2011 - 2nd International Conference on China’s Urban Transition and City Planning

2nd International Conference on China’s Urban Transition and City Planning
27 -28 May 2011, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

Sponsored by
Economic Social and Research Council (ESRC) and UK Department for International Development (DFID)

Organized by
School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University

Supported by
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University
Department of Urban Planning, Tsinghua University
The Centre for Modern Chinese City Studies, East China Normal University
School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University
Centre of Urban Studies and Urban Planning, The University of Hong Kong

Conference rationale

Following the successful first conference in 2007, the School of City and Regional Planning will organize the 2nd International Conference on China’s Urban Transition and City Planning. The conference is sponsored by the Economic Social and Research Council (ESRC) and UK Department for International Development (DFID) and supported by research partner institutions. The first conference was well received and results in a series of journal special issues in International Urban and Regional Research, Town Planning Review, The Built Environment, and Urban Design International. The world has become quite different since the global financial crisis in 2008. China is becoming a major focus of global economic and environment changes.

In the post-crisis era, China continues to face the challenges from rural to urban migration, economic restructuring and urban redevelopment. Tremendous social and economic changes have triggered the transformation of urban space in China. Now Chinese cities are characterized by distinctive and contrasting spaces such as migrant villages and suburban gated communities. Chinese cities provide an interesting case for understanding contemporary urban restructuring in the world. This conference will provide an opportunity for researchers in urban studies, geography, sociology, political sciences, and city planning as well as China studies to explore multi-facets of China’s urban transition and the policy implications for city planning and development.

Conference themes

We invite papers on any of the following themes and also welcome proposals for additional themes to be incorporated into the final program. Initial themes include:

Urbanization, rural to urban migration, migrants, migrant enclaves, and urban-rural division
Urban redevelopment, relocation and demolition, demolition and redevelopment of chengzhongcun (urban villages)
Land and housing development
Urban social and spatial inequalities
Urban economic restructuring, innovation, research and development
sustainable places and eco-city formation
Mega-city region and regional, urban and local (community) governance
City planning and policies

Format

A 300 words abstract in English, including the title, the name(s) of author(s), affiliation, contact address, telephone and email address, should be sent to Fangzhu Zhang (zhangf4-AT-cardiff.ac.uk) with the subject line of ‘Urban China Conference’ by the deadline of abstract submission.

Plenary speeches followed by parallel sessions respectively in English and Chinese.

Post-conference field visits to the Cardiff Bay regeneration project and Welsh Life Museum.

Important Dates

15 January 2011: abstract submission deadline
15 April 2011: early registration fee deadline
15 May 2011: full paper

Registration Fee

Full participant: early bird: £150, (including conference materials, two lunches, tea/coffees and conference dinner, excluding accommodation and travels); after 15 April 2011, £250.

Student participant: £60 (excluding conference dinner), accompanying person / conference dinner: £40

Further information about hotels will be provided.

Conference venue: Cardiff: A Capital City
As the capital city of Wales, Cardiff is well established as ‘Europe’s Youngest Capital’ but its history dates back more than 2000 years to the Romans. It was once one of the busiest ports in the world, exporting the coal which fuelled the industrial revolution.

Cardiff University is located near the city centre. Main conference venue is the Glamorgan Building. The campus is only a few minutes walk to Cardiff Castle, Bute Park, and the National Museum of Wales with the world’s largest collection of French impressionist art outside Paris.

The Cardiff-London Inter-City service, from London Paddington, runs some seventeen times a day, with a journey time of less than two hours. London Paddington has train connections to London Heathrow Airport.

Cardiff International Airport is served by KLM to Amsterdam which has convenient connection to many other cities in the world.

Enquiries and contacts of further information

Professor Fulong Wu (WuF-AT-cardiff.ac.uk) or Dr Fangzhu Zhang (zhangf4-AT-cardiff.ac.uk), Cardiff School City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3WA, UK