ISUF CONFERENCE 2007: CALL FOR PAPERS
The next conference of ISUF will be held in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 29 August—1 September, 2007, co-hosted by the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the Federal University of Ouro Preto. The theme of the conference is Urban Morphology in a Global Era. Topics on which proposals are particularly welcome include: urban morphology as a field of enquiry; urban landscapes in conservation areas; the evolution of non-Western cities; new urban forms in the twenty-first century; and traditional urban forms.
The organizers and the Council of ISUF invite participation by interested academics and professionals. Proposals of papers should be received on or before 09 February 2007. They should be prepared in the following format: name of author(s), affiliation, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, title of paper, and a 300-word abstract. They should be addressed to Professor Staël de Alvarenga Pereira Costa, Escola de Arquitetura/UFMG - Departamento de Urbanismo, Rua Paraíba 697 sala 404C, Bairro dos Funcionários, 30 130 140 – Belo Horizonte/MG, Brazil. E-mail: or . Proposers of papers will be notified by 16 March 2007 whether their proposals have been accepted.
Ouro Preto (‘Black Gold’) is Brazil’s pre-eminent eighteenth-century Gold Rush boom town and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It comprises one of the most intensive, intact sites of Baroque art and architecture in the world. Located 93 km south-east of Belo Horizonte and about 300 km north of Rio de Janeiro, it was founded in 1698. During the following century the region’s mineral wealth attracted many outstanding artists who built and decorated a rapidly growing number of impressive buildings. In 1823 Ouro Preto became an imperial city and served as the provincial capital of Minas Gerais until that function passed to Belo Horizonte in 1897. This shift permitted Ouro Preto to retain its intensely historical character, which in 1980 gained it the prestige of becoming Brazil’s first World Heritage Site. There will be excursions during the conference through the city, which is draped over wooded hills, and has splendid religious structures and public buildings and interesting vernacular neighbourhoods.
It is hoped to organize a two-day post-conference charette/workshop, in which the concepts and methods of urban morphology will be considered in the light of the evidence of Ouro Preto.
The ISUF website (www.urbanform.org) will be updated with further conference announcements.