Replanning and Rebuilding Cities Following Catastrophe

This thematic issue invites scholars and practitioners to share their perspectives on urban planning responses to disaster reconstruction. Disasters often prompt innovation in urban planning. For instance, the rebuilding plans after the Second World War involved both pragmatic responses and aspirations for social, economic, and technological change, as evidenced by certain reconstruction plans. Such situations require not only the rebuilding of infrastructure and physical structures but also the reconsideration of civic identity. This leads to discussions about the individuals involved in plan-making and the potential for new forms of governance that deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits beyond the influence of a central "master planner."

Many plans captured the essence of collective priorities and reconstruction challenges while influencing urban planning discourse for decades. Academic interest in reconstructed buildings is growing, as is public engagement with post-catastrophe rebuilding, driven by commemorative events and physical mementoes. Re-evaluation of reconstructed buildings has led to some being protected and others redeveloped to meet changing needs. This prompts important questions: What lessons can be learned from past replanning and rebuilding efforts, including after the Second World War, that could inform responses to current and future urban crises?

Researchers are invited to submit contributions with qualitative, quantitative, or mixed approaches to explore these and related questions. Articles should explore post-catastrophe replanning and rebuilding in a range of different contexts and scales. The ambition is to provide critical perspectives for scholars and decision-makers in urban planning, geography, and other built environment disciplines, building multi-actor collaboration, thereby promoting sustainable approaches to rebuilding.

Authors interested in submitting a paper for this issue are asked to consult the journal's instructions for authors and submit their abstracts (maximum of 250 words, with a tentative title) through the abstracts system (here). When submitting their abstracts, authors are also asked to confirm that they are aware that Urban Planning is an open access journal with a publishing fee if the article is accepted for publication after peer-review (corresponding authors affiliated with our institutional members do not incur this fee).

Readers across the globe will be able to access, share, and download this issue entirely for free. Corresponding authors affiliated with any of our institutional members (over 90 institutions worldwide) publish free of charge. Otherwise, an article processing fee will be charged to the authors to cover editorial costs. We defend that authors should not have to personally pay this fee and encourage them to check with their institutions if funds are available to cover open access publication costs. Further information about the journal's open access charges can be found here.