TRACK 1 - SMART URBAN GOVERNANCE AND E-PLANNING. This track critically examines contemporary practices, emerging trends, challenges, and innovations in the governance and planning of Smart Cities. The discussion will address how advanced urban technologies can promote inclusivity, equity, accessibility, the development of safe cities, creative placemaking, energy efficiency, and a circular economy, as well as the contribution of urban e-planning to crisis management, and to post territorial conflicts and disputes. Additionally, the role of neurotechnology, spatial data, and GIS technologies in informing evidence-based urban policy and planning will be explored.
TRACK 2 - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN URBAN GOVERNANCE AND PLANNING. This track examines how artificial intelligence affects city governance, and how it impacts on urban e-planning, data analysis, participatory planning, and participatory mapping, and explores GeoAI, the emerging field at the intersection of Geoinformatics and AI.
TRACK 3 - CITIZENS e-PARTICIPATION IN URBAN GOVERNANCE. This track explores various forms of citizen e-participation and stakeholder engagement, such as Citizen Science and Participatory Budgeting, in urban e-planning. It evaluates digital tools and democratic innovations supporting public service access and citizen involvement in planning and investigates how people-centric city frameworks can integrate with e-planning to build inclusive and resilient urban environments using real-time data and participatory tools.
TRACK 4 – URBAN E-PLANNING AND SOCIAL ISSUES. This track explores how urban e-planning can address social issues, such as supporting gender-responsive development, promoting equitable accessibility and walkability, fostering inclusive cities for marginalized groups and people with disabilities, governing informal settlements, and planning affordable housing. It also welcomes research examining spatial justice in the distribution of urban amenities and public services, highlighting how digital methods can advance more inclusive and just urban outcomes.
TRACK 5 - URBAN E-PLANNING, BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE EMERGENCY. This track addresses the role of urban e-planning in local and urban biodiversity, as well as climate adaptation and mitigation policies. It covers topics such as energy transitions, urban greening, the impacts of extreme temperatures, and related challenges and outcomes.
TRACK 6 - PLANNING FOR A NOMAD WORKFORCE. The pandemic has accelerated remote work, significantly affecting local economies. This track will discuss planning for a nomadic workforce in the coming years. It will also analyse how COVID-19 has changed urban design, including hybrid workspaces and public health infrastructure.
TRACK 7 - PLATFORM URBANISM AND THE VIRTUAL URBAN ECONOMY. This track explores the expanding role of digital platforms in shaping urban governance and daily life. It addresses the increasing integration of platform-based services within cities and underlines the importance of strategies for effective virtual governance and utilisation of these technologies to advance public interests.
TRACK 8 - DECOLONISING SMART CITIES: TOWARDS PLURAL AND JUST DIGITAL FUTURES. This track seeks analysis of smart city frameworks from Global South perspectives to address inequality and foster inclusive digital futures. It encourages work that questions technocentric and universalist models of smart urbanism, and research that addresses informality, data peripheries and planning. It also examines how populism and illiberal regimes impact urban e-planning.
TRACK 9 – THE EDUCATION OF URBAN E-PLANNERS AND PLANNING ETHICS. The increasing integration of digital technologies, particularly the emerging role of AI, is transforming the landscape of urban planning and underscores the need to adapt the education of planning professionals. This track will explore recent developments and innovations in planner education and training, as well as examine possibilities for reforming core curricula. It will also address the question of whether there is a need for dedicated e-Planning laboratories—spaces designed for experimenting with and facilitating the connection between scientific and lay knowledge through digital analytical tools. Furthermore, the discussion will include professional approaches and standards to guide ethical practices in e-planning.