Island Cities and Urban Archipelagos 2017
8-12 November 2017, Funchal, Madeira Portugal
http://www.islandcities.org/icua2017.html

This conference brings together researchers from across the globe to explore urban life on islands and archipelagos.

Islands are often associated with peripherality, yet even remote, sparsely populated islands host urban centres. In the case of some small islands, physical separation from the mainland and spatial limitations can encourage dense urbanisation, the transport of products and ideas, improved defence infrastructure, construction of social capital, consolidation of political power, formation of vibrant cultures, population concentration, and ultimately the development of major cities.

Fostering dialogue between the fields of island studies and urban studies, this interdisciplinary conference will feature presentations that explore and critique the varied connections between the urban and the insular from a diversity of perspectives on culture, planning, politics, architecture, economy, and environment in island cities worldwide. We welcome papers and panels focusing on individual case studies as well comparative analyses and conceptual frames.

This conference is a collaboration between Island Dynamics and the University of Madeira’s Research Centre for Regional and Local Studies. Island Cities and Urban Archipelagos 2017 takes place in association with the III INSULA International Colloquium: Beyond Nature & Artifice.

This conference is a collaboration of Island Dynamics, INSULA, and the University of Madeira’s Research Centre for Regional and Local Studies (CIERL).

Keynote speakers: Keller Easterling (Yale University), Lindsay Bremner (University of Westminister), May Joseph (Pratt Institute), Olivia Bina (University of Lisbon), Irene Lucília Andrade (Literary Writer, Madeira), Teresa M. G. Jardim (Artist and Writer, Madeira)

About Funchal, Madeira: The Autonomous Region of Madeira is an Atlantic archipelago to the west of Morocco. Madeira is a major tourism destination, but the islands are also famous for their wine, endemic flora and fauna, and natural beauty. Although remote from the Portuguese mainland, Madeira came to serve as a key point for transatlantic transport and exchange. Even today, the International Business Centre of Madeira free trade zone means that the islands have a financial reach extending far beyond their own coasts. Funchal (population 112,000) is Madeira's capital. Founded in 1424, this historic city possesses a wealth of cultural heritage.

About the conference: Conference presentations will be held on 9-11 November. The afternoon of 8 November and the morning and early afternoon of 12 November will be devoted to excursions beyond the city, out into Madeira's stunning mountain and marine environments.

How to make a presentation: Presentations are welcome on any aspect of urban island studies. The deadline for abstracts is 31 May 2017. You can propose a presentation here: http://www.islandcities.org/icua2017/cfp.html

Presentations are invited to address such as questions:
- How does islandness sustain processes of urbanisation?
- How can urban planning and urban design address the challenges faced by island societies?
- Why are islands historically privileged sites for urban development?
- How does islandness influence urban cultures?
- What roles do island cities play in national, regional, and global frameworks and processes?
- How does urbanisation affect island society and environment?
- How does island city status affect distributions of political authority?
- How do urban archipelagos relate to their hinterlands and oceanic environments?
- How are island cultures reconstituted in (mainland) urban diasporas?
- What challenges do island environments pose to urban development and planning?
- How does the particular mobility of island populations shape the development of island cities?
- What other topics are critical to the future of island cities?

http://www.islandcities.org/icua2017.html
Sponsored by: Island Dynamics & University of Madeira's Research Centre for Regional and Local Studies