CfP INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE BRISTOL 2018
Health: The Design, Planning and Politics of How and Where We Live

Bristol, UK
• Abstract submission deadline: November 30, 2017
• UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND
• WHO, UWE and AMPS. In collaboration with the Public Health Film Society.

OUTLINE
The World Health Organisation identifies the world’s rush to urbanization represents major threats and challenges to personal and public health. It identifies the ‘urban health threat’ as three-fold: infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases; and violence and injury from, amongst other things, road traffic. Within this tripartite structure of health in the built environment are many issues affecting both the developed and the developing worlds and the global north and south. In informal settlements the poor design and maintenance of sanitary systems is linked with TB, pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease. The industrial expansion of countries like China and India has increased urban pollution exponentially. In the UK, where this event is held, almost 2 million people live with sight loss. Obesity levels are at an all-time high. Dementia is increasing. Heart disease is linked to sedentary lifestyles and asthma has been connected with to traffic congestion. Our health and how we live in our homes, streets, neighbouroods and cities cannot be divorced. However, the health issues connected to the built environment are also a social and political problem. Demographic changes, lifestyle preferences and government funding priorities all impact the health of life in cities: an ageing population is increasingly house bound; changing neighborhood patterns erode community support systems; investment in roads increases pollution and makes cities less walkable… and more.

ORGANISERS   
• Keynote 1: Christopher Shaw. Chair, Architects for Health
• Keynote 2: Faculty of Public Health (TBC)

INTERDISCIPLINARY THEMES

Photo by Guy Freeman ©  

This conference reflects a broad set of interrelated concerns about health and the places we inhabit. It seeks to better understand the interconnectedness and potential solutions to the problems associated with health and the built environment. To that end, it draws together health professionals, government representatives, social scientists, anthropologists, architects and urban planners. It is open to various debates, examples of which could include, but are not limited to: healthy homes, walkable cities, design for ageing, dementia and the built environment, health equality and urban poverty, community health services, neighbourhood support and wellbeing, urban sanitation and communicable disease, the role of transport infrastructures and government policy, and the cost implications of ‘unhealthy’ cities etc.

These multiple issues will be organized into strands seeking to facilitate ‘joined-up’ thinking about health and the built environment across disciplines, across scales and across countries.

• Highlight Notice – Film:
In particular, this event picks up on work with film being carried out at UWE and continues a collaboration between AMPS and the Public Health Film Society. It welcomes presentations by short and feature length film makers, screenings and debates filtered through short film projects.

• Highlight Notice – Housing:
As part of the AMPS research programme Housing – Critical Futures, this event particularly welcomes submissions dealing with questions of heath and housing. More information.

KEY DATES:
• 30 October 2017 Postponed to 30 November: Abstract Submission
• 15 November 2017: Abstract Feedback
• 10 January:  Registration closes
• 25-26 January 2018: Conference
• 01 April 2018: Full Paper Submissions (where applicable)
• 01 June 2018: Feedback for publication
• 01 November 2018: Publication of Full papers begins

FORMATS:
To stimulate critical debate about the standard practices dominating the built environment, this conference is deliberately interdisciplinary. It seeks perspectives from architects, urban designers, planners, human geographers, sociologists, media specialists and more. These areas form broad strands that will be sub-divided into smaller thematic sections.
Delegates in each of these strands are invited to present in various formats. To make the event as inclusive as possible, delegates can attend in-person but can also avoid travel costs by making their presentation as a pre-recorded film. It will be permanently available via the AMPS Youtube channel. Alternatively, they can present virtually via skype. In all cases, written papers are also acceptable.

Possible Formats include:
• Pre-recorded video (20 minutes);
• Skype (20 minutes);
• Conference Presentations (20 minutes);
• Written Papers (3,000 words).

PUBLICATIONS:
Delegates are given the option to present their work at conference either with or without an accompanying full written paper. If delegates choose to submit papers they must be 3000 word length in the first instance. All abstracts and papers are double blind peer reviews and will be published in the AMPS Conference proceedings series, ISSN 2398-9467.
Subject to review, selected authors will be invited to develop longer versions of their papers for:
1. A Special Issues of the Architecture_MPS journal, UCL Press; 
2. An AMPS book with UCL Press; 
3. An AMPS book with Libri Publishing‘; 
4. The AMPS book with Vernon Press; 
5. Books as part of the AMPS publishing partnership with Routledge Taylor & Francis. 

SUBMISSION AND REGISTRATION:
See Download "Abstract Submission Form".
Please send this fully completed document to admin@architecturemps.com. The document must be in Microsoft Word. 
Subject line for emails: Abstract Submission UWE.
Correctly formatted and named example: Charlie_Smith_Yet Another Apartment Block_Abstract UWE.

FEES:
• Delegate fee: £190
• Audience Fee: £90

ADDITIONAL INFO:
For more details: admin@architecturemps.com