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Online Symposium | 30 January 2026

The challenge of transitioning to climate-neutral cities by 2030

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Overview

Title: The challenge of (transitioning to) climate-neutral cities by 2030

C-NEWTRAL Project Online Symposium | 30 January 2026

Convenors: Dr. Aura Istrate; Prof. Jacopo Gaspari; Prof. Geraint Ellis

Cities are pivotal to climate-neutrality and sustainability transitions, yet current urban strategies appear too fragmented and insufficiently integrated into the social systems and governance of cities. Translating climate-neutral visions into operational, integrated transformations requires both critical interrogation and innovative reconfiguration of citizen engagement, city planning, city governance, and institutional practices.

This Online Symposium seeks to advance scholarly debates on urban climate neutrality by exploring  intersections between public participation and city governance decision-making. We invite contributions that probe the epistemological, methodological, and normative dimensions of climate-neutral transitions, as well as those that examine the tensions between ambition and implementation in contemporary urban practice.

The Symposium is timed to critically engage with the ambitious global and national targets for net zero and particularly the EU’s Cities Mission, which aims to establish 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030. Despite these commitments, municipalities and urban practices still appear to be lacking the systemic approaches that can deliver such targets. A deeper understanding of how city governance and citizen engagement can drive transitions toward climate neutrality is urgently needed.

Scope of the Online Symposium

The Symposium is organised around two interrelated thematic streams:

  1. Citizen Engagement – exploring user perspectives, co-production, and citizen science as modes of knowledge production, agency, and legitimacy in climate-neutral urban transitions.
  2. City Governance – interrogating decision-making processes, multi-level governance configurations, institutional complexities, stakeholder roles, strategic planning, and policy innovations that shape urban trajectories.

By juxtaposing these streams, the Symposium aims to generate dialogue on operationalising systemic pathways towards urban climate neutrality.

Participation

Individual and collaborative submissions are encouraged. We particularly welcome contributions from early-career researchers in dialogue with established scholars, as well as perspectives beyond the C-NEWTRAL project.

Submissions may include, but are not limited to:

  • Empirical Contributions  – Present original quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method research offering new evidence, comparative insights, or models.

  • Theoretical or Conceptual Contributions  – Develop new frameworks, models, or perspectives that advance theoretical understanding or challenge existing paradigms.

  • Case Studies – Provide in-depth examinations of specific projects, organizations, or interventions, highlighting lessons learned and practical implications.

  • Applied or Practice-Based Contributions – Showcase innovative practices, tools, or methodologies relevant to practitioners and policymakers.

Please submit an Extended Abstract (~1,500 words; references excluded). You are encouraged to use this (opens in a new window)Template (download the view-only template as a Word document for editing).

Please submit it using (opens in a new window)this form before the submission deadline (10 December 2025). Selected contributions will be invited to 10-minute online presentations (pre-recorded option provided) followed by 10-minute discussions.

Timeline

Key dates and submission deadlines

  • 10 December 2025

    Submission Deadline for Extended Abstracts (categorised under two streams: Citizen Engagement vs City Governance Decision-Making).Submit your extended abstract here

  • 30 December 2025

    Date completion of the review and revision process (final notification of acceptance)

  • 30 January 2026

    Date of Online Symposium

Organisation and Publication

The Online Symposium is convened by Dr. Aura Istrate [UCD], Prof. Jacopo Gaspari [UNIBO], Prof. Geraint Ellis [QUB]. The Convenors will also serve as Guest Editors of a Special Issue in an international Q1 peer-reviewed journal. Selected symposium contributions will be invited to develop extended original research papers for consideration in this Special Issue. Full research papers submissions expected in May/June 2026.

Convenors/Guest Editors bios

Dr. Aura Istrate, (opens in a new window)aura.istrate@ucd.ie, University College Dublin – Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Architecture, Planning, and Environmental Policy 

Aura Istrate is Assistant Professor in Sustainable Urbanism and Urban Planning, and Program Director of MSc Urban Design and Planning in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Environmental Policy at University College Dublin (UCD). She is the Primary Coordinator of C-NEWTRAL Doctoral Network and co-leading the Horizon Europe project REALLOCATE. She is a Principal Investigator in Ireland in two BIODIVERSA+ projects – NatureScape and NBS4AQUAMISSION. She leads the Active Research Group at UCD, as part of the Spatial Dynamics Lab.  

Profile link: (opens in a new window)https://people.ucd.ie/aura.istrate/publications  

Prof. Jacopo Gaspari, (opens in a new window)jacopo.gaspari@unibo.it, University of Bologna – Department of Architecture; 

Jacopo Gaspari is an architect and an academic. He is a Professor of Architectural Technology at the University of Bologna, where he teaches on the BA/MSc Architecture programme and the international MSc ACPCL programme (Building Design for Climate Change). He teaches on the MSc Advanced Design programme (Sustainable Technologies). He is a member of the Executive Board of the PhD programme, 'Future Earth, Climate Change and Societal Challenges'. He leads or collaborates on several national and international research projects funded by various schemes, including HE and Erasmus+. He is the director of the (opens in a new window)Architectural Technology Research Series  published by Franco Angeli. He has authored or co-authored ten books and has served as editor for numerous publications. He has published over 180 articles and book chapters, half of which have appeared in renowned international scientific journals (50+ Q1). 

Profile link: (opens in a new window)https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/jacopo.gaspari/publications

Prof. Geraint Ellis, (opens in a new window)g.ellis@qub.ac.uk, Queens University Belfast  – School of Natural and Built Environment

Geraint Ellis is a Professor of Environmental Planning in the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen's University, Belfast. His key research interests are in planning and sustainability, renewable energy, planning governance and healthy urban planning. He has published widely on these topics, having published over 100 peer reviewed papers and led internationally funded projects on energy transition, urban planning and environmental governance. He also acts as the Co-Editor of the Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, and sits on the assessment panel for Architecture, Building and Planning for the UK’s 2029 Research Excellence Framework.  

Profile link: (opens in a new window)https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/geraint-ellis