[URBANTH-L] CFP: Pursuing sustainability in central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union

[Angela Jancius]

Call for papers: Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of
British Geographers) Annual Conference, London, 30 August-1 September
2006

Sponsored by the Post-Socialist Geographies Research Group of the RGS-IBG

"Pursuing sustainability in central and eastern Europe and the former 
Soviet Union"

Convenors: Jonathan Oldfield (University of Birmingham), Denis Shaw 
(University of Birmingham)

This session engages with ongoing debates in the wider literature 
concerning the local expression of sustainable development and related 
policy initiatives (e.g. see Gibbs and Krueger, 2005). More specifically, 
it aims to explore the various ways in which sustainable development is 
being implemented throughout central and eastern Europe (CEE) and the 
former Soviet Union (FSU) in both rural and urban regions and at a range 
of analytical scales. 

The regional focus on the countries of CEE/FSU provides a stimulating 
context within which to consider the interplay of different social, 
political and economic factors, ranging from the particularities of 
distinctive cultural milieus to the activities of supranational 
organisations such as the European Union, and their subsequent influence 
on understandings of sustainable development and the implementation and 
ultimate effectiveness of associated policies.  

Some of the possible themes for this session include:
. The influence of cultural, social and political processes on 
localised interpretations of sustainable development;
. Explorations of historical antecedents underpinning contemporary 
understandings of sustainable development;
. The interplay between (supra)national and local sustainability 
agendas;
. The effectiveness of emerging sustainability policy frameworks in 
both rural and urban areas.

References:
Gibbs, D., and Krueger, R. (2005) 'Editorial: Exploring local capacities 
for sustainable development', Geoforum, 36: 407-409


Please send abstracts of not more than 200 words to Jonathan Oldfield 
(J.D.Oldfield at bham.ac.uk) by 20 January 2006.