Co-Producing and Co-Inhabiting Social Infrastructure in Creative and Transformative Ways: New Forms, Roles, Challenges, and Opportunities

CCLab is pleased to announce a forthcoming Special Issue titled:
“Co-Producing and Co-Inhabiting Social Infrastructure in Creative and Transformative Ways: New Forms, Roles, Challenges, and Opportunities.”
Guest edited by Patricia Aelbrecht, Ceren Sezer, Karien Dekker, and Karina Landman, this Special Issue brings together interdisciplinary perspectives on one of the most pressing themes in contemporary urban debates: social infrastructure.
In the face of climate change, increasing inequalities, and rapid digital transformation, social infrastructure has become central to how we understand resilience, inclusion, and social cohesion. Yet, its spatial forms, governance models, and creative potential remain underexplored.
This Special Issue invites contributions that critically examine how social infrastructure is co-produced, co-inhabited, and reimagined across diverse contexts—urban, suburban, and rural. We welcome theoretical, empirical, and practice-based papers that explore:
•⁠ ⁠Creative and collaborative approaches to designing and governing social infrastructure
•⁠ ⁠Emerging and hybrid spatial forms—from community hubs to digitally mediated platforms
•⁠ ⁠Social infrastructure as a driver of social and environmental innovation
•⁠ ⁠Comparative and global perspectives on inclusive and transformative practices
We particularly encourage contributions from urban design, planning, geography, architecture, landscape architecture, and related fields that engage with the transformative and spatial dimensions of social infrastructure.
The Special Issue will build on contributions from the Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference 2025 and 2026, alongside an open call for papers.
Timeline highlights:
•⁠ ⁠Call for papers: September–October 2026
•⁠ ⁠Full paper submissions: Early 2027
PLEASE VISIT: https://link.springer.com/journal/41289