14-04-2008

During the last decades, demographic and social change came up as decisive factors imprinting on the shape and development of urban structures in Europe. They affect housing markets as well as residential patterns, location decisions or the use of amenities. While social transformations represent a major issue of urban studies, demographic change is still relatively rarely taken notice of. This is all the more astonishing, as demography always mattered in urbanisation processes, be it as population growth or shrinkage, in- or outmigration,
rejuvenation or ageing.

The phenomena of the Second Demographic Transition – population decrease, ageing, evolving diversity of migration as well as of household and life style patterns – bring about new challenges but also prospects for European cities. To stabilise and keep up attractive cities is one of these challenges. The effects of socio-demographic changes certainly differ from context to context. Throughout Europe, common trends coincide with regional fragmentation and diversification.

Set against this background, it is the objective of the international conference to identify and explain current socio-demographic processes and their consequences for urban spatial structures, housing markets, segregation patterns, decision-making processes and policy instruments. What is the current impact of declining (or increasing) population
numbers, transforming household structures, ageing and immigration on urban processes at different scales – and what is to be expected in future?

A call for papers is part of the Conference. The papers must be submitted by 31 October 2007. See www.condense-project.org/en_conf.html.

Programme will follow.

Kubus Conference Centre, Leipzig, Germany