The 2026 GCMU Annual Conference & the 27th IUSAM
Theme
Transformation and Innovation of Cities, Planning, and Governance
Cities worldwide are undergoing profound transformation driven by socio-economic restructuring, technological innovation, climate change, and geopolitical uncertainty. Rapid urbanization, demographic transition, housing pressures, infrastructure demands, and environmental risks are reshaping urban systems and challenging conventional approaches to planning and governance. Cities are increasingly required to become more resilient, adaptive, and inclusive in response to growing social and spatial inequalities.
At the same time, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, smart devices, digital twins, and big data analytics are redefining how cities are planned, managed, and experienced. Intelligent infrastructure, automated logistics, and AI-assisted governance offer new opportunities for urban innovation, while also raising concerns about digital inequality, privacy, labor displacement, and algorithmic governance. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions, political conflicts, and anti-globalization trends are increasingly influencing urban development and planning priorities. All these are reshaping the conditions under which cities are planned, designed, managed, and experienced.
Under the theme “Transformation and Innovation of Cities, Planning, and Governance,” the 2026 Global Consortium of Metropolitan Universities (GCMU) Annual Conference & the 27th Inter-University Symposium on Asian Megacities (IUSAM) will provide an international platform for scholars, educators, practitioners, and policymakers to examine how cities and planning institutions respond to emerging social, technological, environmental, and geopolitical challenges. The symposium particularly emphasizes the need to renew urban planning education, strengthen cross-sectoral governance capacities, and promote more inclusive and interdisciplinary forms of urban knowledge production. Through these discussions, the symposium aims to explore how planning, governance, and innovation can provide more adaptive, resilient, and forward-looking responses to an increasingly uncertain urban future.
Sessions
Session 1: Education for Urban Studies, Planning and Governance
This session examines the evolving landscape of urban education in the context of Asian megacities, where rapid urbanization outpaces traditional planning curricula. It explores how pedagogical models, interdisciplinary training, and experiential learning can better equip students, practitioners, and policymakers to address complex urban challenges.
Discussions will cover curriculum innovation, the integration of digital tools in planning education, participatory governance training, and the role of university–community partnerships. The session aims to rethink how urban knowledge is produced, transmitted, and applied to foster more inclusive, resilient, and adaptive governance frameworks across Asia’s largest cities.
Topics:
1. Reinventing Urban Planning Curricula for 21st-Century Megacities
2. Digital Pedagogy: GIS, VR/AR, and Simulation Tools in Urban Education
3. University–Community Partnerships: Learning from Local Governance Practices
4. Training Ethical Urban Leaders: Equity, Justice, and Participatory Governance
5. Cross-Border Exchange Programs and Comparative Urban Learning in Asia
6. Assessing Competencies: What Should an Urban Planner or Urban Manager Know and Be Able to Do?
Session 2: New Technologies and Urban Culture and Arts
This session investigates the dynamic interplay between emerging technologies and the cultural/artistic fabric of Asian mega cities. As smart city infrastructures, AI-driven platforms, and digital media reshape public spaces and social interactions, urban culture is simultaneously transformed and contested.
The session welcomes critical and creative perspectives on how technology influences artistic production, cultural heritage preservation, digital public art, and the everyday experiences of diverse urban communities. It also examines the tensions between technological efficiency and cultural authenticity, and how grassroots digital activism, creative tech collectives, and virtual communities are redefining urban identity and belonging in an increasingly connected Asia.
Topics:
1. AI and Generative Art in Public Spaces: Redefining Urban Aesthetics
2. Smart City Technologies and the Future of Cultural Heritage Preservation
3. Digital Activism and Creative Resistance in Asian Megacities
4. The Platform City: Social Media, Influencer Culture, and Urban Identity
5. Virtual and Augmented Reality as Mediums for Urban Storytelling
6. Data-Driven Curating: Algorithmic Governance of Arts and Culture Funding
Session 3: Multi-disciplinary Approaches for Cities
This session recognizes that the challenges facing Asian megacities—climate resilience, affordable housing, mobility, public health, social inequality—cannot be adequately addressed within any single disciplinary silo. It provides a platform for research that bridges urban planning, sociology, economics, environmental science, public health, engineering, anthropology, and data science.
The session encourages methodological pluralism, from quantitative big-data analyses to qualitative ethnographic studies and participatory action research. By fostering dialogue across fields, it aims to produce holistic, evidence-based, and context-sensitive solutions that reflect the complexity and diversity of urban life in Asia’s largest metropolitan regions.
Topics:
1. Integrating Climate Science and Urban Planning for Megacity Resilience
2. Health and the Built Environment: Public Health Perspectives on Urban Planning, Design and Governance
3. Economic Geography and Informal Economies in Asian Metropolitan Regions
4. Ethnographic Approaches to Understanding Migrant and Marginalized Urban Communities
5. Big Data, Urban Informatics, and Evidence-Based Policy Making
6. Infrastructure, Ecology, and Society: Coupled Systems Thinking for Sustainable Cities
Important Dates
Open for Abstract Submission: 1 June 2026
Abstract Submission Deadline: 30 September 2026
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 15 October 2026
Conference Registration & Private Sessions: 3 December 2026
Conference: 4-5 December 2026
Technical Tours: 6 December 2026
Venue
Cultural Centre, Taipa Campus, City University of Macau, Macau
Organizer
City University of Macau
Co-organizers
Macao Urban Planning Institute
Macao Urban Science Institute
Executive Organizers
Institute of Urban and Sustainable Development, City University of Macau
Office of Global Affairs, City University of Macau
Chair
Jun Liu, Professor & Rector, City University of Macau
Co-chairs
Haoying Han, Professor & Executive Associate Dean, Institute of Urban and Sustainable Development, City University of Macau
Cheng Wu, Professor & Director, Office of Global Affairs, City University of Macau
Secretariats
Sophia Xia, Senior Coordinator (sophiaxia@cityu.edu.mo, +853-85902453)
Yu Yan, Assistant Professor, City University of Macau (yuyan@cityu.edu.mo)
Huajie Yang, Assistant Professor, City University of Macau (yanghj@cityu.edu.mo)
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Abstracts (200-300 words) should be written in clear English and ready for online publication. Each submission is expected to include the following elements:
- Research focus: Clearly define the central planning issue or research question(s).
- Methods: Describe the analytical framework and methods used to investigate the research question.
- Key results: Summarize the main findings, highlighting novel insights or contributions.
- Significance: Explain the relevance of the study to planning theory or professional practice.
- Keywords: Provide up to 5 keywords.
- References: List up to 5 major references.
Submit Your Abstract
Abstract Submission Coordinators
Dr. Huajie Yang（楊華杰）, yanghj@cityu.edu.mo
Miss Siqi Lizhou（李周斯琪）, U25091121024@cityu.edu.mo