Symposium Concept & Themes
The Ninth Sharjah Urban Planning Symposium will focus on the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD)’s “Territorial Outlook” and its policy prescriptions for sustainable development. The territorial outlook is based on the assumption that the changes in socioeconomic situation, in the last decade or so, has brought about new functional and spatial dynamics, making it necessary for the central governments to change their policies as well as their reasons for adopting the new tools. A recent key observation is that the various territorial units seem to be playing an increasingly important role in the national economy. Thus, this approach covers all actions taken, or should be taken, by the central government to promote the sustainable grown of, and to reduce disparities between, all territorial units that make up a country from the nation down to local areas.
Within this broader framework, the Ninth SUPS seeks to provide for a better understanding of this new approach in terms of its rationale, relevance, and importance; its theoretical underpinnings; its policy recommendations; and its effectiveness and impact. Papers are expected to examine emerging socioeconomic and spatial dynamics and issues that have followed globalization as well as the new territorial policies adopted or should be proposed at national, regional, urban, and local levels. It is equally important that papers compare these emerging explanations and tools with those of the past for a more profound understanding of what might the new paradigm entails in terms of sustainable and balanced growth of nations, regions, urban places and localities. This approach also requires more attention to community cultural preservation and promotion, social housing policies, and area development and gentrification.
Sharjah Directorate
of Town Planning & Survey, Municipality of Sharjah, University of Sharjah, American University of Sharjah, and London South Bank University are pleased
to invite scholars and practitioners to join this debate by presenting
cutting edge papers on the following features of Territorial Outlook and Sustainable Development: Globalization, Devolution, and the Challenge of Governance:
OECD’s rationale for promoting a “Territorial Outlook”, including the relevance and significance of the new paradigm
The New Economy and the territorial approach: The challenge of new information and communication technologies
Relevance of Territorial Outlook for the competitive development of Sharjah within the UAE and beyond
Relevance of territorial outlook for the competitive development of Gulf States and wider Middle East
Globalization and localization: why smaller territorial units are increasingly more relevant to national development
Territorial partnership and enterprise development
The Territorial Outlook and the new OECD regional policies
Sustainable development and the Territorial Outlook
The role of territory in urban growth management
Housing policies, area development, and gentrification
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