RMIT University Professor Wendy Steele of the Australasian Cities Research Network is also confident that a preceding symposium in Wellington for PhD students and early career urban researchers will be the largest ever held by SOAC. 

Wellington Central’s new Green MP Tamatha Paul will be giving the opening speech at SOAC 2023 next Wednesday, after which the floodgates will be opened for presenters to deliver a staggering 250 research papers at 15 minutes apiece. These will include six papers focused on issues specific to Christchurch, five on Auckland and four on Wellington.

As well as overarching themes such as city governance, health, housing and infrastructure, researchers will be diving deep into the challenges of climate change, the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on cities and the complexities of urban life for apartment dwellers and everyone in the rental market.

The SOAC 2023 Conference follows closely on another major gathering of academics for an international conference called Re-imagining the City being hosted this week by the University of Auckland’s School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics.

To purchase tickets or to see a full programme including Zoom links and times, click here.