International Conference on Evolving Cities & Towns
ICEC2025 | 16 – 18 July 2025 in Southampton UK
CONFERENCE TOPICS & THEMED SESSIONS
Following the success of ICEC 2023, we are organising the ICEC 2025 programme around the same three meta-themes that cut across our established eight conference topics.
In addition, there will be a number of themed sessions during the conference. These sessions will include a series of presentations followed by a panel discussion and will cover a series of topics including Coastal Cities & Towns, Kenya as a Case Study and Heat Deferral & Energy Flexibility More details will be included within the programme.
Submitted abstracts will need to fit within the scope of the conference topics, however these meta-themes shall provide a framework for a broad, multi-disciplinary discussion, inlcuding keynotes, panel discussions and paper presentations, over the three days.
META-THEMES
Inspiring change & innovation
This theme is centred around inspiring stories of impact and innovation within cities and towns from around the UK and the world. The theme seeks to learn from leading responses to the challenges of the 21st century, highlighting the potential scale and pace of change possible.
We invite authors to submit abstracts for presentations describing case-studies and examples of rapid or significant outcomes in the systems of service provision for municipalities. We are interested in a broad range of outcomes, in terms of decarbonisation or reduction in the environmental impact of cities and towns.
Frameworks for flourishing
This theme is intended to open up a discussion around the frameworks through which we understand human (and non-human) flourishing within cities; the value we place on different aspects of the built and natural environment and systems of provision as we transition to net-zero. It will tackle questions surrounding meaningful measures of sustainable development, including the UN SDGs.
Authors are encouraged to submit abstracts addressing both the theoretical frameworks and applied aspects of this topic. How are more holistic frameworks being successfully implemented, and how are the barriers to their adoption being overcome to realise tangible benefits?
Collaboration & co-creation
This theme is centred around collaboration and co-creation. Recognising the urgency of the net-zero challenge, this theme will examine how relevant stakeholders can engage in the creation and implementation of processes and solutions.
We invite abstracts providing examples of successful innovations that are working to support engagement and collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders. We are interested in organisational, governance and regulatory structures, and how innovative solutions successfully navigate this complex landscape to meet pressing environmental challenges.
CONFERENCE TOPICS
ICEC 2025 invites scientific contiributions on research and technological development as well as on particularly innovative case studies that present real-world practical insights across the following topics.
Cities, infrastructure & planning
- Integrated urban systems
- Sustainable & adaptive resilient infrastructure
- Connected infrastructure
- Urban biodiversity, ecology & ecosystems
- Climate change resilience & adaptation
- Pandemic responsiveness
Energy and net zero
Abstracts related to engineering pathways for reliable and affordable sources of renewable energy to maximise use of renewable resources. Including, but not limited to, the following:
- Decarbonisation of cities
- Microgeneration and energy storage
- Heating and cooling systems in cities
- Energy efficiency and buildings
- Building refurbishment and retrofit
- Economic, social & environmental consideration
Smart cities and AI
Abstracts related to the state of the art in smart cities and data analytics, understanding of the impact of artificial intelligence on the smartness of cities. Including, but not limited to, the following:
- State of the art in smart cities
- AI optimised energy and urban systems
- Advances in data analytic methodologies
- IoT integration in city systems
- City observatories
Citizens, wellbeing & equity
Abstracts related to the human and social aspects of the transition to net-zero. Including, but not limited to, the following:
- Urban design and wellbeing
- Inequalities and inclusivity
- Net-zero and social practices
- Lifecycle assessment
- Public and private partnerships
- Civic engagement and net-zero
- Collaboration for innovative urban solutions
Sustainability, economics & governance
Abstracts addressing the relationships between sustainable and resilient business and aspects of evolving cities. Including, but not limited to, the following:
- Net-zero: economics versus environmental/social benefits
- Appropriate scale in the context of sustainable business
- Facilitating growth of SMEs for net-zero
- Attracting investment for delivering net-zero
- Designing infrastructure for sustainable & resilient business
Low-carbon comfort
Abstracts to be submitted on low carbon comfort. Including but not limited to, the following
- Adaptive comfort: thermal, lighting, acoustics
- Air quality in buildings
- Turbulent flows
- Data-driven model and citizen-centric AI systems
- Digital-twins
- Mechanism Design and Incentive Engineering
- Sequential decision making with uncertainty
Future mobility in cities
Abstracts addressing the design and provision of mobility within the urban environment, including but not limited to, the following:
- Innovation in e-mobility services
- Charging infrastructure and impacts on electricity network
- Infrastructure for multi-model use
- Automation and the use of artificial intelligence
- Space allocation, (perceptions of) safety, desirability and user experience
- Mobility-as-a-service
- Multi-modal mobility
Addressing crises and resilience in cities
Abstracts relating to addressing crises and resilience in cities, including but not limited to, the following:
- Urban resilience planning and frameworks
- Complexity, interconnectedness and resilience
- Digital resilience and cyber-physical systems
- System capacity and redundancy
- Security and resource resilience
- Multi-system dependency and vulnerability
- Inidcatiors of resilience