Editorial: Bridging gaps – urban planning for coexistence

Abstract

This editorial introduces the special issue Bridging gaps – urban planning for coexistence, developed from discussions held during the 18th AESOP Young Academics Conference hosted by Politecnico di Milano in March 2024. The issue addresses contemporary challenges in urban planning, including socio-environmental crises, climate change, social inequalities, urban-rural tensions, biodiversity loss, and the gap between academia and practice. The editors frame coexistence as a dynamic and multifaceted concept involving interactions between human and non-human actors, disciplines, planning methodologies, and spatial contexts. The editorial highlights the importance of participatory governance, collaborative planning, transdisciplinary approaches, and historically aware practices in fostering inclusive and sustainable urban futures. It also introduces the contributions included in the issue, which examine topics such as offshore wind farm acceptance, climate resilience, serial retrofitting, and colonial urban legacies.