Category: News

The 6th World Planning Schools Congress (WPSC) will take place from June 29th to July 3rd, 2026, in Espoo & Helsinki, Finland. The WPSC PhD workshop will be organized in Tampere prior to the congress (June 26-29, 2026). The FINAL DEADLINE to submit an abstract, roundtable proposal and PhD workshop application is NOVEMBER 25th, 23:59 EET (Eastern European Time). Please submit your contribution here: https://planner.eventos.fi/wpsc2026 The WPSC scientific program includes 15 tracks and 30 special sessions to which abstracts can be submitted. When submitting your abstract, you can choose between presenting your research as oral presentation, poster or online presentation, or proposing a roundtable. See all instructions for abstract submission here! The application for the WPSC PhD workshop is sent via the same submission form. See instructions for PhD workshop applications here! Please check the WPSC website or follow the congress on LinkedIn to get all news and updates about the congress and PhD workshop.

With Planning We Can! Delivering homes, resilient places and bridging social and spatial inequalities for all communities Today, November 8, the Global Planners Network (GPN)–the largest gathering of national and international planning associations–proudly recognizes the 76th anniversary of World Town Planning Day (WTPD).  As dedicated champions of the profession, we take this important occasion to celebrate the achievements of planning. In a world confronted with a multitude of social, economic, and environmental challenges, the GPN asserts that planning is a central part of the solution. With planning we can! We can unlock sustainable, inclusive, equitable, prosperous and resilient places. We can guide the delivery of better outcomes for people in municipalities and regions around the world. We can address climate impacts and facilitate disaster recovery. We can future-proof communities and help build the neighbourhoods of tomorrow. This World Town Planning Day, GPN proudly joins planners, academics, and municipalities in recognizing

Read More The Global Planners Network (GPN) statement for the 76th World Town Planning Day

GPEAN is pleased to announce that the Sixth World Planning Schools Congress has launched its website: http://wpsc2026.org   The congress, themed “Peripheral Visions: Rethinking Planning”, will take place on 29 June – 3 July 2026 in Helsinki and Espoo, Finland, with the PhD Workshop taking place on 26-29 June in Tampere. The Call for Special Sessions has also been launched; and proposals are accepted until 26 August 2025. For more information, please see https://app.eventos.fi/wpsc2026/website/call-for-abstracts. Call for Abstracts and Roundtables will open in September 2025. For other important dates, please visit the website.

GPEAN is pleased to announce that the sixth World Planning Schools Congress will take place in July 2026 in Helsinki Capital Region, Finland. The congress, themed “Peripheral Visions: Rethinking Planning”, will be hosted jointly by Aalto University, University of Helsinki, and Tampere University.

Global Planners Network (GPN) released a statement for the 74th World Town Planning Day. The statement calls for planning action for a just transition to a net-zero climate resilient world: PLANNING ACTION FOR A JUST TRANSITION TO A NET-ZERO CLIMATE RESILIENT WORLD Every person and community in the world today is threatened by a deepening climate and biodiversity emergency, compounded by conflicts, the pressures of demographic and other societal change and the continuing legacy of the pandemic. The Global Planners Network (GPN)-the largest gathering of national and international planning associations-calls for urgent action to stop any further irreversible degradation of the natural world and adverse impacts on communities globally before the window for action closes. Following our Katowice Declaration in June 2022, we re-assert that there can be no sustainable development without sustainable urbanisation and no sustainable urbanisation without effective planning. Effective planning, however, requires political support, financial and human

Read More Global Planners Network World Town Planning Day Statement

GPEAN is an endorser of the joint 5th Urban Economy Forum and 59th ISOCARP World Planning Congress that will take place in Toronto, Canada, from 10 to 13 October 2023.  This year, the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) has partnered with the Urban Economy Forum (UEF) to deliver this joint unique Congress on a very timely topic, “For Climate Action, Urban Finance: Climate-responsive Planning for Equitable Places & Communities“. The purpose of this joint event is to highlight the role of urban finance and integrated climate-responsive planning in the achievement of sustainable development. More information can be found at the official Congress website: https://toronto2023.isocarp.org/

GPEAN invites institutional members of GPEAN Associations to submit proposals to host the 6th World Planning Schools Congress, which is to take place in 2026. Applicants are asked to comply with the following deadlines in submitting their proposals: Submission of the preliminary proposals: August 1st, 2023 Announcement of selections: September 1st, 2023 Submission of the final proposals: October 1st, 2023 The final selection will be made by GPEAN Council in December 2023. For detailed information on the Call for Proposals, please download the Call Document and its Appendices, provided below:

As educators and scholars, your input is needed to help define the future of UN-Habitat’s partnerships with universities. WUF11 is the perfect occasion to bring the conversation on UN-Habitat UNI to the next stage of development. UN-Habitat UNI will be in focus during three events at WUF: UN-Habitat UNI: Shaping the future of university partnerships: Monday 27 June, 17:00 – 19:00 (hybrid) Academia Roundtable: Wednesday 29 June, 13:30 – 15:30 (hybrid) From Theory to Practice: Universities and Researchers Contribute to the NUA: Thursday 30 June, 14:00 – 15:30 (only in person) All the events build on the report Linking UN-Habitat and Universities: Harnessing the Potential of Knowledge Partnerships, which is available for your review now. Whether you intend to attend online or in-person, registering beforehand is necessary. Don’t forget to register at https://www.unevents.org/Home/Register to confirm your participation. For more information, please visit: https://mailchi.mp/f672dbc9ea21/get-your-certificate-from-un-habitat-learn-today-5624539?fbclid=IwAR31yzArih59-pStO_EglaTxY-R–1ButNhmujjOYd5CxX1FQmFHdOaAB2U

The Fifth World Planning Schools Congress (WPSC V) to be held in Bali Indonesia, from 29 August to 2 September 2022, is organizing a Ph.D. Colloquium as part of the Pre-Congress program. The colloquium is a discussion forum, jointly organized by the WPSC APSA 2022 and Planning Doctoral Schools of GPEAN members, where global postgraduate students are invited to present their undergoing research at every stage they are working on – proposal, analysis, discussion, etc. – in planning-related disciplines across regions. The submission is open to all postgraduate students/Ph.D. candidates in planning-related fields. However, a quota will be applied to allow 60 Ph.D. candidates’ presentations. The Ph.D. colloquium is a complementary event for Ph.D. students who have already registered to the WPSC-APSA Congress (abstracts authors/co-authors, or participants) and wish to present their work in the Ph.D. colloquium, with no additional charge. The deadline for applications to the Ph.D. Colloquium is 15 May 2022. For

Read More International Ph.D. Colloquium at the WPSC V – Deadline: 15 May 2022

The Fifth World Planning Schools Congress (WPSC V) to be held in Bali Indonesia, from 29 August to 2 September 2022, is inviting planning students to present their studio project work in the Pre-Congress program. The International Students Competition aims to encourage students’ planning work to face global transformation. The GPEAN member representative judges will examine entries for their planning concept, originality, innovation, content, and presentation. The competition theme is “Inclusive and Innovative Spatial Planning” and the submission of project works are accepted until 31 May 2022. For more information please visit: https://wpsc-apsa2022.org/international-students-competition/