Centrality in The Age of Dispersion

Human settlement has always evolved around centres. Be it ancient Greek polis or 20th century neighbourhoods – each of them focused various human activities and formed a specific node in the geographical space. Changes in settlement structures were considered to be hierarchical and evolutionary. Those natural concentration mechanisms are undermined by various dispersion processes, having multiscalar and temporal character, and thus undermining the well-established settlement structures.

Network society, demographic transitions, global economy, homeownership decline, instant communication, online services – among others – challenge the urban planning paradigms all over the world.

What does centrality mean today?
How does urban governance respond to concentration and dispersion processes?
How can these phenomena be measured at different spatial scales and across various urban layers?

The conference addresses the demand for a new approach in territorial governance, and gathers experts from various scientific disciplines to present their research on urban centres and discuss dispersion occurrences.

CENTRAL THEMES

MEASUREMENT

The concept of centrality in the urban planning discourse
Quantifying and simulating concentration and dispersion
Complex centre–periphery relations in various scales and temporalities
The role of the ICT in evaluating and managing central functions
The role of scale and time in centralisation and dispersion processes
MODELS AND PARADIGMS

The paradigm of polycentric development
Urban centres as an inherent component of the Compact City concept
Implementing Transit-Oriented principles in urban centres
Self-contained communities and Urban Villages
URBAN AND SUBURUBAN DESIGN

Design styles in urban and suburban centres
The role of public spaces in providing livability
Promoting historical and cultural heritage in urban centres
Transforming urban centres: between depopulation, renewal and gentrification
SPATIAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

Urban and suburban housing in relation to urban centres
Policy solutions for preventing dispersion
Neighbourhoods and districts – in the search for functional self-containment
Urban mobility on the way to urban centres
GEOGRAPHY AND ECONOMY OF URBAN CENTRES

Services distribution in urban areas
Divided centres and trans-border regions
Market versus planning: finding the balance in urban centres
Mitigating traffic congestion
The impact of economy, demography, climate, politics and history on centralisation and dispersion processes
Exclusion from home ownership and its impact on central urban areas
THE POWER OF COMMUNITIES

Urban planning stakeholders: conflicts and synergy effects
Distribution of power in urban centres: expertise, authority, democracy, lobbying
Community involvement in urban centres development
Quality of central spaces: functionality and perception
GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Continental, national, regional, district and local service centres
‘Glocality’ as a driving factor for development of urban centres
Urban resilience: energy transition, adaptation to climate change, demographical crisis, war
The impact of centralisation and dispersion on public safety efforts in urban areas
Urban/rural division: expansion, annexation, dissolution, decision-making
CENTRALITY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Local consequences of concentration and dispersion
Neighbourhood agency and its spatial effects
Community centres: activation, integration and networking
Placemaking initiatives in the perspective of large urban structures

urban studies urbanism spatial planning mobility