Call for Submissions: Toward a Just Metropolis: From Crises to Possibilities

Posted by on February 08, 2010

Planners Network and several other community-based planning organizations are organizing a big joint conference in June in the Bay Area:

Toward a Just Metropolis: From Crises to Possibilities
June 16-20, 2010 Conference – San Francisco Bay Area
Sponsored by: Planners Network (PN), Young Planners Network (YPN), Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), New Village Press, Association for Community Design (ACD), The Center for the Living City

http://www.justmetropolis.org

Call for Proposals – Deadline March 1, 2010 Presentations, Posters and Workshops

As cities and towns around the world grapple with the impacts of multiple and concurrent crises, progressive planners, urbanists, activists, and citizens face the challenge of transforming crises into opportunities to
advance profound changes in the way we plan, build, design, live in, and govern our cities.

We invite submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following questions: How are today’s crises impacting cities and transforming contemporary debates about justice? What possible futures emerge as cities and local communities respond to rapid economic, political, demographic, and environmental change? What is a just distribution of local, national, and global responsibilities? What possibilities and/or responsibilities will move us toward a more just metropolis? How do we collaborate to achieve change towards social justice, equity, better living conditions, and the right to the metropolis? What innovative ideas can crises prompt in the quest for a just and inclusive metropolis? And how do we get there?

Submission could be in the form of workshops, panel discussions, paper/project presentations, and posters. We encourage the grouping of papers in pre-organized sessions but reserve the right to realign papers once proposals have been accepted. The conference will feature a special reception for posters, during which authors will display and discuss their work one-on-one. We encourage collaboration across disciplines and
communities.

DEADLINE: All submissions are due by March 1, 2010

Applicants will be notified within a month of submission. Our review committee will begin work as soon as proposals are submitted, so interested participants are encouraged to submit proposals before the deadline. All participants in sessions – including local panelists – are required to register for the conference.

SESSION TYPES: We have identified four types of sessions, which are described below. If you have an idea for a different format, i.e. a film or art session, you will have the option to choose “other” on the abstract
submission form.

Paper/Project Presentations: These sessions are designed for people to present their research, projects, ideas, accomplishments and failures. Individual presentations should be limited to 15 minutes. Qualifying presentations will be grouped together based on subject, geography or other thematic considerations.  Paper/project sessions will be between 1 and 1.5 hours, and all authors should be present for the full duration of their session, to allow for audience Q&A.

Panels: Panels may be a collection of individual papers and projects or a panel facilitated by a moderator.  Priority will be given to panels that reflect diversity of opinions, backgrounds and geography.  Panels must have a minimum of three and a maximum of five panelists.  The panel organizer must submit ONE abstract on behalf of the entire panel.  The abstract should include the title, purpose, and the names of the panelists and the moderator. Qualifying panel discussions will be between 1 and 1.5 hours and should leave room for Q&A. If you would like us to help identify an outside moderator/discussant, please indicate so in your submission.

Participatory Workshops: The goal of a participatory workshop is the involvement of ALL workshop participants in a discussion or other exercise designed to learn, communicate, debate, etc.  Workshops can be led by a single person, although workshops led by a diverse range of people will receive priority. Presenting by the workshop leader/s should be limited.  Workshop proposals should include the title and purpose of the workshop, the names of all presenters/leaders, and should indicate how leaders intend to involve others in the workshop.  Workshops will be between 1 and 1.5 hours and will take place in classroom-sized rooms, unless special arrangements are made.  Please indicate if the workshop will require any special arrangements for space, scheduling, etc.

Posters: Posters emphasize the visual communication of ideas and are an excellent way to present one’s research, designs or project outside of a formal session.  The conference will feature a special reception for
posters, during which authors will present and discuss their work one-on-one, and the posters will be on display in the main conference site during the classroom sessions on Friday June 18th and Saturday June 19th.

Poster abstracts should include the title, purpose, names of all authors/presenters and preliminary description or design of the poster.

Other: We enthusiastically invite the submission of proposals for other presentation formats, such as film, installations, project exhibitions, student work, etc.  Abstracts in this category must include the title,
purpose, names of presenters/authors, description of the work to be presented, and any required special arrangements (space, scheduling, etc.).

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Presenters/authors must first submit an abstract-length proposal of approximately 250-400 words. Proposals must also include:

– Title
– Purpose
– Key words (minimum of 1, maximum of 5)
– Abstract (250-400 words)
– Name(s) of all authors, presenters, panelists, workshop leaders, etc.
– Name(s) of suggested discussant(s), for pre-organized sessions and panels only
– Special arrangements (space requirements, scheduling, etc.)

To submit an abstract, clink on the link below, which will take you to an offsite abstract submission system which we are using to manage submissions.

Abstract Submission Page: http://linguistlist.org/confcustom/PN2010

Please direct any questions about proposal submissions to Kate Ervin (HunterMUP at gmail.com). We look forward to having you participate in the Just Metropolis!