Local Cultures – Global Spaces
Communities, People and Place

Virtual: New York, Hong Kong, Melbourne
Event Date: December 5-7, 2023
Abstract Date: October 20, 2023
International
A virtual conference at the intersection of Urban Studies, Sociology, Cultural Studies and Design
Rochester Institute of Technology, New York | Chinese University of Hong Kong | University of Melbourne

Call

The United Nations Human Rights and Habitat programmes connect how we live, to where we live. The association is premised on an understanding of cultures, communities and society through the lens of place. It sees them as inherently interlinked, and mutually reinforcing. Examining this liminal state, the Local Cultures – Global Spaces conference questions this idea as it appears at the intersection of cultural studies, sociology, human geography, architecture and urban planning.

It responds to debates around community networks and cultural traditions as independent of location. It addresses readings of the built environment as an isolated phenomena – as a series of constructed objects in, of, and for, themselves. Conversely, it acknowledges that how we live can be seen as inseparable from our built environments – our buildings, villages, towns and cities. In such readings, place may be defined as deterministic – as a central player influencing actions, and even identity. Positioning itself somewhere between these positions, Local Cultures – Global Spaces explores readings of societies and place as hybrid – as byproducts of the conflicting social, cultural and economic forces shaping our lives in multiple spheres.

If we take the city as a case in point, it can be critiqued as a site of displacement, economic inequity, gender marginalization and social exclusion. Viewed through such lenses, architecture, urban design and development policy simply ingrain the status quo. By contrast, for those celebrating cultural consumption, the city is a site for exchange – of ideas, experiences, identities, money, and more. Within this mix, the design of cities is central to the riches of globalization. It is where we find the Creative Class of Richard Florida, and where we enjoy the fruits of human production: cultural buildings, public spaces and the IT networks of the ‘smart city.’

In addressing questions of social and built environment theory and practice, then, this conference is interested in a diversity of ideas. From the social sciences, themes of interest may include cultural geographies, late Capitalism spatially manifest, and critiques of community and social justice, à la Lefevre and Harvey. In terms of architectural and urban design, the conference sees these concerns as reflected in participatory approaches to housing, examinations of queer space, Critical Regionalism, placemaking, and questions of race and planning, to name but a few.

In welcoming debates on these questions, Local Cultures – Global Spaces is a virtual conference involving a collaboration between Departments of Architecture, Sociology and Cultural Studies from universities in the UK, USA and China. It welcomes research papers, cases studies, ethnographic analyses and project reports on any of the questions raised above, or any of the themes of its partner universities:

Transforming a Precarious Present – People, Politics and Place, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York

Revisiting Place – Current Global Conditions and Human-Spatial Relations, Cultural Management Programme, The Chinese University of Hong Kong   

Decolonising Spatial Theories, Pedagogies & Practices, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne, Australia.

Image: Q K

Disciplines

  • Urban Studies
  • Human Geography
  • Sociology
  • Cultural Studies
  • Planning
  • Architecture
  • Landscape Architecture
  • History
  • Urban Design
  • Interior Design
  • Media
  • Communications
  • Digital Art
  • Humanities
  • Social Sciences
  • Teaching
  • Learning
  • Education

Key Dates

Abstracts (Round 2)
20 October 2023
Feedback
01 November 2023
Conference
05-07 December 2023
Full Paper Submissions
20 February 2024
Full Paper Resubmissions
30 May 2024
Publications
15 September 2024

Themes

Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
Transforming a Precarious Present - Politics, People & Place
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Revisiting Place - Current Global Conditions and Human-Spatial Relations
University of Melbourne, Australia
Decolonising Spatial Theories, Pedagogies & Practices
Cross-Institutional
Urban Planning, Landscape & Architecture - Practice & Participation
Cross-Institutional
Teaching, Learning & Wellbeing - Changing Mindsets, Policies and Practices

Formats

Zoom: We welcome live presentations via Zoom. 

Pre-recorded:  Pre-recorded presentations or films will be available permanently on the AMPS Academic YouTube channel.

Lightning Talks: For delegates wishing to offer shorter presentations of their work. Subject to the level of interest.

Written papers: In all cases, delegates can present full written papers for inclusion in all associated conference publications.

Zoom: (15-20 mins)
Pre-recorded video: (15-20 mins)
Lightning talk: (5-6 mins)
Written papers: (3000 words)

 

Publications

The publishers that AMPS works with include UCL Press, Routledge Taylor & Francis, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Vernon Press, Libri Publishing and Intellect Books.

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Conference outputs include the AMPS Proceedings Series, ISSN 2398-9467; Special Issue Publications of the academic journal Architecture_MPS ISSN 2020-9006; Books from this event will be developed by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, with short films available on the AMPS Academic YouTube Channel.

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Written papers are optional.  If submitted they should be 3,000 word length. Formatting instructions to follow after the conference. All papers are double- blind peer reviewed for the AMPS Conference Proceedings Series. Subject to review, selected authors will be invited to develop longer versions as articles in the academic journal Architecture_MPS or in specially produced conference books.

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Submissions & Registration:

Registration Delegate Fee: $390 USD  |  Audience Fee: $190 USD                                                                                                        Queries: events@amps-research.com