Masterplanning the future: modernism: East, West & across the world

These proceedings document the work of a wide range of researchers, academics and experts from across the world, each presenting at the Masterplanning the Future international conference held in China on October 18th and 19th 2012.

These various essays from 15 different universities across the world, outline a variety of intellectual explorations relating to historical and contemporary situations, discussions and case studies. As a body of work, and as a contribution to open inquiry, this is less an examination of how direct ‘conclusions’ or ‘lessons’ can be learned from different historical periods and social circumstances, but hopefully helpfully, the exchange of ideas and experiences facilitated by the Masterplanning the Future conference may help to stimulate a better understanding of architecture, contemporary and traditional urbanism; fostering critical awareness and challenging perceptions. Within a rapidly urbanizing world, the contributors look variously at how advocacy, criticism or rejection of modern design – as well as Modernist idealism – can go some way to helping us understand the global urban condition.