CALL FOR PAPERS – Deadline extended to January 15, 2012

Berkeley Planning Journal, Vol. 25

NOTE – the BPJ has extended our deadline to invite submissions responding to the specific theme “New Spaces of Insurgency” in addition to our earlier open call for papers.

The celebratory 25th Volume of the BPJ will be focused around a theme reflecting the broad historical currents that are shaking the foundations of established orders.  Insurgence is manifesting in different spaces—not just geographical ones, but social, political, and technological spaces. It encompasses ideas about access, democracy, and participation, as well as ideas about new technology and tools. Bottom-up processes are emerging as people question established orders in many different settings and contexts. A growing atmosphere of contestation to established socio-politico-economic orders is embodied by disparate social movements ranging from the anti-authoritarian revolts of the Arab Spring, to anti-austerity protests by students in Berkeley and workers in Greece, to anti-establishment movements spanning the political spectrum from the Tea Party to the Occupy Wall Street movements in the U.S.

We invite submissions reflecting on “New Spaces of Insurgency” that address how planning has created or ignored such new spaces. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Democratization and participation in planning, across social classes and political borders
• Virtual spaces and the changing role of technology in planning, with new tools for data visualization and online platforms for interaction
• Informal development and challenges that it poses to the formal planning process and professionals
• Struggles against privatization of infrastructure provision and planning services
• Protests against tuition hikes and austerity measures in education

Volume 25 will be published in a new, electronic-only format that allows us to feature new media content.  We encourage authors to contribute content specialized for the Internet, including hyperlinked text, high-resolution images, interactive maps, and audio/video content.

The Berkeley Planning Journal (BPJ) is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published annually by the graduate students in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. Since its inception in 1985, the BPJ has become a forum for emerging and well-established scholars to explore innovative directions in city planning, public policy, and urban theory. The best student paper is awarded a prize, worth $150. Submissions will be accepted until January 15. More details about submission format requirements are available on our website.