AESOP Thematic Groups: Planning/Conflict

Abstract

This article presents the AESOP Thematic Group on Planning/Conflict, established in 2013 to explore the role of planning in framing, transforming, and engaging with urban conflicts. The group offers a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue on how planning practices both generate and respond to conflicts within urban development. It organizes international conferences and special sessions at academic events and has contributed to multiple edited volumes and scholarly outputs. The article critically reflects on the conceptual and practical intersections between planning and conflict, arguing for a post-disciplinary and interpretive approach to understand urban contention, the dynamics of power, and the political dimensions embedded in planning processes.