Public Spaces for Community Campuses and Universities – Call for Papers
URBILITY 2026 – Call for Papers
08/09/2026
PUBLIC SPACES FOR COMMUNITY CAMPUSES AND UNIVERSITIES
II International Urban Design Conference
Call for Papers
Inclusive, resilient and sustainable university campus public spaces
Submission deadline: 20 November 2026
Date: 5 February 2027
Location: Rome, Italy
Venue: DICEA – Sapienza Università di Roma, Via Eudossiana 18
Official language: English
Conference fee: None
The conference invites scholars, practitioners and policymakers to examine how campus public spaces can support wellbeing, accessibility, sustainability, innovation and stronger connections between universities and their surrounding communities.
We are pleased to share the Call for Papers for Public Spaces for Community Campuses and Universities – II International Urban Design Conference, which will take place at DICEA – Sapienza Università di Roma on 5 February 2027.
Organised within the framework of the Festival of University Campus Public Spaces, the conference builds on the results and discussions of its first edition. It recognises university campuses as strategic public spaces where education, social interaction, innovation and community life converge.
The conference will examine how campus public spaces can foster wellbeing, accessibility, sustainability and urban integration while responding to contemporary environmental, social, technological and health-related challenges. It will bring together international scholars, practitioners and policymakers to exchange innovative approaches, best practices and emerging perspectives.
The first thematic session is organised with EURA and contributes to the activities of the EURA Working Group on Flexible, Healthy and Liveable Public Spaces.
The conference will comprise four thematic sessions:
- Liveable, Resilient and Inclusive Campus and University Public Spaces: Analysis, Design and Best Practices – organised with EURA;
- Healthy Food, Cultural Heritage and Sports Activities on Campus: Improving Learning and Wellbeing;
- Campus and the City: Universal Accessibility, Proximity, Paths and Multimodal Integration;
- Artificial Intelligence, Technologies and Traditional Campus Public Spaces: New Hybridisations and Challenges.
The conference remains open to emerging and complementary research topics related to campus public spaces.
Submission formats:
- Extended paper: 25,000 characters in Word format, accompanied by a maximum of two images;
- Short paper and poster: 2,500 characters in Word format, accompanied by one A1 poster in JPEG format at 300 dpi.
Submissions must be sent by 20 November 2026 to publicspaceforcommunities@gmail.com.
Important dates:
Submission deadline: 20 November 2026
Notification of acceptance: 12 December 2026
Conference: 5 February 2027
Accepted extended and short papers will be presented during the conference. A selection of papers from both submission formats will be published in an open-access volume. Posters will be exhibited on the Festival website.
The official language of the conference is English. There is no conference fee.
The conference is organised in partnership with the GUDesign Network. The scientific coordinator is Professor Marichela Sepe, DICEA – Sapienza Università di Roma.
