This conference seeks to explore a timely and a critical issue of our time: the rising trend of exclusion and a retreat from diversity within many countries. Given the rising levels of tension and sometimes violence within and among communities, cities, and nations due to recent political, economic, and social divisiveness around the world (anti-globalization, Trumpism, trade wars, Brexit, US-Canada-Mexico Trade Agreement, climate change etc), our 10th conference brings together scholars and practitioners from all disciplines to provide scrutinize and analyze pressing issues related to inclusion and exclusion.

This conference seeks to explore contested issues that link development to (tangible and intangible) heritage. New construction and developments in and between rural and urban regions affect the preservation and creation of heritage. Issues of gentrification, infrastructure improvement, population growth, (im)migration, shifting geopolitical-economic order such as Brexit, Visegrad Group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) and so on create both contestation or conflict and social cohesion.

Cites are facing unprecedented challenges as social spaces, too, with the increases in ethnic, cultural, and religious diversities. A global trend toward increased human mobility and its consequences demand full attention from policy makers, academics, and practitioners. They must increasingly address issues of resettlement, settlement, community building, and integration within what some call a borderless world. Nonetheless, governments and societies often operate within boundaries and must negotiate the arrival of immigrants (including refugees), and citizens. Space defined both physically and socially plays an important role in delineating responses to this development.

This year’s theme focuses on life course and aging in the context of built environment in both urban and rural settings. World Health Organization (WHO) has been advocating for global age-friendly cities since 2007. Life Course & the City aims at investigating the strong relationship between the quality of life for all ages and the quality of the city. Sanya is a beautiful city in Hainan Island. It is famous for its tropical climate and natural environment with spectacular sandy beaches. The island attracts international tourists and entertains “snow geese” in colder areas of China who spend the winter in this Hawaii like island.

Projects in city include infrastructure (hardware), policies (software) and all things in between. Multi-dimensional identity includes, but is not limited to, cultural, ethnic, gender, class, and place identity. Case studies and theories in the form of papers and spatial designs which reflect the relationship between projects and identities from international scholars, professionals, business sector and government sectors will stimulate our understanding of and the practice of this important topic.

City development’s challenge lies in how we sustain the quality of our living while balancing the demands of the natural and built environment. Often times, our city development creates undisputable “gridlocks” for ourselves. Challenges include but not limited to traffic, revitalization of old centers, balance use of spaces that intersect with natural forces such as natural disasters, geographic limitations (mountains, waters, and weather), and the return of wildlife. Our everyday living, culture, identity are shaped and impacted by the convolution of the natural and built environment.

4C5M Studio’s mission and the Tongji University initiative were designed to raise the intellectual and practicing consciousness on many urgent issues in rapid city re/development. In many city re/developmental projects, we investigated questions like what roles preservation played in re/creating warm and welcoming living environment for all walks of life? We also attempted to expand the concept of preservation thatwent beyond preserving a physical structure to include values, lifestyle, culture, and communities; the concept of hospitality beyond restaurant and hotel businesses to include the environment and design of the place which are welcoming and people -friendly.

The conference offers an opportunity to 1) discuss an often neglected topic that is the booming development of smaller cities around the world due to global / national / local political-economy strategies, and responses from the grassroots; and 2) experience the rapid development of Cixi in person.
Our mission and the Cixi’s economic, social and cultural initiatives hope to inspire collaboration among academia, professionals, artists, business sectors to investigate the concerns on the balance among economic development, social, and cultural life in a sustainable environment for smaller cities.