The 11th KBAM Symposium, under the theme "Discussing the Future in Urban and Regional Research: New Intellectual Horizons," will be hosted by the Department of City and Regional Planning at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara on 23–25 December 2026.

As we move toward the end of the 2020s, it has become increasingly evident that Türkiye needs to transition from a development model based on "growth at all costs" to one that is sustainable, disaster-resilient, and socially inclusive, while also addressing the widening disparities between different geographical regions. In this context, urban and regional research is expected to develop new perspectives for the future.

The symposium aims to explore how these transformations are reflected in urban and regional research and to discuss proposals that may help shape the future. Key themes include:

• The Financialization of Housing and the Housing Crisis
• Climate Change and Post-Disaster Cities: Reconstruction, Resilience, and Spatial Transformation
• Post-Pandemic Cities and New Forms of Mobility
• New Research Methods, Artificial Intelligence, Data-Driven Decision-Making, and Spatial Modeling
• Socio-Spatial Justice, Access to Services, and Inequalities in Urban Space

While the symposium will focus on these themes, contributions from related fields such as geography, architecture, sociology, economics, and public administration are also welcome.

Further details about the symposium can be found at https://kbam.metu.edu.tr