Empty Country and Lively Cities? Spatial Differentiation in the Face of Demographic Change - Berlin, 7-8 May 2009 07-05-2009 Introduction In recent times, headlines like “Depopulation in Peripheral Regions”, “Rural
Areas: Old People´s Homes of Our Society?” or “Cities as Melting Pots?” have
been drawing attention to the demographic changes that are now affecting all
European countries. Demographic change and its complex effects have been
addressed for a number of years now as a challenge to urban and regional
studies. Therefore, five German research institutions have taken up the
initiative to organise a conference on spational differentiation in the face of
demographic change.
Description
Shrinkage, ageing, and diversification of the population are not evenly
distributed in space – cities and regions follow different development paths.
Increasingly, conditions of economic competitiveness, quality of life,
ecological carrying capacity, technical and social infrastructures, and
opportunities for political and societal participation differ between cities and
regions. Social and spatial inequalities are to be seen not as exceptions to the
rule but as the outcome of current demographic changes and key elements in
spatial development. Polarisation and pluralisation possibly go hand in hand in
urban and regional development.
The aim of the conference is to bring together current research on
differentiation in urban and regional development and the resulting political
requirements in the context of demographic change in Germany and Europe. The
conference offers PhD students and senior researchers a platform to present the
status of their theoretical and empirical research. Political decision-makers,
representatives from administration, and NGOs are invited to report on the
political challenges of increasing diversity in spatial development and to
discuss possible strategies for action with the scientific community.
The conference is organised by five German research institutions:
The key issues of the conference will be considered from three perspectives:
Call for papers
The organising institutions of the conference have issued a call for papers.
Please use the available documents for submitting an abstract. The schedule is
as follows:
Click
here for the rules and guidelines, as well as a submission form, for
submitting a paper.
Programme
More details on the programme will be available in January 2009. Please check
the
conference
website regularly for updates.
On request, the organizers support PhD students from abroad (please contact
Mr. Hutter for more
information).
Conference languages are English and German. During the conference, it is
possible to present posters on the topic of the event. Further information can
be found on the conference website.
Location
Berlin, Germany
Register Links Click here to visit the conference websiteback |
