The 16th Conference of Asian and African City Planning held

The 16th Conference of Asian and African City Planning was held by using ZOOM application in December 6, 2020.

This Conference is sponsored by the Asian and African City Planning Study Group, a subcommittee of The City Plannig Institute of Japan.Starting from The Conference of Asian City Planning in 2003, This year is 16th. The objective of this conference is to report of study on developing countries including Asia and Africa and the urban planning in japan and to share information on the research through the discussion. The paper and presentation on the survey were all in English. There were many presentations by young researchers from Japanese graduate schools. Presenters present their work online in English, providing an opportunity to build a network of researchers. In response to the increasing number of research papers published on African areas in recent years, it was renamed the Asia Africa City Planning Research Presentation in 2017.

There are also an increase in the number of presentations by Japanese speakers and practitioners, and it is expected that more diverse and active research conference will continue in the future.

In this year, a total of 33 papers were submitted and 31 researchers and practitioners presented their research.The study ares were in Asia (Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Mongolia, China, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand) and Africa (Morocco, Kenya, Luanda) aera, in addition to Jamaica. (1 person cancelled only the presentation due to circumstances).

The contents ranged widely from the literature review on the adoptable planning in rapid urbanization area,the study of process for sustainable development,Post-Disaster Reconstruction force in rural areas, and to experimental study on the utilization of urban space in Japan. In addition, there were studies focusing on the global social issues,including changes in people's behavior and attitudes due to the influence of COVID-19 and the study on the utilization of private space and adaptable actions.

In introduction part, Prof.Tetsuo Kidokoro,Chairperson of subcommittee, said that despite the situation of online, this holding the conference is great opportunity. Furthermore, due to the changing situation with COVID-19, he also pointed out the importance of sustainable and resilient development. In discussion part, the there were some exchanges of view on common issues beyond the contries and areas and the inherent urban issue. In closing address part, Dr. Hongwei Hsiao, Osaka City University, pointed out that study knowledgements on the housing and urban issues influenced by COVID-19 will contribute to not only Asia and Africa but also all over the world.

There were 13 committee members, 31 presenters, and 26 general participants, for a total of about 70 people.

Following the presentation session, the keynote speech "How Cities Transform through Place Branding in Taiwan" was given by Emeritus Prof. Kuang-Hui Peng at the National Taipei University of Technology, who received the International Exchange Award from The City Plannnig Institute of Japan. Participants discussed the importance of strategic urban development that takes advantage of urban attractiveness and its deployment in Asia.

In the next year 2021, the venue has not been decided, but it is scheduled to be a combination of face-to-face meetings and online meetings.