AESOP, the Association of European Schools of Planning is a network of universities and university departments that teach and conduct research within the field of urban and regional planning. AESOP was founded in 1987 and has been registered as a non-profit association under Belgian law since May 1992. At current, AESOP represents about 150 member institutions.

The formal Charter establishing AESOP was signed in Dortmund, Germany in 1987 and has the following objectives:

• to represent the interest of planning schools in Europe in national and international administrations and organisations, particularly within Europe
• to promote the development of teaching and research in the field of planning
• to facilitate co-operation and exchange between planning schools in Europe, and to encourage the harmonisation and equivalence of their degrees
• to articulate a European dimension within planning education as part of the process of institutional co-operation and integration within Europe, bearing in mind also the prospect of increasing professional mobility within Europe
• to foster and enrich higher education in planning across Europe by mutual support, including facilitating dialogue, exchange visits and the spread of information
• to defend the cause of expanding and enhancing higher education in planning and
• to promote a progressive approach to planning education in schools of planning by experts with a rounded view againstrival claims from older-established academic units and from other disciplines and professions

AESOP activities include:

AESOP Annual conference:

• Yearly conference attended by on average 600 participants.
• Last conferences: Mexico (2006, World Planning Schools Congress), Naples (2007), Chicago (2008, with ACSP), Liverpool (2009)
• Coming Conferences: 2011 “Planning’s Future – Futures Planning: Planning in an Era of Global (Un)certainty and Transformation”. Perth, World Planning Schools Congress

AESOP Meetings of the Heads of Schools:

• Yearly forum dedicated to address main issues and challenges in Planning Education.
• Last meetings:
  • 2006 Bratislava (Slovakia): The Bologna reform: what does it mean for Planning Schools?
  • 2007 Leuven (Belgium): Towards professional recognition for planners in Europe
  • 2008 Łódź (Poland): Facing quality assessment and accreditation in Planning Education
  • 2009 Lille (France): Planning between sovereignty, interdisciplinarity, and loss of identity?
• Next meetings: Istanbul (2010, Planning education and practice), Tirana (2011), Hamburg (2012).

AESOP Research thematic groups:

• Nine research thematic groups: Planning and complexity, Planning law and property rights, Urban design in planning, Research ethics in planning, New technologies in planning, Transnational and cross border planning, Transport planning and policy, Franco British planning study group, Evaluation in Planning.
• Establish new thematic groups with the support of AESOP.

AESOP Prizes:

• Best Paper Awards: 2008 to Bent Flyvbjerg for his paper: « Policy and planning for large infrastructure projects: problems, causes, cures », in Environment and Planning B: Planning and Designand to Ole B. Jensen for his paper: « Culture stories: understanding cultural urban branding », in Planning Theory. 2007 to Tore Sager for "The Logic of Critical Communicative Planning: Transaction Cost Alteration" in Planning Theory.
• Excellence in Teaching Prize: 2008 to Deborah Peel, Department of Civic Design, University of Liverpool, for her course: Aspects of effective communication.
• Best Congress Paper award: 2007 to Gérard Hutter, Leibniz Institute for Ecological and Regional Development in Dresden, for "Strategic Planning for Long Term Flood Risk Management" presented in Naples.

AESOP Publications:

• AESOP Yearbook: information on AESOP activities, prizes, schools directory.
• AESOP News: e-newsletter, 3 issues per month, 3000 subscriptions.
• Planning Education: contemporary issues of planning education.

AESOP Partner journals:

• European Planning Studies, published by Routledge and edited in cooperation with AESOP. AESOP member schools benefit of a discount on the subscription fee.
• DisP, published by ETH (Zurich) in cooperation with AESOP.

AESOP communication means:

• AESOP Website: circa 150 visits per day. A new version of the website, more interactive and with comprehensive services is under construction.
• AESOP mailing lists: «Schools» addressing the heads of the 154 member schools; «Individuals» addressing over 3000 planning academics in Europe and in the world.
• Communicating by our means is free of charge for AESOP member schools. We inform about: New books, conferences, calls for papers (journals), new education programs, jobs in higher education and research in the field of planning.

AESOP Young Academics:

• A creative and open minded network of young researchers, academics and students from all over the world, developing and disseminating their ideas and research results, supported by AESOP.
• More on the website www.aesopyoungacademics.net

For further information please visit the web site...