Welcome from President of 2021 ICAPPS
Dear Professors, Researchers, and Delegates from CPIJ, KPA, VUPDA, and Participants from other countries,
Welcome to the 2021 ICAPPS in Taiwan! 歡迎您!
On behalf of the Taiwan Institute of Urban Planning (TIUP), I sincerely welcome you to participate in the online meeting of the 2021 International Conference of Asia-Pacific Planning Societies (2021 ICAPPS), which will be hosted on the 21st– 22nd, August 2021 by the Department of Urban Planning, National Cheng Kung University (UP_NCKU), located in Tainan, Taiwan. ICAPPS is an annual meeting of urban planners and researchers from Asia-Pacific Planning Societies, including the Taiwan Institute of Urban Planning (TIUP), The City Planning Institute of Japan (CPIJ), the Korea Planning Association (KPA), and the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association (VUPDA).
It has been two years since our last gathering in Incheon, Korea, at the 2019 ICAPPS meeting. The unexpected outbreak of COVID-19 has seriously interfered with global interactivities, and hence has affected not only economic development, but also normal social life. The 2020 ICAPPS was then put off to 2021. We understand that the post-pandemic era will represent challenging times for every country. Notwithstanding, without the tremendous and kind support from the alliances of CPIJ, KPA and VUPDA, the 2021 ICAPPS will not be able to meet its mission of encouraging and facilitating researchers, planners, and related professionals to share their insights, particularly in recovering our cities and normal life ‘smartly’ and ‘inclusively.’
The theme of the 2021 ICAPPS is “Technology, Urbanity and Smart Living.” We plan to review and rethink smart cities as now involving new policies promoting mobility or transfer, diverse applications and practices of planning or governing this “smart urbanism,” and the influences and impacts (or side-effects) of our urban lives and urbanity. Especially during the COVID-19 post-pandemic era, the world will be changing dramatically and the way that people eat, move, shop, and live will never be the same. Yet, life finds its own way!
With a virtual conference, the 2021 ICAPPS seeks to facilitate the flourishing of research, planning, and related professional and academic careers through the respectful, inclusive, and equitable dialogue and treatment of others, and by sharing professional information, knowledge, pressing challenges, and solutions. We have received more than 140 papers to be presented in this conference. The discussion is expected to be very rich and multi-dimensional. Many thanks for the kind and continued support from the CPIJ, KPA and VUPDA. We wish to share all participants’ interesting research and profound insights.
I also would like to take this opportunity to give my deepest thanks to several people who have made great contributions to organize this event. That includes the chairpersons of the International Cooperation Team of TIUP, Professor Wen-I Lin and Professor Shih-Liang Chan, the department chair of the Department of Urban Planning at National Cheng Kung University, Professor Tzu-Yuan Stessa Chao, and the hard-working team lead by our Professor Oliver F. Shyr. Thank you all for the great effort.
Once again, we are sincerely expecting your active participation and look forward to seeing everyone online!
Yen-Jong Chen 陳彥仲, Ph.D.
中華民國都市計劃學會 理事長
President and Professor
Taiwan Institute of Urban Planning
National Cheng Kung University
Taiwan ROC
