Urban form, Ethics, Aesthetic, and Heritage: an exploration of new urbanities for a resilient future

The relationship between people and their environment is more and more affected by global challenges. At the same time, they remain embedded into local dynamics. Climate adaptations, pandemics, and profound changes in our economic systems are morphing once more the way we think of our built and natural environments, such as cities, villages, farmlands, or wetlands. While we focus on equipping our communities to face an extremely complex future, we cannot forget the legacy of history and our local identity and culture. The questions of how to incorporate memories from our past in the new narratives for the present millennium persist. Urban Morphology provides us with theories and tools to inform the complex adaptation process needed by our cities to respond to contemporary challenges. This matters especially in the context of conflicting interests and needs. This round table will engage experts from across the globe to discuss how urban morphology can be used as a catalyst for different disciplines and different approaches. The objective is to develop a people-centred approach to urban design addressing current and future challenges. The round table builds on the presenters’ biennial collaboration in delivering a collaborative online charrette, engaging students from different universities, countries, and continents. Heritage conservation and management, climate adaptation, use and provision of public spaces, new economy and smart technologies, as well as social justice are nowadays often discussed as concurrent or competing agendas. The round table will discuss how urban morphology can bring together these different perspectives in a creative and innovative way, in alignment with the UN-Habitat New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.