MAKING_GIVING SPACE in urban planning

In recent decades, urban planning has undergone profound changes, as a result of the growing complexity of territorial processes and emerging environmental and social challenges, as well as the evolution of governance modalities that have taken shape in the political and institutional arenas. The traditional approach to system planning, based on rigid regulatory models and a preventive and conformational regulation of territory, has often proved inadequate to respond to the needs of contemporary cities. The rigidity of urban plans, slow implementation processes and inability to adapt rapidly to ever-changing urban dynamics have led scholars and practitioners to question new ways of conceiving and managing urban space.

At the same time, the emergence of innovative practices, the growing centrality of urban and territorial regeneration and the changes introduced by some regional legislations on the government of the territory, have redefined and diversified the role of town planning and the actors involved. New forms of planning, based on the principles of adaptability, participation and multidimensionality, are gaining ground, prompting a rethinking of the relationship between plan, actors and regulatory mechanisms. However, this is taking place in the absence of a reorganisation of the national legislative system, which is deemed necessary.

This call for papers aims to explore these transformations and stimulate a critical discussion on how the concept of “MAKING space_GIVIVING space” can be interpreted in contemporary urban planning. The central issue is the need to create room for new practices and designs, rethinking traditional approaches and calling for more dynamic tools and strategies. What are the ways in which it is possible to open up new spaces for action in and for urban planning? Who are the subjects occupying these spaces and with what instruments? Which mechanisms regulate the functioning of these processes?

How to participate

Authors are invited to send an abstract (max 500 words) by July 14, 2025 to call@urbit.it.
Abstracts will be selected by August 1, 2025 with subsequent communication via email (both in case of positive or negative results); authors must send the complete paper by October 6, 2025.
The accepted contributions will be published in a collective volume edited by INU Edizioni, Accademia series.
A further selection of articles will be presented at the international conference of Urbanpromo 2025 and collected in a special issue of the magazine Contesti. Cities, Territories, Projects (Class A Journal and Open Access).

The publication of a paper is subject to the payment of a participation fee of 200 euros (150 for members of INU, 100 for INU Giovani).
This fee is reduced to 150 euros (100 for INU members, 70 for INU Young) if paid by 15 September 2025.
The fee is per paper, not per person.