25-27 JUNE 2014: 2nd International Conference NEW URBAN LANGUAGES Re-thinking Urban Ideology in Post-ideological Times

www.newurbanlanguages.euWhy do we need to talk about urban ideology now? What is urban ideology?Following Slavoj Zizek’s words, if we assume the necessary existence of an ideology at the base of relationships “between visible and non-visible, between imaginable and non-imaginable”, the answer is because our world is facing an increasing uncertain future.When it is easier to imagine a catastrophic end of the world, rather than real alternatives that seem just and fair, when the hegemonic forces of capitalism compel us to produce generic urban spaces throughout the globe, while, paradoxically, local forces raise their voices to claim recognition, we need to discuss planning and designing theory and practice more than ever, and we need to discuss politics and ideology urgently.Since 2008, more than 50% of the world population lives in cities. The fact is that most of us live in an urban world, with new challenges and conflicts leading evolving processes to an unpredictable spatial scenery.The Second International Conference on New Urban Languages is asking the academic world to debate the nature of these processes and the new role for planners and designers from a multidisciplinary point of view.This debate will be structured in four non-disconnected Sessions:I. Ideological answers to the crisisII. Ideology and urban form in the 21st centuryIII. Ideology in a networked urban worldIV. Future urban narratives