WORLD TOWN PLANNING DAY

World Town Planning Day (WTPD) is an international day celebrating the accomplishments of planners and their contributions to their communities. World Town Planning Day was initiated in 1949 by the late Professor Carlos Maria della Paolera of the University of Buenos Aires to advance public and professional interest in planning, both locally and abroad. In the meantime the World Town Planning Day is celebrated in 30 countries and four continents each on November 8. It is a special day to give special recognition to the ideals of community planning which bring professional planners and the general public together. World Town Planning Day presents an opportunity to look at planning from a global perspective.

Why Celebrate World Town Planning Day?

• To draw attention to the aims, objectives, and progress of urban and regional planning around the globe.
• To highlight the valuable contributions sound planning has made to the quality of global human settlements and their environment.
• To give worldwide coverage to the ideals of urban and regional planning not only within the profession but also among the general public. 

Canadian Celebration of World Town Planning Day: November 8, 2016

The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) works on behalf of over 6,300 planning professionals nationally, and has served as the voice of Canada’s planning community since 1919.  Their members work in both the public service and the private sector, across fields such as land use planning, environmental resource management, land development, heritage conservation, social planning, transportation planning, and economic development.

CIP supports World Town Planning Day as an opportunity to promote better understanding and awareness of Canadian planners and planning to local communities and all levels of government. CIP is an organizer of the World Town Planning Day Online Conference. Established in 2009, the online conference is a not-for-profit event that explores a single theme through the perspective of planners around the globe. CIP invites planners to celebrate the value and contributions of planning and planners in their community.

• Share news of local activities with World Town Planning Day participants from around the world, distribute World Town Planning Day messages to town councils and government bodies etc.

Royal Town Planning Institute International Events;

Established in 2009, the online conference was started by a group of planning professionals from around the world that wanted to create an international celebration for World Town Planning Day. Hosting an online conference meant that it could be shared with planners from across the globe in a cost-efficient manner. The RTPI is promoting WTPD2016 throughout the day on Twitter using its @RTPIPlanners and @internatRTPI accounts.The annual online global conference is being broadcast live on Twitter via @WTPDonlineConf.

• Themes of the conference include housing, sustainable development, healthy communities and economic development.
• Sessions will discuss local responses to climate change, planning reform in Ireland, developing flood-prone areas and urban resilience.

ISOCRAP is an International Society of Cities and Regional Planners, established in 1965, a global association of experienced professionals and bringing together recognized a highly- qualified planners from more than 80 countries which has always promoted the celebration of World Town Planning Day. ISOCARP Members often take an active role in the organisation of an event in their country.

Brasil: Celebration of the Day of Urbanism. Flavio Malta will celebrate with his students at the University of Taubaté, São Paulo. He will inform his students about ISOCARP.

Kenya: The Town and County Planners Association of Kenya (TCPAK), Kenya ISOCARP  members and the ISOCARP Nairobi Liaison office are joining together to mark  World Town Planning Day 2016. There will be the Town and County Planning and Development Conference, 8-10 Nov 2016, Reef Hotel, Nyali Mombasa. The conference will also mark the World Town Planning Day, and Town Awards for Excellence 2016.

It is planned to have a special supplement in the Standard newspaper on 8/9 Nov 2016.

Greece: World Town Planning Day will be celebrated by a speech which will be given by the Bureau and Deputy Bureau members of the Greek National Delegation, to the students of the Department of Spatial Planning and Regional Development in the School of Engineering of the university of Thessaly. In addition, the Greek ND will participate in a colloquium dealing with the topic “Participatory Democracy in Spatial Planning”, organized  by the Greek Planners Association (GPA) on 8 November in Athens.

Iraq:

Workshop on “The Future of Urban Planning in Iraq,” where a leading urban planner will present a paper on the subject to be followed by an open discussion.

The workshop is under the patronage of the Urban and Regional Planning Center for post graduate studies at the University of Baghdad. An introduction of ISOCARP will be given to the audience.

A Post Graduate stage celebration in Al Nahrain University- College of Engineering – Architectural Department- for the first time in Iraq – has the title “If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places.” 

 INDIA: The Institute of Town Planners, India, owes its origin to a small group of Town Planners of Delhi, celebrate World Town Planning Day by organizing a Panel discussion on “Future of Indian Cities” and poster competition of students of school on the themes of “Sustainable Cities”.