[AESOP Lecture Series event] - "Neither Looking Down Nor Up": Democracy in Planning

We are delighted to invite you to the upcoming AESOP Lecture Series event : Professor Alessandro Balducci will reflect on his academic journey in study, research, and teaching, both nationally and internationally.  Participation and démocracy in urban planning requires re-evaluation after years of experimentation—sometimes resulting in rigidity—and a series of notable failures. Nonetheless, it is crucial to recognise that the conceptual and operational framework of planning has evolved towards greater involvement of actors and interests that have traditionally received less acknowledgement. It must also be reconsidered in light of the new geopolitical context, shaped on the one hand by globalisation and, on the other, by the anti-democratic populism fuelled by social media. This undertaking is both theoretical and practical, providing an opportunity to trace the evolution of both dimensions over the past three intense decades.

Speaker

Alessandro Balducci has been a full professor of planning at the Politecnico di Milano. He founded and served as the first President of Urban@it - National Centre for Urban Policies Studies. He is a member of the Italian Society of Urbanists (SIU), which he previously chaired, and an active member of international organizations such as AESOP (former President) and EURA (founding member). Balducci has also served as Vice Rector of the Politecnico di Milano and Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning of Milan. Since June 2024, he has been the President of the Foundation for Social Housing (FHS).

Discussant

Maria Håkansson is the President of AESOP and an Associate Professor in Urban and Regional Studies at the Department of Urban Planning and Environment, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.  

Moderator

Marco Cremaschi (Sciences Po, CEE) leads the Cycle d’Urbanisme and teaches at the Urban School of Sciences Po. His research focuses on major urban projects from a comparative perspective.