Asia and Africa are important regions of human civilisation, accounting for three-quarters of the world's population, with more than half of the member countries of the United Nations and over one-third of the global economy. Since the Bandung Conference, the collaborative network between Asia and Africa has left a profound historical legacy, transcending geographical boundaries and accruing increasing global significance. Human Settlement has been always an euduring subject, and became global concern especially in the post-colonial era. It encompasses a wide array of issues including urbanisation, urban-rural relationships, social justice, and environmental sustainable development. Against the backdrop of a shifting global landscape and the emerging debate on Southern Urbanism, it serves as a pivotal arena for sharing experiences and fostering collaboration between Asia and Africa in fields such as urban planning, architecture, landscape urbanism, and urban studies.

The conference, titled Towards Sustainable Rural-Urban Development of Human Settlement: The Asian-African Collaborative Network, features parallel sessions focusing on theTheory and Practice of Urbanising Asia and Africa,along with two thematic roundtables addressingApproaches and Pathways for Asia-Africa Collaborations.Over the course of the two-day main program, the conference will host senior and junior scholars from North, South, East, and West Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Europe. Together, they will delve into the non linear processes and multiply challenges of urbanisation in Asia and Africa. Through such ‘comparative gesture’ or ‘mutual referencing and dialogue’, the conference aims to establish a foundation of the“Asia-Africa Collaborative Network”.

Additionally, an early-career scholars’ workshop, titled Doing Mobile Ethnography: Learning from the Other 'Other', will gather young scholars selected through an international open call. They will engage in collaborative discussions with workshop mentors to reflect on methodological issues and research challenges from doing fieldwork in the Global South.

Main Host: 

College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP), Tongji University

Organisor: 

Department of Urban Planning, CAUP, Tongji University

Co-organisor: 

Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute, Tongji University Leadership Tranning Center of Urban-Rural development, Young scholars’ Committee of Urban Planning Society of China

Supporting Medias and Journals : 
Urban Planning Forum, GUIHUA, Urban Planning International, Time + Architecture, Architecture Asia, Review of Space and Society, Urban Studies Foundation