Call for Papers: Heritage and Metropolis

How might we study and understand metropolises and heritage as not just things, but forces for, and processes of, change? How might these two dynamics intersect with and model one another? 

Metropolitan cities are well understood to be in the course of constant change: cities expand, and swallow up other ones; new connections are formed; new consciousnesses come into being. The city’s edges push ever outward into the suburbs or the hinterland. 
Heritage, on the other hand, certainly in the guide of preservation is often constructed as resistance to change; and yet is not static: conceptions of what is heritage (or not) continually shift, producing new campaigns for preservation or destruction. 
In no part of the metropolis is this shifting nature of both the city and heritage more evident than on their edges : the part of the city where buildings and places seem to be at their most ephemeral, in which buildings and places are produced and destroyed rapidly, and often seemingly without care, as if there was no heritage there at all. 

This conference engages with these edges – of both city and heritage – in order to study them together and to understand the ways in which their dynamic and endless processes of change intersect, asking, most simply : how does metropolitan development affect heritage, and conversely, how do developing notions of heritage affect metropolitan development? 

Organisation: Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, France, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, University of Edinburgh, UK 

Topics 
We invite proposals for papers that consider: 
- What opportunities or risks does this advance present for heritage practices and places? 
- How does the heritage of the urban peripheries model their development and metropolisation? 
- How might an understanding of metropolisation – the process of becoming a metropolis – help us produce new conceptualisations of heritage? 
- What is the role of stakeholders (local elected officials, associations, institutions and administrations, residents, activists, etc.) in recognising and preserving the heritage of the peripheries in a context of metropolisation? 
- How are different types of heritage (industry, transport, gardens, housing, undeveloped spaces, etc.) included in the metropolitan process? Are some categories more vulnerable than others? 
- What are the challenges associated with preserving ‘green’ heritage (urban agriculture, allotments, etc.) in the context of metropolitan development? 
- What are the challenges and opportunities associated with recognising intangible heritage in metropolitan suburbs? 
- How do social struggles contribute to heritage preservation? 
- What role does tourism play in the recognition of heritage in metropolitan peripheries? 

Context 
This symposium forms the culmination of the JPICH- funded ‘Cultural Heritage of the Metropolitan Peripheries’ 
(CUMET) which from 2023 to 2026 sought to capture joint developments in Paris, Madrid and Edinburgh. CUMET has produced an observatory of urban and metropolitan heritage, which will be presented during the conference. 
This conference also continues the work of an Una Europa funded project, CUTE which has produced a Manifesto 
for the Heritage of Urban Peripheries. 

Call for papers 
The conference is aimed at researchers interested in the relationship between heritage and the metropolis, between heritage preservation and urbanisation, in different geographical contexts. We want to compare situations observed in the North and South, in formerly industrialised and non-industrialised regions, in very active metropolises and others in decline. 
We hope to bring together researchers from different disciplines interested in the relationship between heritage and the metropolis for two days of debate. 
Proposals for papers (500 words) must be accompanied by a biographical note (200 words). They must be submitted to jpi-cumet@univ-paris1.fr 

Dates 
Submission of proposals: 15 October 2025 
Notification to authors: 15 November 2025 

Publication 
Selected papers (double review) will be included in a book and a special issue of a journal (information to follow). 

Venue 
The conference will take place at the MSH Paris Nord, 20 Av. George Sand, 93210 Saint-Denis. 

Organisation Committee 
Hector Aliaga, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Suzy Fitzpatrick, University of Edinburgh Maria Garcia Hernandez, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Maïa Ghattas, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne Maria Gravari-Barbas, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne Edward Hollis, University of Edinburgh Ruxandra Stoica, University of Edinburgh 

Scientific Committee 
Thiago Allis, University São Paulo Magdalena Banaszkiewicz, Jagellonian University Krakow Patrizia Battilani, Università di Bologna Linda Boukhris, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne Tim Freytag, University of Freiburg Juan Martín Fernández, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Jesus Gonzalez Perez, Universidad de las Islas Baleares Jonny Gardiner, University of Edinburgh (tbc) Sébastien Jacquot,Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne Johannes Novy, Westminster University Davide Ponzini, Politecnico di Milano Juan Carlos Revilla, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Penny Travlou, University of Edinburgh Richard Williams, University of Edinburgh Ana Yáñez, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Chaozhi Zang, Fudan University