of Spatial Development, Infrastructure and Environmental Planning, Vienna University of Technology.

MAIN THEME
Cities are both drivers of economic, technological and organisational development and the places of remarkable social change. The Conference Urban Europe - Challenges to Meet the Urban Future reflects the actual urban situations and the main challenges and outlines outcomes and solutions.
The EU for long downplayed the role of cities in Europe for its economic, cultural and social relevance. With the program Europe 2020, the EU for the first time officially devoted its attention to cities. The Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) “Urban Europe” has a clear focus on urban areas as key elements for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. However, this program has been technologically dominated so far and needs a more interdisciplinary approach from the broad field of social science.

The aim of the conference is to collect critical and practical relevant theses and results to stimulate debates on the European urban future. It particularly addresses the governance of cities who have to deal with contradictory challenges between economic competitiveness and social cohesion, technological aspects of energy management (‘smart cities’) and settlement growth, shrinking cities, increasing segregation and environment protection. There is a need for new forms of governance to integrate the increasingly different interests of heterogeneous urban societies and to come up with growth coalitions that combine competitiveness and responsibilities for balanced developments.

CALLS FOR PAPERS
• The European Urban research Association EURA would like to invite you to submit abstracts.
• Calls for papers are open until the 17th of March 2012.
• Early bird registration will open on the 13th of February 2012.

TRACKS
1.Aim, Process and Deficits of the Joint Programming Initiative "Urban Europe"
It is the first time that the European Union, trough the JPI Urban Europe, explicitly point out the role of European cities to be drivers of a sustainable development in Europe. The programme intends to intensify forward-thinking, long-term oriented research and innovation initiatives to shape urban development in Europe. The aim of the track is to critically reflect the development of the pilot phase.
2. Patterns and Driving Forces of Long-Term Urban Dynamics
Demographic change, climate change and institutional change (redistributing the tasks between the public sector, the market and the civic society) are only some of the most prominent megatrends that influence long-term urban dynamics. Beyond the need to overcome the knowledge gaps among cities the proper responses to megatrends and their specific local outcomes are to be analysed and debated.
3. Competitive and Inclusive Metropolitan Development and Governance
The dominant strategies of urban government is to concentrate their strategies and the ever smaller means on their most attractive areas and high skilled labour force, which pose a threat to socially cohesive and spatially inclusive metropolitan development, which give the challenge of smart urban development a more integrative tone.
4. Vulnerable and Resilient Cities
Vulnerability and resilience power for cities and urban agglomerations are related to two different levels, the more general level for entire regions and cities in fields of economy and environment aspects, while social elements become obvious in urban neighbourhoods and/or suburban settlement systems. 
5. Metabolism of Urban Areas - Resource, Energy and Land Use
Growing cities and urban agglomerations are enlarging their resource use, which results in a stronger dependence on resource and energy inputs, based on renewable energy sources in cities. New strategies of resource efficient cities has to be developed, including new town and regional planning concepts, technological solutions and forms of participation.
6. Innovation Hubs and Living Labs
Creativity and innovation are seen as the glues for future urban development and cities ever had been the seedbeds of innovation for socio-economic progress, urban culture and civil society. But what are really the prerequisites of liveable cities and its innovative nodes and quarters?

INFORMATION, CONTACTS AND ONLINE SUBMISSION
Email: info@eura2012.org
Web: www.eura2012.org
Univeristy website: Vienna University of Tecnology

EURA Secretariat
• Dorothee Harres
Fachbereich 2, Residenzschloss
Marktplatz 15, 64283 Darmstadt
GERMANY
T: +49 (0)6151 16-2045
F: +49 (0)6151 16-4602
Email: eura@pg.tu-darmstadt.de
Web: European Urban Research Association