Academy of Urbanism Fifth Annual Congress

The Layered City : City-Region-Neighbourhood

Manchester 12 – 13 May 2010

Come and join us for our fifth annual congress which will be held this year in Manchester from 12 -13 May, with a free follow-up Action Workshop on the morning of 14 May. The Congress will bring together delegates from a wide variety of disciplines and locations to explore the relationships between City-regions and their constituent communities. We will address the complementary themes of Strategic Partnership and Alliance at a conurbation scale, and the significance of Liveable neighbourhoods and Community Identity at a more localised level – Learning from Place at different scales.

Following a welcome to Manchester looking over the Piccadilly Canal Basin at BDP's new offices, delegates will then have a choice of two Study Tours:

1. A walking tour of the City Centre, to appreciate its development over the last 20 years;

2. A bus trip on board an old Routemaster, taking in the changing neighbourhoods and centres of adjoining areas.

The day will come to a fitting close with a Civic Reception at the magnificent 19th century Manchester Town Hall, hosted by the City Council.

The Congress programme will look at the roles and relationships of the key agencies operating within the city-region at a strategic level, followed by an exploration of how the city is perceived to function at a more grass roots level, with contributions from a range of speakers telling their own diverse stories. The afternoon will focus around a variety of interactive workshops, each with engaging speakers, building on the Academy's principle of Learning from Place.

In the evening, the Finalists for The Urbanism Awards 2011 will be announced at The Congress Dinner, held in the splendid setting of Gorton Monastery, an architectural masterpiece by Pugin, currently in the process of restoration by a charitable trust.

On Friday morning there will be a Post Congress Action Workshop, with the aim of consolidating our experience so far and exploring ideas to take forward our learning initiatives, UniverCities and City X-Rays, along with the potential for creating a European learning network

Contact: sg@academyofurbanism.org.uk

Website: http://www.academyofurbanism.org.uk/