Helsinki-Espoo-Tampere, June 29-July 3, 2026

GPEAN is pleased to announce the launch of the Sixth World Planning Schools Congress.

The congress, themed “Peripheral Visions: Rethinking Planning,” will take place from June 29 to July 3, 2026, in Helsinki and Espoo, Finland, with the PhD Workshop taking place from June 26 to 29, 2026, in Tampere.

6th WPSC 2026 is hosted jointly by Aalto University, the University of Helsinki, and Tampere University.

Background

PERIPHERAL VISIONS – RETHINKING PLANNING
Demands for economic growth, competition between cities, and pressure to attract investment need to be addressed in the context of the climate crisis, growing political populism, and divisive international relations. Is spatial planning becoming peripheral in relation to other local and national policies that are seen as more central in meeting these challenges?

In such challenging circumstances, the links between territoriality of planning and its administrative legitimacy and democratic justification must be re-examined. To address global equity and common challenges, it is increasingly important to understand the global interdependencies of local policies. How do, e.g., smart city developments in the West affect the social, economic, and environmental conditions and possibilities for a “good life” in places where resources for smart technologies are extracted and utilized? Do we have the capacity to understand the spillover effects of local sustainability-aspiring policies?

While technological advances such as Big Data and generative AI offer new possibilities for collecting and analyzing data in the context of planning objectives, their implications for spatial justice need to be critically reviewed. Are we entering a new era of algorithmic knowledge domination that marginalizes the prudent planner?

There is a need for a new planning agenda for biodiversity and radical all-species inclusivity, but also for difficult social and political issues, such as international (forced) migration, the new geopolitical order brought by scarcity of critical minerals, and the expansion of the extractive global economy to final frontiers of the globe, such as the Arctic.

Website:

http://wpsc2026.org