“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 “post-conflict” 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

We invite proposals for a 15-minute presentation in English to be sent in one text document (.doc, .docx, .odt, .rtf) containing:

a) Title and abstract of 300 words maximum (no references)
b) The name of the author with current affiliation, contact details (email and mobile) and a short biographical note (around 200 words)

Proposals should be submitted no later than 15 April 2022 to the following email: conference.urbanmetamapping@leibniz-irs.de. Notification of acceptance will be sent by 1 May 2022. The conference will take place 19–21 October 2022 at the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS). In addition, the online format will be offered via Zoom.

Limited funding opportunities for travel and accommodation may be provided for participants attending the conference in person in Erkner. An online format via Zoom will be provided as well, for speakers who opt for this format due to Covid restrictions. Please specify your preference in this regard.

The language of the conference is English.

The hybrid conference is organized by the UrbanMetaMapping Research Consortium funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) at the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS), in collaboration with the Centre for Heritage Conservation Studies and Technologies (KDWT) in Bamberg.