ISOCARP World Planning Congress

This year the Brussels-Capital Region will be the meeting place for urban planners and allied stakeholders from all over the world to discuss the theme From Wealthy to Healthy Cities. The sessions will feature global experts and innovative pioneering thinkers focusing on the intersection of planning and well-being and socio-economic justice.

The past decades witnessed a flow of unexpected challenges, with profound impacts on social, economic, and environmental spheres, deepening inequalities between places and between different segments of society, and the sharpening of trends of uneven development, culminating in widespread urban crisis. Urgent issues such as climate change, bio-cultural diversity, poverty, homelessness, food security, natural disasters, migration, urban refugees, and gender inequality have become cross-cutting concerns in many countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these global challenges. The pandemic health crisis has intensified existing socio-spatial inequalities and vulnerabilities, denoting a paradigm shift that urges us to rethink the way we build our cities. Improving the quality of our living environment can foster a more sustainable and resilient approach to public health, putting prevention and promotion of health at the forefront while reducing fossil fuel reliance.

Keynote address by Greg Munro, Director of Cities Alliance during the opening plenary on 3 October at 11:30 am.