Call for Papers - closed

Cities have always been places where contradictions and conflicts are most visible, and where forces of development and potential solutions converge. Influential ideas concerning architecture, urban design, and town planning that developed during the inter-war and post-war period—shaped by extreme political, social, and economic transformations—still dominate the way much of the academy thinks about housing today. But it is also clear that over time many alternative views have entered the debate, concerning issues of quality standards, norms, and other dimensions affecting the way practitioners understand and design living quarters in low-income areas. All of these developments demand reassessment. In particular, as a result of the pressures generated by the large influx of people in developing cities, and also in developed cities where refugees and other migrants strain the built environment and the design profession’s capacity to deliver solutions that promise a real impact.

Despite the best intentions of those struggling to build inclusive cities that can integrate and empower citizens, the reality in many urban areas remains unequal. Social housing is not being delivered on a sufficient scale, and so other forms of organising for the provision of affordable dwellings must provide solutions that will make slums and ghettos an exception, rather than the rule of urban development in the 21st century. This conference seeks to identify and present practical solutions, so that we can start a debate on how best to deliver on the promise of inclusive cities that serve as places of opportunity for all their citizens.

By offering new and innovative ideas and designs for low-cost housing, and distinguishing between the varied local factors and conditions of housing, land tenure, and living standards around the world, this conference will provide an opportunity to present, discuss, and share what it means to live and work in cities across the globe today. It will provide an important platform for the voices of makers, architects, urban designers, and researchers, and offer a forum to bring together their knowledge. The fact that both wealthy and poor urban areas have been denied the positive aspects of urbanity is a fact. We must establish some understanding of what it might mean to escape the intolerable condition of living in cities where residents cannot enjoy the advantages of dwelling in the centre nor the periphery.

The No Cost Housing Conference will offer an important vehicle for practitioners and researchers. Participants can meet and exchange their projects, reflections, and experiences. The two-day conference will begin with a plenary session, keynote speakers, and moderated discussions. On the second day, successful Call for Papers candidates will present and discuss their research projects in Thematic Sessions.