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Framing the values of teaching urban design in planning education
No full textplaNext – Next Generation Planning, 15 (2025)This article explores the pedagogical value of urban design within planning education, framing it as a distinct mode of inquiry that strengthens spatial, analytical, ethical, and collaborative competencies. Drawing on a review of the literature and insights from teaching practice, it identifies six core contributions: (i) experiencing space through studio-based learning, (ii) enhancing spatial reasoning, (iii) fostering critical reflection, (iv) learning through co-production, (v) engaging with public needs and institutional structures, and (vi) developing sensitivity to both local contexts and global challenges. These values demonstrate how urban design supports students in analysing, interpreting, and (re)shaping the built environment. Rather than occupying a peripheral or elective role, urban design serves as a foundational element in planning education, one that reintegrates design as a form of knowledge production.publishedVersio
Modern History of Ukraine: The Path to Eurointegration
No full textmetadata only (video hosted externaly at https://vimeo.com/1131860103?&login=true#_=_)This lecture offered a comprehensive overview of Ukraine’s modern history from independence in 1991 to the present, focusing on the nation’s evolving political identity, governance structures, and European aspirations. It examined key milestones such as the Orange Revolution, the Revolution of Dignity, and the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement. Special emphasis was placed on the resilience of Ukrainian society and institutions amid continuous external pressure and the transformative impact of Russian aggression, particularly after the 2022 invasion. By linking historical events with contemporary integration efforts, the lecture demonstrated how Ukraine’s struggle for sovereignty and democratic consolidation has strengthened its alignment with European values and reinforced the foundations for eventual EU membership
AESOP | Head of Schools Meeting - Breakout Outcomes
Full text linkvideo available at: https://vimeo.com/1093812632This video captures the final breakout feedback session of the AESOP Head of Schools Meeting 2025. Moderated by Olivier Sykes, the session presents outcomes from several thematic discussions. The first presentation focused on democratic challenges within planning systems, highlighting issues such as insufficient political training, participatory planning barriers for younger and female staff, and structural discrimination within local development processes. Another segment explored how employability is integrated into planning curricula, emphasizing transferable skills and balancing institutional metrics with core planning values like social and environmental justice. A third discussion addressed diversity and inclusion in the planning profession, referencing data collection challenges under GDPR and systemic barriers tied to socio-economic background. The final part reported on a workshop by the social enterprise Place, where participants navigated planning scenarios that prioritized different stakeholder interests. The session concluded with reflections on the day’s themes and a positive outlook on the engagement and enthusiasm shown by attendees
Bachelor’s Programme in Urban and Regional Planning, Linköping University
Full text linkEVALUATION REPORT
After an in-depth examination of its academic curriculum and teaching pedagogy, the 3-year (180 credits) Bachelor’s Programme in Urban and Regional Planning, offered by Linköping University, Sweden, has been conferred the AESOP Certificate of Quality.
The programme was evaluated by two members of the AESOP Excellence in Education Board (EEB) appointed by the Chair. The EEB certifies that the above programme fulfils the Quality Recognition criteria.
The programme is characterised by a strong and distinct focus on urban and regional planning, supported by an interdisciplinary and sustainability-oriented curriculum. It promotes a reflective planning praxis, ethical awareness, and a progressive understanding of planning as a scientific discipline, with consistent exposure to research approaches and methods.
Its pedagogy is based on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary learning, integration of research into teaching, and engagement with real-world planning cases. Students develop competences through seminars, workshops, role-play simulations, field studies, and interaction with external stakeholders, supporting both individual and group learning.
The AESOP Certificate of Quality and this Evaluation Report are valid for six years (2025–2031).
Date of certification: 3 July 2025publishedVersio
Empowering scholarship: Young researcher-led journals as spaces for learning, envisioning, and experimenting with alternatives
Full text linkplaNext – Next Generation Planning, 15 (2025)This article presents a dialogue-based reflection on the role and potential of young researcher-led journals such as plaNext – Next Generation Planning. Based on a two-hour recorded conversation among current and founding editorial members, the text explores the motivations behind creating plaNext, its evolution over a decade, and the challenges and opportunities faced by early career researchers in academic publishing.
The article discusses five thematic areas:
(1) the origins and motivations of those who founded or joined plaNext;
(2) tensions between innovation and scientific credibility;
(3) ethical and supportive editorial practice centred on kindness and rigor;
(4) lessons learned and future visions for the journal;
(5) recognition and valuation of reviewer labour.
Overall, the article argues that young researcher-led journals can serve as empowering, inclusive spaces that promote plural knowledge, mentorship, experimentation, and community-building in an often exclusionary publishing landscape.publishedVersio
Echoes of a decade in plaNext – Next Generation Planning journal and the road ahead
No full textplaNext – Next Generation Planning, 15 (2025)This article offers a comprehensive reflection on the first decade of plaNext – Next Generation Planning as an Early Career Researcher–led journal. It presents:
(i) a retrospective analysis of publishing patterns, author demographics, and thematic orientations;
(ii) findings from an empirical survey capturing early career researchers’ perspectives on academic publishing challenges, journal awareness, and expectations;
(iii) an editorial dialogue addressing issues such as inclusivity, academic rigour, open peer review, Scopus indexing, mentorship models, and future editorial strategies.
The study highlights plaNext’s achievements in supporting emerging scholars while also identifying areas for improvement, including editorial consistency, international outreach, mentorship structures, inclusivity, and community-building. It concludes with strategic recommendations for strengthening the journal as a supportive, equitable, and globally engaged platform for early career researchers.publishedVersio
Rethinking the In-Between: Designing with a socio-ecological approach to activate the potential of Terrain Vague spaces
No full textplaNext – Next Generation Planning, 15 (2025)Rapid and uncontrolled processes of urbanisation have generated Terrain Vague spaces—abandoned hybrid spaces where urban, rural, and wild dimensions mingle. These areas offer rare socio-ecological opportunities and hold significant potential for addressing contemporary urban challenges, yet remain under threat from conventional development pressures.
This article proposes a socio-ecological approach to recognising, preserving, and activating the value of Terrain Vague spaces. Drawing from extensive literature, the authors identify guiding principles and synthesise ecological, social-economic, and cultural-aesthetic values.
Through a set of nine case studies—including the High Line (New York), Parc aux Angéliques (Bordeaux), Parc Henri Matisse (Lille), and several community-led micro-interventions—the article demonstrates how innovative practices can bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and real-world projects.
The study concludes by outlining indicative strategies for future interventions, emphasising ephemerality, indeterminacy, multiscalarity, diversity, and the redefinition of margins as connectors in contemporary cities
For a dialectic of planning pasts and futures: Theoretical courses and recourses in conversation with Patsy Healey
Full text linkplaNext – Next Generation Planning, 15 (2025)This reflective essay revisits the intellectual legacy of planning theory by engaging with past debates and reconnecting them with contemporary concerns. Drawing inspiration from a concluding paragraph drafted by Patsy Healey for plaNext Volume 3, the author explores how new generations of planning scholars can better understand the historical trajectories of concepts such as system thinking, resilience, and transnational flows of planning ideas.
The article reconstructs the origins of the 9th AESOP Young Academics Conference (Palermo, 2015) and analyses its thematic emphasis on geographical differences, postcolonial critique, and the blind spots between micro-practices and broader urban trends. It highlights how issues once considered marginal—such as Western-centrism, uneven development, and the politics of knowledge transfer—have since become central in planning theory.
The essay then examines how planning scholars engage with concepts of time, challenging linear narratives of progress. Drawing on critical theory, political economy, and abolitionist thought, the author argues for a dialectical understanding of planning futures: not as predetermined visions to be implemented, but as emergent possibilities already present in the struggles, contradictions, and unrealised alternatives within the contemporary urban condition.publishedVersio
Mayotte – Habitat précaire et informel en zone à risque
Full text linkGame changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024Ce rapport analyse les dynamiques de l’habitat précaire et informel dans les zones à risque de Mayotte, territoire français d’outre-mer confronté à de fortes pressions démographiques, sociales et environnementales. À travers une approche pluridisciplinaire combinant analyses documentaires, enquêtes de terrain et entretiens avec les acteurs locaux, l’étude met en évidence les facteurs historiques, économiques et politiques qui façonnent l’urbanisation informelle. Elle examine l’impact des risques naturels (inondations, glissements de terrain, cyclones) sur la sécurité des habitants et les conditions de vie, ainsi que les réponses institutionnelles et communautaires mises en place pour améliorer la résilience. Le rapport souligne la nécessité d’une meilleure coordination entre acteurs publics, organisations non gouvernementales et communautés locales pour concilier régularisation, réduction des risques et développement durable.
This report examines the dynamics of precarious and informal housing in risk-prone areas of Mayotte, a French overseas territory facing intense demographic, social, and environmental pressures. Using a multidisciplinary approach that combines desk research, field surveys, and interviews with local stakeholders, the study highlights the historical, economic, and political factors shaping informal urbanisation. It analyses the impact of natural hazards (floods, landslides, cyclones) on residents’ safety and living conditions, as well as the institutional and community responses implemented to strengthen resilience. The report emphasises the need for greater coordination between public authorities, non-governmental organisations, and local communities to balance regularisation, risk reduction, and sustainable development.published versio
22. Neither Looking Down Nor Up: 50 Years of Planning and Participation
No full textvideo available at: https://vimeo.com/1094339333This lecture by Prof. Alessandro Balducci, delivered as part of the AESOP Lecture Series 2025, offers a deeply reflective and politically grounded account of his professional journey across academia, planning practice, and public service. Framed as a personal travelogue, the talk revisits five decades of evolving democratic ideals and planning paradigms—from the radical experiments of the 1970s to the contemporary need for “trading zones”: hybrid arenas where conflicting actors co-produce situated knowledge.
Balducci challenges linear, rationalist models of planning, advocating instead for exploratory, enabling approaches rooted in participation, multi-perspectival understanding, and institutional humility. Drawing on experiences such as the City of Cities strategic plan for Milan and lessons from the IBA Emscher Park initiative, he illustrates how planners can foster collective intelligence and navigate complexity through strategic openness.
The Q&A session further expands these themes, with interventions from AESOP President Maria Håkansson, moderator Marco Cremaschi, and audience members. Discussions explore the role of education in transmitting democratic planning values, the growing presence of private actors in urban transformation, and the generative potential of conflict in planning processes.
In both form and content, the lecture exemplifies what Balducci calls “the organisation of hope”—a vision of planning that is simultaneously critical, engaged, and future-oriented