The Urban Surfaces Research Network is hosting a series of online and in-person workshops in 2026. Calls for participation are now open and can be accessed below. Please read the calls carefully and only apply if your work genuinely engages with surfaces – theoretically, methodologically, creatively, or through other types of practice.
Online workshops
These are part of an Urban Studies Foundation Seminar Series Award for the project “Walls speak. Are you listening? A research agenda for urban surfaces”. The first workshop in the series took place in Melbourne, Australia, on 3-4 December 2025.
We are also inviting Expressions of Interest to participate in one of our final three editions of our online workshops.
- 21 April 2026 (7am San Francisco / 10am NYC / 4pm London)
- 8 September 2026 (8am London / 3pm Singapore/ 5pm Melbourne)
- 17 November 2026 (7am London / 3pm Singapore/ 6pm Melbourne)
The online workshop commitment is for two hours and there is no need to prepare a paper – instead, we ask for a 5-7 minute response to the following prompts:
- DEFINE: How do you define urban surfaces in your field or practice?
Offer a definition that is specific to your disciplinary or professional lens. What constitutes a surface, and what is its role or significance in your work? - INTERVENE: If you could change one thing about how urban surfaces are designed, valued, maintained, or governed—what would it be?
Use one specific example to describe a point of friction or opportunity. What types of surface values— social, ecological, economic, aesthetic, or otherwise—is your example based on? - CHALLENGE: What is a common misconception about urban surfaces that frustrates or limits your work?
Debunk a myth, assumption, or oversimplification—whether in public discourse, policy, or practice—and illustrate your point with an example.
Each workshop will result in an open-access booklet available online and in print. Previous booklets from workshops 1-6 have been hugely successful with a combined 5,300 views and 1,200 downloads as of mid January 2026. They are available here.
Submit an expression of interest to participate in our online workshops here. You will be able to choose your preferred date in the form.
EOI closing date for all online workshops: 6 March 2026.
Participants notified by 20 March 2026.