Contemporary cities and regions are at the frontline of multiple, overlapping crises that challenge their liveability and resilience. Societies in general, and governments in particular, are facing the multifaceted challenges posed by the impacts emerging from these crises. The environmental challenges — mainly associated with the climate crisis — are deeply entangled with social, cultural, and economic pressures, creating a complex web of risks that threaten the cohesion of communities and the sustainability of territories.

Responding to these crises requires more than technical fixes — it demands a reimagining of how cities function as social and ecological systems. Building truly resilient, liveable cities calls for strengthening the social fabric and empowering collective capacities for adaptation and transformation. This means cultivating solidarity, shared responsibility, and inclusive governance, so that communities are not just protected from harm but actively engaged in shaping just and regenerative futures. This entails a need to move beyond extractive logics — whether material, cultural, or symbolic — that erode ecosystems and undermine social trust. Alternative development models must place care, reciprocity, and territorial justice at their core.

Urban planning decisions are pivotal in this transition, determining whether cities will reinforce exclusion and ecological degradation or foster equitable access to resources, cultural vitality, and ecological integrity. Multiple social and economic fragilities emerge in this landscape: dealing with housing dynamics and new forms of exclusion, access to adequate services and infrastructure, redesigned public spaces responding to new societal needs; addressing socio-spatial inequalities as well as demographic and territorial shifts such as aging populations and the depopulation of rural and inland areas; tourism pressures in an increasing commodification of urban environments; or changing market dynamics requiring the transformation of local economies. Addressing these issues requires cities and regions — in a whole-of-a-society approach — to foster diversified, circular, and community-centred economies that sustain both livelihoods and ecosystems in a resilient manner.

We welcome submissions that address (but are not limited to) the following themes: