Please join us!

CALL FOR PAPERS

Those wishing to present papers on topics listed below should submit a 250 word abstract for consideration to the Program Committee Chair, Suzanne Crowhurst Lennard using the Speaker Application form, before November 15, 2009. Paper abstracts must be prepared for blind peer review. You will also be asked to state the title of paper, name of author, affiliation and full contact information. Notification will be sent within 4 weeks of submission.

After your paper proposal has been reviewed and acepted you can register using the Registration form. The rate for speakers is $395.00.

After you are registered you may upload your final paper using the Speaker Submission form. Final papers will be due June 15, 2010. Accepted papers must be presented in person at the conference and will be published in the digital conference proceedings. Selected papers will also be published in Documentation Sets on focused topics.

TOPICS FOR PAPERS

• Healthy cities
  Urban planning for physical and social health. Aligning health and planning policies. Shaping the healthy city. Place-based strategies for healthy living. Healthy aging and the built environment. Healthy land use and transportation policies.
• Child-friendly communities
  Impact of the built environment on children’s health and development. Ensuring independent mobility through walkable, bikable streets. No child left inside. Contact with nature for health and well-being. Designing nature spaces for children. How the environment teaches children spatial skills, autonomy and self-assurance. Learning social skills in public places. Teens' social development and community spaces. The role of familiar adults. Designing child-friendly neighborhood plazas.
  
• Nature in the urban environment
  Importance of contact with nature for health and well-being. Natural urban places for exercise, adventure, relaxation and stimulation. Natural beauty and well-being. Designing and restoring nature classrooms, natural playgrounds, community gardens, parks, wild and incidental nature. Restoring biodiversity. Making nature accessible for all ages.
• Public health and planning issues
  Health effects of sprawl. Obesity and land use patterns. Absence of community and social pathology. Dangers of social isolation for youth and the elderly. Effects of environmental ugliness and degradation.
• Rebuilding place-based community
  Facilitating community through land use and urban design. Complete and inclusive communities. Social networks, physical and social health. Competent community, collective efficacy. Role of community in child development. Social life in public and political awareness. Community festivals and social well-being.
• Public places for social life and civic engagement
  How streets and squares foster social interaction. Designing and reviving town squares for community social life. Civic plazas to support civic engagement. Beauty and amenity to generate well-being.
  
• Mixed-use urban fabric
  Mixed use and walkability. New neighborhoods with mixed-use fabric. Urban regeneration through mixed-use infill and restoration. New designs for human scale multifamily mixed-use.Zoning changes to encourage compact mixed use.
  
• Community participation
  Children and youth participate in public art, neighborhood improvement, restoring nature. Social consequences of participation – building self confidence, community pride, cross-generational networks, developing skills.
• Promoting healthy transportation modes
  Making cities pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. Bicycle planning principles and techniques. Planning for commuting by foot and bike. Integrating transit and land use for the walkable city.
• Urban villages and towns
  Designing complete towns. Transforming suburban malls into mixed-use town centers. Creating urban villages at public transit hubs.
• Regional planning for healthy cities
  Sustainable regional transportation & land-use planning. Promoting regional identity. Cities and counties collaborate to curb sprawl. Focusing development in town centers. Achievements in limiting big box retail.
• Traditional town planning
  New town planning on traditional principles. Historical models. Regional architecture and identity. Can we learn from Europe?
• Green buildings, green neighborhoods
  Sustainable land-use planning and urban design. Sustainable community development. Green buildings, healthy buildings. Sustainability through regional planning.
• Innovative teaching models
  Integrating public health and planning. Human aspects of architecture and urban design.