What makes the cities we inhabit livable? Transport, housing, health. Open space, mobility and the environment. Matters of culture, entrepreneurship, crime and safety. Affordability and access to education. Depending on whose ‘livability index’ you look at, it may include design quality, sustainability and the digital infrastructures of the smart city. Other criteria applied may encompass food access, job opportunities or walkability. Inclusivity and the politics of participation also come into play. Discrimination in all its forms impacts livability and social and political equity. Clearly then, this is an interdisciplinary question.
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Livable Cities is an initiative coordinated by AMPS as part of its Critical Futures program. It is managed in collaboration with universities and publishers internationally. In 2025 it involves conferences in Lisbon and Barcelona.
LISBON – 9-11th July 2025 | BARCELONA – 16th-18th July 2025.
Previous events have taken place at:
City, University of London; Swinburne University, Australia; University of Melbourne; Chinese University of Hong King; University of Derby; University of Calgary; Dayananda Sagar Institution; City University of New York; Syracuse University; the American University in Dubai; Stevens Institute of Technology; University of Arizona; University of the West of England; London South Bank University; Universidad de Sevilla; University of Cyprus.
Themes are interdisciplinary. Formats are varied. Publications are global. Publishers include: University College London Press; Routledge Taylor & Francis; Cambridge Scholars Publishing; Vernon Press; Libri Publishing; Intellect Books.
As part of the AMPS suite of research programs, the 2025 conferences in Lisbon and Barcelona are intended to function as international and interdisciplinary engagements on the range of issues affecting life in cities. As such, they welcome delegates from across disciplines and fields: design, planning, the social sciences, humanities, arts, engineering and more.
To explore and critique the questions posed by the notion of a ‘livable city’, you are invited to participate in the 2025 Livable Cities conferences organised by the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and the Universidad Ramon Llull – La Salle, Barcelona.
Image: Colin Lloyd
