CONFERENCE: THE CITY – A CHANGEABLE (UN)CERTAINTY












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            * Alexandra Bitušíková
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            Masaryk University, Faculty

            of Social Studies, Brno, Czech
            Republic, November 30 – Decemeber 1, 2007


            The Faculty of Social Sciences of Masaryk University in Brno organized
            a multidisciplinary conference, The City – a Changeable (Un)Certainty (Nov. 30 –
            Dec. 1, 2007). The goal of the conference was to open a forum for discussion on the

            meaning of the contemporary city and its various definitions. What is the city?
            How is it reflected by various disciplines? What impact does the (post-socialist,

            post-modernist) transformation of the city have on (in)equality, solidarity, social
            cohesion, inclusion/exclusion, and local/urban identities? How are the boundaries,
            public and private spaces, physical and social structure of the city created?

            These questions were in the core of the conference discussions.
            The conference attracted the attention of sociologists, human geographers
            and environmentalists, social anthropologists and ethnologists, philosophers,

            architects, social psychologists, and also several representatives of municipalities
            and non-governmental organizations. The diverse structure of the participants
            created a very good basis for a fruitful interdisciplinary dialogue, but also a dialogue

            between academics and practitioners. It seems that it is easier to present
            and publish nice academic ideas and perspectives on how urban problems can be
            solved than to implement them into practice. For this reason, without a dialogue

            of both parties no progress in the cities can be made. That is an important lesson
            from the conference. Urban scientists should work closely with local actors
            at all levels of governance. It is useful for both sides, and in the end it is useful for

            the citizens of each city. The program of the conference was
            thematically structured. It was opened by introductory words of Prof. H. Librová of
            the Department of Environmental Studies, followed by blocs of lectures focused

            on different aspects of urban development and change. The first day was dedicated
            mostly to the topics of urban spaces and their integration and/or differentiation
            as seen from the angle of different disciplines (L.Galčanová, S. Poláková,

            L. Sýkora, D. Luther, J. Pospíšilová – A. Steinhübel, J. Janto, J. Sládek); urban
            diversity (A. Bitušíková); and psychological reflections and effects of the city
            (T. Řiháček, M. Koťová). Sustainability of city development in its broader perspective

            was stressed several times. This concept is still understood more in
            its environmental meaning in the Central-European region. The conference
            brought a wider view of the sustainable city, emphasizing the importance of an

            urban environment that creates conditions for friendly cohabitation of diverse
            cultural and social groups and encourages social integration leading to better
            life for all urban citizens. The second day was opened by an

            inspiring keynote address given by Prof. M. Marcelli on the philosophic topic of
            urbanophobia. Marcelli built his presentation on numerous writings of philosophers
            (both unbanophiles and urbanophobes)

            dealing with the city, with the main focus on Rousseau. Rousseau
            was probably the most famous critic of the city, describing it as a place of
            moral decadence. Marcelli pointed out some paradoxes of this approach and

            talked about an open city and even about the “urban” universal fluid which is neither
            the city nor the countryside, but the countryside within the city and the main
            channel of communication processes. Marcelli´s presentation was followed by

            blocs of lectures given by architects and art historians (T. Vích, M. Topolčanská
            and M. Horáček); and human geographers, environmentalists and sociologists
            (J. Novák, A. Burjanek, O. Mulíček, P. Pospěch, B. Vacková and L. Šolcová).

            Urban space, locality and society were the key words linking most of the presentations
            of the Saturday program. The City – a Changeable (Un)Certainty
            conference brought fresh air to the debates about the city, mainly because

            it made various disciplines talk to each other. It is obvious that interdisciplinary
            dialogue is a challenge. We often tend to see “our” disciplinary view or methodology
            as a better one or more appropriate, but only by listening to other disciplines

            can we learn, broaden our understanding of the topic and overcome our “disciplinecentrism.
            The conference was organized by young scientists and it was very
            encouraging to see many young researchers in the audience, too. The future of

            urban research is in good hands.

            Alexandra Bitušíková [ URL "LM-110.html "]