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Chairing the scientific committee of a member-led global organisation with the vision of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Ulrich Graute • 3 December 2022
A few days ago Pietro Elisei, President of the International Society of City and Regional Planners ISOCARP asked me to take the lead and chair the Scientific Committee of ISOCARP over the upcoming years. And to the appointment message he added meaningfully ‘Do the right thing! Good luck!’ In this post I reflect a bit on what that suggestion could mean in times of multiple interrelated crises where there is high pressure on urban and territorial development.
The Scientific Committee of ISOCARP is appointed usually for a period of three years to advise on major technical planning issues with professional and academic integrity and competence. Members provide substantive opinion to shape ISOCARP’s proactive and progressive agenda, provide evidence-based analysis to enable Society contributions to international debates, and ensure ISOCARP remains at the forefront of planning thinking and practice. Since 1965, the Society with its currently 700+ individual and about 40 institutional members brings together researchers and practitioners from more than 90 countries with the vision to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable through integrative participatory urban and territorial planning. Considering that current multiple and interrelated crises make more apparent the need for better coordination, cooperation, planning and development, ISOCARP is the ideal melting pot of disciplines, ideas and cultures to grow up to such a development challenge with an integrated and participative approach. And the Scientific Committee should be a key element on that path within the Society. One is tempted to call ISOCARP an ecosystem but there is certainly no closed system. Instead, ISOCARP rather is an open market for ideas, different opinions and joint work to identify better theoretic and practical approaches for integrated, inclusive and sustainable urban and regional planning.
Are you already a member? If not, consider joining today.
What the challenge and opportunity of such a diverse community means I learnt already in a crash course as junior researcher. In the 1990s, I was scientific editor of the publication series IÖR-Schriften at the Dresden based German Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IÖR) where at the time about 90 researchers from a dozen different disciplines worked. Shortly after the German unification it was an exciting place for researchers from the East and the West and I got to know the full diversity of national and international academics in the field of urban and regional research and planning:
Dr. Petzold, the Founding Director of the IÖR was an architect who loved to focus on design aspects of whatever paper I had to review. Geographers are often also visually oriented and at the IÖR they tended to present their papers by focussing on explaining the legend of maps. In contrast, social scientists rarely had figures and instead, they were proud on their papers often overladen with dense text and complicated and multi-clause sentences. Planning engineers at the institute had again different approaches and some loved to substitute words in their text by mathematical symbols like > or < (in addition to their affection for formulas). Biologists inspired me with their knowledge about frog habitats in cities and lawyers struggled with legal challenges of cross-border institution building e.g. for cross-border natural parks. Their challenge was that all their papers had to be reviewed by me before publcation. My challenge was to read, listen to them and suggest improvements which they could agree on and helped to develop the reputation of the institute.
In those years at the IÖR I got to know, understand and work with many different disciplines and personalities. To describe this time as a broadening of my horizon would be an understatement. Instead, it was mind-blowing and changed the focus of my own professional career: Although, I officially belong to the discipline of political science I practically developped more into a bridge builder between disciplines and an interface manager in the multi-level system of governance. Or, as it meaningfully says on my vising card and website an ‘International Urban and Regional Development Expert’.
Orchestrating dialog and exchange on urban and regional research and planning
I recall the time in Dresden and could add other periods of my professional life in this post because with their diversity and ambitions they have prepared me for my new role as Chair of the Scientific Committee of ISOCARP.
What exactly will be the right thing to do is difficult to say in advance but I am certainly looking forward to embark on an intensive and inspiring journey together with academics and professionals from around the world. As Chair I will be primus inter pares (first among equals). Not more. Not less. Of course, an important limitation of the work stems from the fact that all members of the Committee fulfil their role in addition to other professional obligations and without payment. At the same time this diversity of backgrounds and affiliations offers a high potential for synergy and complementary of work. The better I inspire and empower others the more ISOCARP will benefit from the work of its Scientific Committee.
It is part of the Committee tasks to support the Society, e.g. its Board and Congress Committee. The Scientific Committee drafts Congress declarations and supports juries of ISOCARP Awards like the Gerd Albers Award. By the way, when I worked at the IÖR in Dresden in the 1990s Gerd Albers was Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute. He was one of those who inspired me to think and work beyond borders of academic disciplines.
In addition to these support activities the Committee will stimulate dialogue and exchange within and beyond the Society through own papers and other contributions. For instance, it could be interesting if the Committee would organize at the next World Planning Congress in Toronto in fall 2023 a Panel Discussion on ‘The Science of Planning’ to review the contribution of academic work to the development of planning and sustainable cities and regions. The Scientific Committee could better understand after such a session where are the best opportunities for the Scientific Committee to support other ISOCARP activities. Other interesting themes to work on are ‘The planning system we need’ or a comparative analysis and discussion on what different trends in urban and regional planning in different regions of the world can learn from each other. In addition, the Committee should cooperate with other organizations like the Regional Studies Association (RSA) or the Global Planning Education Association Network (GPEAN).
However, I won’t develop the programme of work alone. Instead, I’m starting right now consultations with Committee members and other academics and professionals to jointly identify the priorities for our work in upcoming years. A proposal will then be discussed with the Board of ISOCARP. Probably within the next few weeks we’ll also launch a global call for additional members of the Scientific Committee. Academic and practical excellence will be important selection criteria. Other criteria will include regional and gender representativeness. And based on my own professional experience at the IÖR, EU, UN and in many countries I’ll put major emphasis on inspiring discussion and cooperation among different members of the Committee, the Society at large and the wider community of academics and practitioners. Expectations on a scientific committee should always be realistic but if we are lucky, develop a productive way of cooperation and outreach ISOCARP’s Scientific Committee can orchestrate dialogue and provide basis and impetus for pioneering innovations in the development of integrated, inclusive and sustainable cities and regions. The extended version of ISOCARP's Scientific Committee is in anyway the full dynamism of ISOCARP's 700+ members.
I recall the time in Dresden and could add other periods of my professional life in this post because with their diversity and ambitions they have prepared me for my new role as Chair of the Scientific Committee of ISOCARP.
What exactly will be the right thing to do is difficult to say in advance but I am certainly looking forward to embark on an intensive and inspiring journey together with academics and professionals from around the world. As Chair I will be primus inter pares (first among equals). Not more. Not less. Of course, an important limitation of the work stems from the fact that all members of the Committee fulfil their role in addition to other professional obligations and without payment. At the same time this diversity of backgrounds and affiliations offers a high potential for synergy and complementary of work. The better I inspire and empower others the more ISOCARP will benefit from the work of its Scientific Committee.
It is part of the Committee tasks to support the Society, e.g. its Board and Congress Committee. The Scientific Committee drafts Congress declarations and supports juries of ISOCARP Awards like the Gerd Albers Award. By the way, when I worked at the IÖR in Dresden in the 1990s Gerd Albers was Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute. He was one of those who inspired me to think and work beyond borders of academic disciplines.
In addition to these support activities the Committee will stimulate dialogue and exchange within and beyond the Society through own papers and other contributions. For instance, it could be interesting if the Committee would organize at the next World Planning Congress in Toronto in fall 2023 a Panel Discussion on ‘The Science of Planning’ to review the contribution of academic work to the development of planning and sustainable cities and regions. The Scientific Committee could better understand after such a session where are the best opportunities for the Scientific Committee to support other ISOCARP activities. Other interesting themes to work on are ‘The planning system we need’ or a comparative analysis and discussion on what different trends in urban and regional planning in different regions of the world can learn from each other. In addition, the Committee should cooperate with other organizations like the Regional Studies Association (RSA) or the Global Planning Education Association Network (GPEAN).
However, I won’t develop the programme of work alone. Instead, I’m starting right now consultations with Committee members and other academics and professionals to jointly identify the priorities for our work in upcoming years. A proposal will then be discussed with the Board of ISOCARP. Probably within the next few weeks we’ll also launch a global call for additional members of the Scientific Committee. Academic and practical excellence will be important selection criteria. Other criteria will include regional and gender representativeness. And based on my own professional experience at the IÖR, EU, UN and in many countries I’ll put major emphasis on inspiring discussion and cooperation among different members of the Committee, the Society at large and the wider community of academics and practitioners. Expectations on a scientific committee should always be realistic but if we are lucky, develop a productive way of cooperation and outreach ISOCARP’s Scientific Committee can orchestrate dialogue and provide basis and impetus for pioneering innovations in the development of integrated, inclusive and sustainable cities and regions. The extended version of ISOCARP's Scientific Committee is in anyway the full dynamism of ISOCARP's 700+ members.
For more info on ISOCARP please read the 2022 Congress Declaration (download below) and visit the website of ISOCARP https://isocarp.org/
Policies and Governance for Resilient and Sustainable Cities and Regions
Report on the Urban Conversation on Ethical Use of AI in Urban Planning at the 60th World Planning Congress in Siena, Italy on 11 OCTOBER 2024
Date: 11 October 2024 Time: 10:45 - 13:15 Room: Accademie. Fisiocritici Session background and a short description of the Content Cities form the heart of human development and innovation, with 80% of global GDP generated within them and according to the United Nations approximately 56% of the world’s population now live in cities, and likely to reach nearly 70% by 2050. At the same time, the urban world is on a journey to revitalize cities, build new cities for growing populations, to dismantle inequalities, and to create a sustainable urban legacy for future generations. The growth and demands of cities are rapidly changing and looking (or exploring) for new systems and planning tools. In this situation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides a transformative potential in managing and planning cities. It can support, analyze, and predict the impact of policy changes, demographic shifts and development plans. AI facilitates a valuable foundation for productive dialogue and constructive debate between municipal authorities, and the public and private sector. AI enables the People-focused city through systems integration and collaborations. Simultaneously, the application of generative AI in the public domain brings a number of risks and pitfalls. To assure an ethical use of the new wave of innovation in planning it is necessary to strike a careful balance between risk mitigation and harnessing its capabilities for public good and resilience. The central concept of modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the intelligent agent. As of today, we have limitations to building one general-purpose AI program that does everything, instead AI developers build different types of agent programs for different types of problems and contexts. AI researchers agree that the new wave of innovation will impact all spheres of life and require more actors for future developments of AI. The discussion on the use of AI cannot be left alone to IT programmers and code developers. In this context, the objective of the conversation is to bring together planning practitioners and experts from city-making to discuss the use and potential impact of AI in urban planning and management and the related leadership of ISOCARP in the global dialogue on AI governance and capacity building of planners. Recent examples eg from Australia and Saudi Arabia will be presented along with panel discussions. Session Organizers Dr Ulrich Graute, Chair of the ISOCARP Scientific Committee, Berlin Dr Sunil Dubey, The UNSW Cities Institute, Sydney. 1. Introduction to the theme of the session by Ulrich Graute 2. The making of inclusive, prosperous and sustainable cities and the new challenges and opportunities provided by AI and Data 2.1 The case of Australia - Key note by Dr Sarah Hill, CEO Greater Sydney Commission and Western Parkland City Authority (New South Wales Govt, former) ‘Planning New Cities and Inclusive economic development’ - Western Sydney Aerotropolis – Australia’s 22nd Century City Making through Community, Creativity and Innovation. 2.2 The case of Saudi Arabia (10 min) Progress, Peace & Prosperity 2030 – How Saudi Cities are transforming using data and power of Ai. Dr Sunil Dubey 3. Roundtable Moderation: Ulrich Graute Guiding questions include AI in Urban Planning: Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Values – AI as a technical tool and/or as co-pilot in planning New Cities and inclusive economic development. Including AI in existing planning systems and processes and the requirement eg of a regulatory framework and capacity-building. What shape will AI have on future cities? ISOCARP and the new wave of technological innovation. Panelists: Sarah Hill, Executive Project Director (Public Investment Fund PIF, Saudi Arabia) Eric Huybrecht, Congress Director ISOCARP’s 60th WPC, Institute Paris Region Elisabeth Belpaire, ISOCARP President-Elect Ulrich Graute, Chair of ISOCARP SciCom Sunil Dubey, Smart Cities thought leader. Website of the 60th ISOCARP World Planning Congress https://isocarp.org/activities/60th-wpc-siena-2024/ Website of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK) AI in urban planning: risks and opportunities https://acss.org.uk/publications/ai-in-urban-planning-risks-and-opportunities/
Privacy Communicting with AI raises privacy concerns A CV is personal documents including private information you may not want to share with everybody. Therefore, the sending of your CV to somebody (eg as part of an application or business offer) is usually considered as confidential. Using generative AI, for instance ChatGPT, to work on your CV, website or LinkedIn profile should be carefully considered because the info you share about yourself with ChatGPT stays with ChatGPT even if you delete it from your account after you finished your conversation. Nonetheless, I decided to take it easier using AI because my profile and CV is no secret in anyway. Through dozens of publications since the 1990s, speeches at many conferences worldwide, as blogger with an own website (www.ugraute.de) and a LinkedIn profile with close to 6000 followers you can find everything what’s written in my CV somewhere on the internet. And, most importantly, I carefully review everything that AI suggests to me, I review and finalize texts before I use them. While I cannot fully exclude misuse of information, the responsibility for the content of my website and CV remains with me. And I still use a CV version not aided by AI for business offers and applications. AI as a second eye - When should you consider using AI to review your CV and profile? After 16 years of mostly (but not only) working for the United Nations I am now shifting more attention beyond the UN to the private sector, national and local authorities, other international organizations, NGOs etc. All UN agencies have their own mandates, interests and priorities. As UN staffer and later as UN consultant I learnt the rules of the institution and lived with the limitations they generate for management and goal achievement. However, the UN, with its historical baggage of countless mandates, inadequate structures and resources and some overly cautious employees, at times stands in its own way. I want to continue supporting global cooperation using my global perspective, my skills in project and program management, cross-cultural communication, policy analysis and stakeholder cooperation. However, it is time to refocus and look at my skills and achievements from a different, a non-UN perspective. This is where AI comes into play as an additional opportunity to support the reorientation of my or your career. AI supports my own reflections on my interests and strategy and it does it in a very inspirational way. I recommend the same to others but, if possible, it should be only an opportunity in addition to exchange with friends, colleagues, books, trainers, coaches etc. How did I use Chat GPT to review my website and CV? ChatGPT is a conversational tool, and it’s for free in its basic version. You can login here: https://chatgpt.com/auth/login. After opening an account and login you find a box where you can enter you question (called prompt). You push Enter and get an answer within seconds. If the answer is not inspirational, correct or satisfying you just go on submitting a new or modified prompt. This way conversations with ChatGPT becomes conversational and easy. In this process ChatGPT gets to know you better and learns from your prompts. Prompting, ie formulating the right questions is key to get useful answers out of the conversation and it’s worth to spend some time training how to prompt. In my case, an earlier prompt submitted to ChatGPT had produced already this suggestion: “Adjust your communication style to match the language and expectations of non-UN clients, avoiding overly technical or UN-specific jargon.” That was the point when ChatGPT confirmed my own guess that I have to change communication when I look beyond the UN world. To further explore this, I submitted additional prompts including this one: “ChatGPT, please rewrite my CV in a style more appealing to private companies.” The answer after my own review and fine tuning produced the short CV version which you can find here: https://www.ugraute.de/bio-and-cv Could I have produced this without AI? Of course, I have produced two pages versions of my CV on my own. The point is, that many things which are super important at the UN as “ an animal of its own kind ” are not so relevant outside of the UN. In such situations it may take a lot of time to decide what to leave in and what to take out of your CV. A second eye like AI proposing specific cuts and a repackaging can be very inspirational and helpful to get a fresh and crispier look at your own experience and credentials. I also liked very much that ChatGPT explained its approach to me: “To make your CV more appealing to private companies, I'll focus on making the language more dynamic, emphasizing your key achievements, leadership roles, and strategic impact. I'll also streamline the format for clarity and brevity.” Of course, I reviewed the suggested version of my CV and other website texts revised by AI to confirm the correctness of the content. Overall, this review exercise is a test to use a new technical tool. It is certainly inspirational. Success remains to be seen but that is also the case when I review my CV for an application or if I review my website in a traditional way. I decided for an open approach to use AI and to talk about my personal experience in this post, because in this new wave of innovation, we are all learners and can help each other. As adviser, I like to share, teach, and keep learning, inside or outside of the UN.
Figure: Human-in-the-loop intervention. ‘The Ethical Concerns of Artificial Intelligence in Urban Planning’ Thomas W. Sanchez, Marc Brenman, and Xinyue Ye (2024)
Human Compatible - AI and the Problem of Control
A slide from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) presented at the opening of HLPF highlights that only 17% of the SDG targets are on track
Background and Objectives The Gerd Albers Award (GAA) is celebrating inspiring publications such as books and essays. It was established in 1999 in honor of Professor Gerd Albers, a co-founder and past president of ISOCARP, who placed a particular emphasis on the task of publishing as a means of elucidating both the current debate and practical achievements in the planning field. This reputable award is given for the high-quality academic publications written by ISOCARP members. Eligible entries Pertinent submissions include the following publications by ISOCARP members published in the period between July 1, 2023, and June 31, 2024: • Books and/or Book chapters • Journal articles • Published project reports Exhibition catalogues and/or unpublished reports are ineligible. Unpublished journal articles are eligible if the publisher’s acceptance letter is attached to the article submitted. Evaluation criteria Content: • Thematic introduction • Contribution to discussions on the topic • Consistence and coherence (conceptual background, methodological approach) • Target audience Design: • Clarity • Technical requirements • Production Language All languages are eligible, although the “official languages” of the Society are English, French, German, and Spanish. Non-English entries must have an extended abstract in English (min. 3 pages). Jury The jury consists of three members of the ISOCARP Scientific Committee and the A&P Program Director. The deliberations and votes of the jury are confidential. Prof. Sebnem Hoskara Dr. Ulrich Graute Dr. Dorota Kamrowska-Załuska Prof. Ali A. Alraouf (A&P Program Director) Substance of the Award The Award is bestowed in three categories: GAA ‘Best Book’, GAA ‘Best Article’ and Special Mention. The Award winners are announced during the official ceremony at the ISOCARP annual World Planning Congress. GAA ‘Best Book’ and GAA ‘Best Article’ get two years of free membership to ISOCARP, official ISOCARP award certification and its dissemination through the ISOCARP website, social media and newsletter. Special Mention gets an official ISOCARP award certification and its dissemination through the ISOCARP website, social media and newsletter. Who is eligible? • Scholars • Writers • Book Authors • Researchers • Urban and City Critics • Professors and Academics Prize • Recognition at the ISOCARP 60th Congress in Siena at the Awards Special Session. • Certificate. • ISOCARP Medal. • Waiving form the registration for a single representative of the winners. • One year Membership at ISOCARP for a single representative of the winners. Registration fee 150 Euros for each entry in the Best Book Award (a candidate can apply with multiple proposals). 50 Euros for each entry in the Best Paper Award (a candidate can apply with multiple proposals). Submission material ⦁ Contribution (book/chapter/article) in pdf format Application procedure 1. Submit your online application https://isocarp.org/gerd-albers-award-2024-submission-form/ 2. Pay the registration fee: 150 Euros for Best Book Award and 50 Euros for Best Paper Award 3. Please, send your application to Ali Alraouf, ISOCARP Board member (alialraouf@isocarp.org) and ISOCARP HQ (awards@isocarp.org). Kindly specify the email subject: GAA 2024 Candidature. Deadline for submission August 15, 2024 Submit your application here https://isocarp.org/gerd-albers-award-2024-submission-form/
International Organizations like the UN are struggling if not failing to cope with the many crises - but can I do any better as independent advisor?
IAG Briefing Series This briefing series by the International Advisory Group of the Academy of Social Sciences of the United Kingdom seeks to bring an international dimension to the Academy’s policy positions and identify interdisciplinary solutions to complex challenges facing society from a global standpoint.
ISOCARP Cyber Agora #10