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, instant communication, teleworking, online services – among others – challenge the urban planning paradigms all over the world.

• What is special about centrality and dispersion today?
• What is the current centrality/dispersion balance in urban development?
• How does urban governance respond to those complex phenomena?

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 concentration and dispersion
• Complex centre–periphery relations in various scales and temporalities
• The role of the ICT in evaluating and managing central functions

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 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: global warming, demographical crisis, water supply, war
• 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