FROM GREY TO GREEN: PLANNING AND THE DE-CARBONISATION OF THE CITY
Cities are at the centre of the climate challenge—and of the solutions. Delivering rapid decarbonisation must happen alongside other pressing urban priorities: addressing housing needs, improving wellbeing, building inclusive prosperity, restoring biodiversity, and strengthening resilience. These demands are especially acute in (post)industrial urban regions, where the legacy of “grey” infrastructures, carbon-intensive economies, and uneven development shapes the pathways available for change.
AESOP 2027 invites contributions that examine planning as a key driver of grey-to-green transitions. This includes the governance, design, and delivery of climate adaptation and mitigation; blue/green infrastructure; sustainable mobility and accessibility; building retrofit and energy transitions; circular and regenerative urban economies; nature-positive development; and the evolving skills and roles of planning professionals. We also welcome work that engages with questions of equity, justice, health, and democratic participation—recognising that decarbonisation pathways are never purely technical, but deeply social and political.
Birmingham provides an ideal setting for this conversation. As a city shaped by industrial growth and renewal, rich civic institutions, and ambitious contemporary transformation, it offers a real-world context to explore how planning can move urban regions from grey to green in ways that are effective, fair, and enduring.