Some 25 years ago Richard Rogers proposed an urban renaissance for cities across the UK. It was a moment of optimism for an urbanised world that, some ten years ago, the United Nations identified had become the most common mode of living for peoples around the globe. The intervening years have brought many criticisms, with cities being seen as places of inequality, social injustice, unsustainability and sites of global health problems. They can, of course, also be places of economic opportunity, cultural creativity, intelligent design and cutting edge architecture and planning. In this context, the conference explores diverse readings of the places we inhabit: their design, planning, management, social policies and cultural trends.

In partnership with the University of Salford and Amps