[Experiencemaillist] CFP: PlanNord 2019, Track 2: Enhancing Livability in Urban Areas

[Lehtinen Sanna]

Dear colleagues,

Welcome to submit an abstract to the track 2 in the PlanNord 2019 conference. Please feel free to share this CFP forward:

Track 2: Enhancing Livability in Urban Areas
Session organizers: Ass. Prof. Harpa Stefansdottir (NMBU) & Dr. Sanna Lehtinen (Univ. of Helsinki)
Keywords: Livability, urban experience, everyday life, urban aesthetics
CFP deadline 15th January 2019

Urban quality in terms of characteristics that influence happiness and subjective wellbeing deserves greater attention in research. The concept “livability” is suitable in this context, because it combines measures of human needs and subjective wellbeing with opportunities provided by the built environment. Sustainable development could be better managed with more focus on the experiential quality of urban areas and how the surroundings support perceived living quality. This involves such aspects as how aesthetics and good urban atmosphere can enhance acceptance of living in denser areas, how they can stimulate outdoor activities, sustainable travel mode choices and good social interaction. Overall, we call for research related to how the built environment can fulfil psychological needs and that goes beyond focus on instrumental and functional values. Perception, experience and various uses of everyday living environment are important aspects of this theme.


PLANNORD 2019
The 9th Nordic Planning Research Symposium
21 – 23 August 2019 / NMBU and Oscarsborg in Norway
Host: The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Department of Urban and Regional Planning

More information and submission of abstracts: https://www.nmbu.no/en/events/plannord2019/node/35572

Future challenges to Nordic Planning
Nordic planning is often associated with environmental awareness, social welfare and democracy. PlanNord 2019 recognises that these assumptions are in need of critical revision, in the face of current environmental, social and political challenges. These complex and inter-related challenges arise partly from social transitions, in terms of growing cultural and social diversity due to large-scale and complex movements of goods and people. Further challenges are also caused by accelerating societal transition due to technological developments and environmental changes. Last but not least, emerging political trends at local and global scales generate new challenges for planning.

At PlanNord 2019, we wish to address these challenges and explore their implications for future planning in the Nordic region. Nordic countries have characteristics that distinguish them from other European countries, in terms of lifestyle, culture and politics. They are also geographically distinctive, with extensive sparsely populated regions, large natural areas, long coastlines and few large metropolitan areas. Such contexts require strong and effective integration of urban and regional planning. We welcome academics, practitioners and PhD candidates, in order to build bridges between science and practice, between scientific disciplines, and between Nordic planning communities.

Keynote speakers:
- Gro Sandkjær Hanssen, Senior Researcher at OsloMet and Professor at NMBU, Department of Urban and Regional Planning
- Jonathan Metzger, Docent/PhD at KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm

The symposium theme will be explored in five tracks, for which you are invited to submit presentation proposals. A PhD workshop will take place directly before the symposium, 19–21th August. More information will come soon, but for now please save the date and prepare for submitting your abstract!

We look forward to see you next summer at PlanNord 2019!


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Sanna Lehtinen, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science HELSUS
Faculty of Arts
Department of Philosophy, History and Art Studies
University of Helsinki
P.O. Box 4 (Yliopistonkatu 3, room 233b)
FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
+358 40 577 9302
sanna.t.lehtinen at helsinki.fi<mailto:sanna.t.lehtinen at helsinki.fi>
sanna.lehtinen at aalto.fi<mailto:sanna.lehtinen at aalto.fi>
www.twitter.com/SannaTLehtinen<http://www.twitter.com/SannaTLehtinen>