ISOCARP


The International Society of City and Regional Planners is a non-governmental global association of experienced professional planners. It was founded in 1965 in a bid to bring together recognised and highly qualified spatial planners in an international network. The first president of ISOCARP was its co-founder Prof. Sam van Embden.
The Society has over 900+ individual and institutional members from more than +85 countries. ISOCARP is currently led by Martin Dubbeling together with 10 members of the Board and Executive Committee from around the World with the Head Office located in The Hague, Netherlands. ISOCARP is formally recognised by the United Nations and the Council of Europe and has a formal consultative status with UNESCO.

About

The objectives of ISOCARP include the improvement of cities and planning practice through the creation of a global and active network of practitioners by the exchange of experience, training, education and research. It promotes the planning profession in all its aspects and enhances public awareness and understanding of major planning issues at a global level. ISOCARP has a strong record and reputation on a number of regular activities such as the annual congress, a strong series of publications, awards for best practices, training programmes and workshops for professional support in urban planning.
The Society is launching its ISOCARP Institute, Centre for Urban Excellence in 2016. The Institute's prime objectives include: strengthening cross-border collaboration globally; upholding professional excellence in planning; advancing sustainable planning; increasing awareness of major development trends and promoting best practices; all while serving as an “Urban Think Tank” facilitating the generation and dissemination of knowledge for better cities.
Although ISOCARP members, planners and other stakeholders involved in the development and maintenance of the built environment, work in many different fields, they share a common interest in the spatial and environmental dimensions of urbanisation. They advise key decision-makers, proposing and supporting projects for intervention in various spatial contexts. ISOCARP is a politically and commercially independent world-wide organisation.

World Congress

The association's main event is the annual World Congress. Since 1965 events have taken place world-wide on globally-significant cutting edge topics promoting knowledge creation and sharing in the planning profession. Attended by some 350-500 delegates, ISOCARP congresses are small enough for personal interchange of ideas on a given theme, yet big enough to encompass a broad professional and international range. The congresses are open to ISOCARP Members, but our Society heartily welcomes non-members. The Congresses provide a platform for establishing professional as well as personal contacts with colleagues from all around the world.
Nr.YearLocationTheme
1st1965 AmsterdamThe Position of the Netherlands in a Uniting Europe
37th2001 Utrecht
38th2002 Athens
39th2003 Cairo
40th2004 Geneva
41st2005 Bilbao
42nd2006 Istanbul
43rd2007 Antwerp
44th2008 Dalian
45th2009 Porto
46th2010 Nairobi
47th2011 Wuhan
48th2012 Perm
49th2013 Brisbane
50th2014 Gdynia
51st2015 Rotterdam
52nd2016 Durban
53rd2017 Portland
54th2018 Bodø
55th2019 Jakarta, Bogor
56th2020 Doha

Key activities

Next to the annual congress, the workshops for Young Planning Professionals and the Urban Planning Advisory Teams, organised on demand for cities and regions all over the world, are amongst the key activities of ISOCARP. YPP workshops are held on national level addressing local conflicts by a group of selected professionals under the age of 35. UPATs assist sponsor organisations by offering the extensive experience and expertise of ISOCARP members to work on highly relevant but complicated local or international planning projects and policy initiatives. Recent workshops took place in Russia, China, Australia, Mexico, Kenya, Gaza and the West Bank.
At the request of governmental agencies ISOCARP provides customised training programmes for planning personnel. Regional working groups and seminars are regularly organised by the National Delegations. Furthermore, the Society offers Strategic/Technical Assistance Teams for collaborative research and consulting services with national and multi-national agencies.

Awards

ISOCARP recognises extraordinary planning through a variety of award programmes including the Award for Excellence for exceptionally innovative urban and regional initiatives; Gerd Albers Award for best publications by an ISOCARP member and ISOCARP Poster Prize for the best poster in the Young Planning Professional's Poster Exhibition.

Publications

ISOCARP thematic publications support the Society's goal to create and disseminate knowledge for better cities and territories.
The ISOCARP Review, published since 2004, is the Society's annual flagship publication.
The other flagship publication is the International Manual of Planning Practice, published in 2015.
Other publications and project reports cover the several activities and initiatives of the Society. Examples are the Plan Magazines as result of the UPATs and the Young Planning Professionals’ Report.