PCF events
2025 Conference: (Re)Connecting River and City – The Seine in Paris and the Ile-de-France
In times of climate change, it is urgent to rethink the relationship of inhabitants and built heritage with rivers, seas and other bodies of water. Ecosystem approaches can help to (re)create habitable, sustainable and just spaces, in accordance with historical practices, while protecting, adapting and learning from history and heritage.
The stories we weave, the projects we realize and the heritage we preserve to live with water, both today and in the future, require special attention. Exploring natural and cultural heritage, as well as intangible practices, can contribute to the construction of new narratives for World Heritage cities located along rivers.
COST Action PACT Conference & Site Visit: Energy Transition & Waterfront Futures
Lisbon’s Tagus estuary presents a complex, layered territory where port operations, urban life, fragile ecology, heritage, and tourism intersect. Over decades, Lisbon has embarked on bold waterfront transformations (e.g. Expo 1998, regeneration of industrial zones, extension of public spaces) while confronting climate pressures, social inequities, and the imperative of decarbonization. By positioning Lisbon as a living laboratory, this PACT event aims to explore how energy transition can be integrated into waterfront development, port–city synergy, climate resilience, and inclusive urban regeneration. The conference will bring together multiple voices - academics, local authorities, port authorities, NGOs, cultural actors, and community groups - to co-produce knowledge and open pathways into future European comparative work.
COST Action PACT workshop and meeting
Join Carola Hein, PCF Director and PACT Coordinator, and other PCF members as the COST Action – Port City Territories in Action: A Collaborative Laboratory for Inclusive Energy Transition (PACT) will take place in Le Havre, France, from 25 to 27 September 2025. Bringing together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, the event explores how ports, cities, and territories can contribute to an inclusive and sustainable energy transition.
Land-water Threshold as a Laboratory for Multi-Risk Urban Futures
As cities along rivers, deltas, lagoons, and coasts face increasing ecological fragility and social vulnerability, the urgency to reframe the urban condition through water becomes ever more pressing. These territories are shaped by a convergence of geological, hydrological, environmental, and anthropogenic pressures—forces that amplify multi-risk conditions and challenge conventional planning approaches and theoretical understanding. This symposium invites scholars, designers, planners, and researchers to explore the land-water threshold as a fertile site for experimentation, adaptation, and imagination.
