CONFERENCE NOTIFICATION AND CALL FOR PAPERS AND SESSION PROPOSALS:

5TH INTERNATIONAL URBAN GEOGRAPHIES OF POSTCOMMUNIST STATES CONFERENCE

URBAN RESEARCH, URBAN THEORY AND PLANNING PRACTICE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

Date: 11th -13th September 2013 (until the 15th including an extended field session) Host: Tbilisi State University Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Organizing committee:
Joseph Salukvadze (Tbilisi State University, Georgia) Michael Gentile (Ume University, Sweden, & Sdertrn University, Stockholm) Olga Medvedkov (Wittenberg University, Ohio, USA) Dato Gogishvili (Tbilisi State University, Georgia & Stockholm University)

Deadline for abstracts and session proposals: 15 February 2013.

Introduction
It is our pleasure to announce the 5th International Urban Geographies of Post-Communist States conference (i.e., the 2013 CATference) to be held in Tbilisi, Georgia, 11-13 September 2013. The CATference will be followed by an extended field session for those who are interested (14-15 September 2013). During recent years, the post-communist (post-socialist, transition, etc.) city has been in search of an appropriate place in urban theory. Arguably, it remains frequently treated as an anomalous urban creature whose post-communist essence is gradually disintegrating and which can, therefore, be assumed to be moving towards the imagined normalities of mainstream urban theorizations. More so, early assumptions about convergence (towards the West) should be revisited: while divergence within the region is increasingly observable, the presumed destination the Western European or North American City is anything but static, as the rollercoaster economy of the past five years leaves its mark on cities and citizens across the globe.

Call for papers and/or sessions

Therefore, the ambition of this CATference is to explore the post-communist citys meaning and position in urban theory, opening up new avenues for contribution to ongoing debates. While the post-communist/socialist city label is increasingly questioned (this topic was widely discussed at the 2011 CATference in Bucharest), irrespective of the label used, the urban realm that it describes is undertheorized. Accordingly, while keeping this call for papers and paper sessions open to all aspects of the urban geography of the postcommunist world, we are particularly interested in contributions that cover the following topics: (1) Reflections on how to position the post-communist city in contemporary urban theory, including how it relates to the various schools. (2) Reflections and theoretical propositions on the post-communist city as it has matured over the last two or three decades. (3) Comparative analyses of urban structures and processes (both within the postcommunist realm and between post-communist and non-postcommunist cities). (4) Reflections on (how to foster) the exchange of knowledge and information between urban practitioners in CEE and the FSU and academics. The four topics listed above are also those that our intended keynote speakers (to be announced later) are supposed to address. We also invite more specific contributions on a wide range of topics that have attracted the attention of scholars of the post-communist city, e.g.:

a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q.

Segregation and socio-spatial differentiation processes and structures Gentrification Urban renewal, regeneration Suburban development, sprawl Real estate market development Post-(financial) crisis urban development Urban geographies of armed conflict and post-conflict adaptation Urbanization processes and trends The impact of labour migration (both in- and out-) and/or remittances on cities and urban labour markets Contested urban spaces Urban identities Urban competitiveness strategies, place marketing Challenges of (changing) urban demographic structures Urban shrinkage and shrinkage-adjustment policies Gendered spaces and spatial practices Crime, vice and the city Socialist legacies and socialist urban geographies, including how and if they continue exerting an influence on the cultural and social landscape of cities

Paper presentations are expected to receive between 25 and 30 minutes (but at least 20, depending on the number of submissions), including 5-10 minutes for discussions. Sessions may include 3 or 4 papers. If the number of submitted papers exceeds the maximum permissible number of presentations, preference will be given to existing CAT members whose presentations clearly fit under the topic of the CATference (this situation has not yet occurred, but you never know). The deadline for abstracts and paper sessions (to be sent to Tbilisicatference@gmail.com) is the 15th of February 2013.

Fees
Basic conference fee: 160 Euros (120 Euros for PhD students) Full conference fee including extended field session: approximately 250 Euros (210 for PhD students) (to be confirmed by early January 2013) Included in the basic fee are: the full workshop programme (excluding the extended field session), three lunches, coffee, a lavish Georgian dinner and a field trip across Tbilisis environs, covering the new Soviet city of Rustavi as well as the Georgian cultural hub of Mtskheta.

In addition to the above, the full fee will include a field session with an overnight stay as well as lunches and dinners on the 14th and 15th of September. The details of the field session, and therefore also of its exact cost, have yet to be fixed. This information will be available in January 2013.