Information: “The most important part of the problem in fact is how to construct, in every detail and thoroughly, the individual dwelling cell. Apart of this task…architects have to solve the problem…how to incorporate the total of those cells, that is the neighbourhood, into the general aspect of the town in a way which will create equally favourable conditions to every section of inhabitants.”

These insightful lines pronounced by Ernst May at the occasion of the second C.I.A.M held in Frankfurt (1929) illustrate how mass housing became a social utility, so that it demanded different line of actions starting from the typological concern stretching towards the town planning aspects.

Although German housing projects occupied a central position, the international conference worked as a stimulating platform for introducing other perspectives. Indeed, Die Wohnung für Das Existenzminimum played a significant role for all those experiences recognised as “modern housing” because, as pointed out by Catherine Bauer in her seminal study (Modern Housing, 1936), they have certain qualities and embodied certain methods and purposes which distinguish them from the typical residential environment of the past century.

2019 marks the 90th anniversary of the second C.I.A.M and it represents a springboard for this issue of Urban Planning, which aims to widen the debate over housing experiences beyond any geographical and time frameworks. We invite scholars and doctorate candidates to submit contributions focused on case studies or particular planning strategies starting from Neues Bauen to the present days.

Nevertheless, the issue is arranged around some key topics expressed in the C.I.A.M programme—e.g. urban policies, spatial models and ideas, typological aspects, technological and standardisation aspects, social factors—because they are still relevant starting points for a comparative perspective. This would lead to demonstrate how housing has always embodied a social, morphological and structural unit for living, which has affected, and still does, the form and evolution of the city.

Instructions for Authors: Authors interested in submitting a paper for this issue are asked to consult the journal's editorial policies and to send their abstracts (about 200-250 words, with a tentative title) by email to the academic editors ([email protected] and [email protected]) by 31 December 2018.

Open Access: The journal has an article publication fee to cover its costs and guarantee that the article can be accessed free of charge by any reader, anywhere in the world, regardless of affiliation. We defend that authors should not have to personally pay this fee and advise them to check with their institutions if funds are available to cover open access publication fees. Institutions can also join Cogitatio’s Membership Program at a very affordable rate and enable all affiliated authors to publish without incurring any fees. Further information about the journal’s open access charges and institutional members can be found here.

Editors: Luca Ortelli, Chiara Monterumisi and Alessandro Porotto (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland)

Deadline for Abstracts: 31 December 2018
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 10 January 2019
Deadline for Full Papers: 31 March 2019
Issue Release: September 2019