SHiFT Final Conference 2026
Venue
Display map on Google MapsUrban & Regional Transformation Between Local Solidarity and Trans‑Local Responsibility As the SHiFT COST Action approaches its conclusion, this final conference invites scholars, practitioners, artists, policymakers, and community actors to examine the challenges and opportunities of urban and regional transformation in times of accelerating climate and environmental crisis, a broad “green backlash” and increased authoritarian tendencies. SHiFT’s overarching aim is to develop innovative and actionable pathways for climate‑resilient futures through critical practice across diverse domains of society.
Climate-just urban and regional development requires profound spatial, social, and political transformations. This conference invites contributions that explore the intersections of climate policy, spatial planning, social justice, and local governance. It places particular emphasis on how cities and regions negotiate the relationship between local solidarity – rooted in community care, place‑based commitments, and situated responsibility – and trans‑local responsibility, which links local action to broader, interconnected ecological, political, and social obligations across regions, nations, and global systems.
The program also draws on the idea, inspired by agonistic pluralism, that social-ecological conflict may be a generative force for transformation and democratic renewal. One key thematic focus of this year’s call concerns the role of communities and civil society in shaping, contesting, or enabling climate-related urban and regional transformations. By foregrounding these dimensions, the conference seeks to illuminate how communities and civil society actors become drivers, mediators, or sites of conflict within climate transitions – and how their spatial imaginaries, histories, and territorial connections shape the possibilities for just and inclusive futures.
We encourage empirical, conceptual, methodological, and practice-oriented contributions addressing climate mitigation, adaptation, energy transitions, mobility, urban regeneration, socio-spatial inequalities, or participatory and collaborative planning. Contributions that connect critical analysis with situated practice, foster interdisciplinary dialogue, or engage experimental and creative approaches are especially welcome.
