Call for Papers: Urbanism in the Expanded Field

Urbanism* has long been considered a complex and time-consuming form of practice, challenged today more than ever by a global condition of an unsettling instability, first and foremost manifested by climate change and over the last three years highlighted by the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, political unrest, and global migrations.

The conference proposes to expand the field of urbanism not only beyond the existing fields of expertise but also beyond the commonly accepted territory of the city. It brings forward different forms of "urbanism," found beyond the city's borders, sometimes temporary and different from familiar definitions of what is called “urban”, and not always following the rules or even dogmas of the accepted discourse of “good urbanity”. It raises the question whether urbanism can exist in open landscapes, low densities, informal configurations, temporary gatherings, dispersed networks and infrastructural endeavors. 

Cities and urban conditions in Israel and their surroundings will be our reference point for addressing these questions, both as extreme examples of expanding the field, but also perhaps as a precursor for future extremities to be expected in other parts of the world. We propose to consider this fleeting moment in time and space as a case study and platform for understanding larger trends around urbanism, densification, ecosystems, and the infrastructures that connect them. 

We invite researchers, policy-makers, practitioners, students and teachers to share their experiences and join us in an attempt at disrupting the common understanding of concepts such as "city," "settlement," "village," and "suburb", with innovative thinking. We seek an urbanism that is resilient, responsive, porous and permeable - one that can invert the late-capitalist tendencies of perpetual into an ever-expanding conception of the “urban” and its mechanisms of sustainable growth.

The deadline for submitting proposals is February 15, 2023

Read the full call to papers here.

Questions can be addressed to Oz Fishman at urbanfield@bezalel.ac.il

*Inspired by Rosalind Krauss' essay "Sculpture in the Expanded Field," 1979.