Mapping “Post-Conflict” Cities

“Wars end… But when does the postwar era end?” asked Klaus Naumann (1999). One could also
ask when does it begin and what does it precisely mean. Recent academic works have shown
that the plans for post-war reconstruction can be traced back well before the first buildings were
ever damaged, at least in some cases. Furthermore, the end of a conflict did not always mean
the end of demolitions, the destruction of the urban fabric continued sometimes in peace times.
Existing redevelopment plans were sometimes revisited. The exact nature of such continuities in
situation of regime change needs further exploration. Equally important, different actors shaping
visions of post-conflict cities and their connections should be analysed further. Finally, whereas
the fate of capitals and other dominant cities have been studied in detailed, the secondary cities
have received noticeably less scholarly attention.

Building on the knowledge gathered from academic literature as well as from the first
UrbanMetaMapping conference “Cartographies of Catastrophes” in Bamberg (2021) this
conference will examine mapping of “post-conflict” cities from the 19th century until the present
day in different geographic settings. Firstly, we want to focus particularly on the question of
continuities and ruptures relating to urban planning in those cases when end of conflict
coincided with a change of socio-political regime. Secondly, we want to move away from the
iconic cities, capitals in particular, and focus instead on less known case studies. We are
therefore particularly interested in mapping of “peripheral” cities and their experience of “postconflict” periods.
The UrbanMetaMapping Research Consortium warmly invites scholars and experts from various
disciplines including: history, urban planning, heritage preservation, human geography, digital
humanities, social cartography, architectural history, art history, literature studies and urban
studies to critically reflect upon:

• key concepts, such as: post-conflict; post-war, counter-mapping etc. from an interdisciplinary
  perspective;
• frames used to describe and analyse post-conflict cities: destruction, reconstruction,
  recovery, ruins, nostalgia etc.;
• methodologies employed to create, develop, communicate and analyse maps of damaged
  cities, with a particular interest in digital humanities methods;
• post-conflict cities on the “peripheries”;
• continuities and raptures in urban planning, planning strategies and building traditions in
  post-conflict cities;
• defining and redefining built heritage in the context of post-conflict cities;
• actors shaping the post-conflict urban landscape;
• social impact of urban destruction.

the conference will take place 20-21 October 2022 at the Leibniz Institute for Research
on Society and Space (IRS). In addition format will be offered via Zoom.

Program: www.urbanmetamapping.uni-bamberg.de/conf/MPC/program.html
Complete article: www.urbanmetamapping.uni-bamberg.de/documents/MPC2022-CfP.pdf
Image: Leibniz Institute