City – A recent definition developed by the consortium of APEC Centre for Technology Foresight (APEC CTF), KENAN Institute, and The National Centre for Environmental Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as working definition for the Healthy Future for APEC Megacities project in 1999 combined both a community concept and a geophysical location and structure. Thus, a city comprises a group of people who come together to live in a defined area because at least initially they perceive this to be a method of improving their quality of life. The factors that precipitate this process of association can include: 1) more efficient and effective use of resources, 2) increased safety in numbers, 3) better access to trade, economic opportunity, 4) a sense of identity based on ethnic background, religious beliefs, historical proximity, 5) a desire for cultural development, including a community of interest (or even disinterest), etc. (APEC CTF, 1999).

From this starting point, the conference will be open to and explore alternative definitions of the city that could potentially reveal policy areas for creating better city futures. The conference organisers share Manuel Castells’ hope that a new ‘integrative’ breakthrough in urban studies will transcend multi-disciplinary approaches, within a cross-cultural, comparative framework, to reconcile the schism between urban research and people’s well-being in cities:

So doing, we may be on the way to understanding how cities and nature can be preserved, and their quality enhanced, in the Information Age. Considering that we are entering a predominately urban world, this accomplishment would be no small feat. It would constitute a meaningful connection between scholarly research and people’s well-being in the frontiers of the mind in the twenty-first century. […] It must also abandon futile exercises of deconstruction and reconstruction enclosed in the verbal games of most postmodernist theorizing, […] and [develop new conceptual tools to] understand the new relationships between space and society (Castells, [1999, 2000] 2002: 386, 404).

We invite urban researchers and practitioners to share emerging holistic comparative approaches and frameworks within urban studies/sociology to study and shape cities, “based on the integration of an eco-social approach with a techno-economic study of cities, with an urban design perspective” (Castells, [1999], 2002: 386).

One such approach is Daffara’s (2007) meta-framework for city development. He couches urban concepts/attributes within multiple levels of reality across different orders of knowledge using Ken Wilber’s (2000) “integral” model of consciousness. The result is a multi-dimensional, holistic concept of the city based on the material, eco-biological, psychosocial and metaphysical levels of reality. His work provides a framework to understand big-picture relationships as well as analyse dimensions of the city that require change. It also showed a blind spot in contemporary urban planning practice towards developing the "spiritual" city. For example, few Western metropolitan plans incorporate strategies to improve the metaphysical wellbeing of its citizens let alone build a collective awareness of what it means to be a “spiritual city”. At a deep level this lack of social purpose fails to resolve inter-faith conflicts and cultural clashes and consequently impacts quality of life and community well-being.

Foresight – Conventionally foresight is defined as “systematic attempts to look into the longer-term future of science, technology, economy an society, with a view to identifying emerging generic technologies and the underpinning areas of strategic research likely to yield the greatest economic, environmental, and social benefit.” It is used for strategic activities in the public as well as the private sector, and underlines the need to link any future-oriented activity or project to action today in order to make an impact. It encompasses a range of approaches that combine the three components of which includes a critical thinking concerning long-term developments, a debate and an effort to create wider participation in decisions, and a process of shaping the future, especially by influencing public policy and strategic decisions. These can be recast as a futures (forecasting, forward thinking, and prospective), a planning (strategic analysis, priority setting), and a networking (participatory, dialogic tools and orientations).

City Foresight – A holistic trans-disciplinary concept and process of developing the capability of cities to create their preferred futures. It a new phenomenon in order to tackle urban complexity and systemic issues such as globalisation, social exclusion, sustainable urban environments, and civic governance. “City Foresight” is an application of foresight techniques to facilitate key stakeholders within city development. Various methods exist to develop the foresight capabilities of urban stakeholders, and this conference presents a rare opportunity for participants to understand and workshop these methods: (1) scanning the major driving forces of urban change – cultural and societal, demographic, economic, environmental, governance, and knowledge and technological; (2) the identification of the critical uncertainties of urban futures; (3) development and experimentation of key corresponding and interactive scenarios and options; and (4) co-creating community or stakeholders’ city visions. City foresight is an interdisciplinary subject – a combination of the social science on policy formulation and decision-making; town and city planning and development; and management of tangible and intangible urban assets.

This conference provides an opportunity for urban innovators to share their applications of City Foresight. For example, Daffara (2007) argues that what is largely missing from the current urban discourse is reframing the purpose of the 21st century city. He believes that this is very important to understand the role of cities in today's world and their collective contributions as change agents towards creating a planetary civilisation. For him city visions are the main instrument for cities to engage citizens in foresight processes (e.g. community visioning).

2. Conference:
Continuing from the result of the APEC CTF Mega City Foresight project in the end of last millennium, the PPDO, in collaboration with APEC CTF, developed an action-oriented initiative on city foresight to extend the utilization of foresight concept into broader perspective. ‘The 1st International Conference and Workshop on City Foresight in Asia Pacific’ will be the first region-wide infinitives to expand knowledge horizon of city foresight among city researchers and practitioners in various fields. The international conference will be held in Chiang Mai, the beautiful city in the north of Thailand from 5 to 7 September 2007.

The first day will be an interactive learning tour around Chiang Mai-Lampoon Development Sphere. The following day will be dedicated to close workshop for selected speakers and delegates, which will be a channel to discuss and practice on specific foresight technique, an emerging research agenda going forward and establish research relationships according to their particular interests. The last day conference is structured around a number of keynotes, four major breakouts in which a number of selected papers may be presented, details below of what could be covered in each session is not exclusive and other relevant expressions of interest are welcome.

Conference Fee: There is no Conference fee; however, all participants are required to complete and submit online registration prior to attending the Conference. All participants cover their own travel and accommodation expenses.

Conference Venue: Faculty of Architecture, Chiang Mai University Click link to view images of the venue

Accommodations: It is recommended that all participants to stay at AMARI Rincome Hotel which is located close to Chiangmai University. The organizers have already negotiated hotel special rates for participants. September is beginning of a high season in Chiang Mai and the hotel offered limited rooms for our participants. It is then recommended to book your hotel accommodation as soon as possible.

How to reserve a hotel reservation?

Please download hotel reservation information here, choose a hotel, and reserve your rooms via email. A hotel representative will contact you for your detailed itineraries after receiving your request for reservation.

3. Conference' s Themes (Download Call for Papers):

• 3.1 Emerging issues on city foresight:This theme can be explored in relation to numerous issues (i.e. health, climate change, emerging pandemic, cultural shock and change, the next billion groups, institutional responsibility, financial infrastructure, aging, disable, next generation etc). We are particularly interested in comparative studies of the case studies which accelerate positive change within these different issues, divergence and convergence of an emerging issue.
• 3.2 Globalization, City and Changes: This theme focuses on the influence of globalization in trade, knowledge, technology, and investment on city. The classical concepts of social change, an applicable concept of city innovation system, city as innovation factory, the globalization of cities, futures of learning society and educational reform, barrier free and right biased of society, and etc.

• 3.3 Conceptualizing, Techniques and Processes of City foresight: This theme focuses on a development of city foresight models, the interactive roles of key stakeholders (i.e. non-profits, social businesses, networks and alliances, forms of political representation and consumption, public agencies and so on), indicators and measurement methods. Management of foresight process and new techniques, empirical analysis of new methods and techniques.

4. Call for Papers:

• Call for papers is now announced (from 7 April 2007). We encourage those who are interested in submit their papers on the above themes (3. Conference Themes) Submission of papers will be considered and screened by the International Steering Committee and to be circulated on this website. Deadline for abstract is 15 July 2007 and deadline for full paper is 15 August 2007. Your papers can be sent to apectf@nstda.or.th or mayuree@tmc.nstda.or.th

• Estimated words for the abstract are 100 words, and for full papers up to 8,000 words maximum.

• Selected papers will be considered to be published on the Journal of Futures Studies at http://www.jfs.tku.edu.tw/sarticles.html or special issue of Foresight or Futures on city futures depending on quality and numbers of submitted papers.

5. The Host City – Chiang Mai – City of Life and Prosperity

The International Conference on City Foresight in Asia-Pacific will be held in the City of Chiang Mai, the second largest city on Chiang Mai-Lampoon plateau in the north of Thailand. The upper part of northern Thailand had been recognized as ‘LANNA’ or ‘The Million Rice Field’ Kingdom, before its unification to Siam century ago. Chiang Mai and Lampoon are strategic provinces of both economic and security in the Northern Thailand. Thai government has planned several mega projects to develop this area since the beginning of the first National Economic and Social Development Plan in 1961. Traditionally, the first five plans (1961-1985) were heavily focused on constructing infrastructure to support the national economic development and industrialization; such as roads, dams, electricity generating plants, hospitals, and educational institutes. Since the late 1970s, the cities have grown rapidly as there were designated as a "growth centre" for the northern region in different aspects with complimentarily roles among each other, according to the early years of national economic and social development plan

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6. Co-Orgainzers:

Graduate Institute of Futures Studies, Tamkang University, Taiwan (R.O.C)

Public Policy Development Office (PPDO), Thailand

Faculty of Architecture, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Research, Development and Innovation Service Centre (RDISC), Federation of Thai Industry (Chiang Mai Chapter), Thailand

APEC Center for Technology Foresight, Thailand

7. International Steering and Organizing Committee:

Australia

• Dr. Peter Hayward, Swinburne University
• Dr. Robert Burke, Melbourne Business School

Taiwan (R.O.C)

• Dr. Chieng-Fu Chen, Tamkang University
• Professor Dr. Sohail Inayatullah, Tamkang University

Denmark

• Associate Professor BjÖrn Johnson, Aalborg University

Thailand

• Dr. Sauwalak Kittiprapas, PPDO
• Dr. Sombat Thiratrakulchai, CMU

8. Organizing Committee

PPDO:

• Dr. Pun-Arj Chairatana
• Mrs. Lalana Rojanapaibulya
• Mr. Chaithad Arthronthommakun
• Ms. Sudarat Rojphongkasem (Conference Secretariat )

APEC Center for Technology Foresight

• Dr. Nares Damrongchai
• Dr. Ponpiboon Satangput
• Dr. Surachai Sathitkunarat
• Ms. Mayuree Vathanakuljarus (International Steering Committee Secretariat)

CMU:

• Dr. Sant Suwatcharapinun
• Mr. Satapana kittikul

CU:
Dr. Apiwat Ratanawaraha

FTI:
Mr. Wichien Churdchutakulthong

Bangkok Forum:
Mr. Chaiwat Tirapantu Bangkok Forum

NN:
Dr. Surapong Lerdthusnee

9. Who should attend the Conference?:

City lovers, decision makers, leaders of local and international municipalities, and people who shares interested in looking into the future of the City

The Conference is organized by policy making agencies, academics and private associations. These triple helix collaborations reflect new wave of public-private initiatives and we would like to have balance between real world and academic experiences.

10. Abbreviations
PPDO = Public Policy Development Office
APEC CTF = APEC Centre for Technology Foresight
CMU = Chiang Mai University
CU = Chulalongkorn University
FTI = Federation of Thai Industry
NSTDA = National Science and Technology Development Agency
NN = Northern NSTDA