Founded in 1965, the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) has grown to become a global network of city and regional planners, creating and sharing knowledge for better cities, promoting education and planning practice, and supporting city and regional planners in all places and all fields of activity – professional practice, administration, policy making, teaching and research.

Our mission and objectives

Our mission is to mobilise professional urban and regional planners to co-implement the vision enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda by:

• creating a global network of practitioners
• fostering planning research, training, and education
• encouraging the professional exchange of knowledge
• promoting the planning profession and excellence in practice in all its forms
• developing and maintaining altruistic relations between members
• enhancing public awareness and understanding of major planning issues at the global level
• supporting and protecting planning interest and professional planners

One of the main activities of ISOCARP is the organisation of its annual World Congress which focuses on a planning theme of foremost international interest. Attended by some 350-500 delegates, ISOCARP congresses are small enough for personal interchange of ideas on a given theme, yet big enough to encompass a broad professional and international range. The congresses are open to ISOCARP Members (reduced congress fees), but our Society heartily welcomes non-members (individuals, parties or organisations). The Congresses provide a platform for establishing professional as well as personal contacts with colleagues from all around the world.

The Congress takes place in a different city every year. ISOCARP has held congresses on vital topics in the field of city and regional planning in every year since 1965. Combining a unique, triple perspective in theory, policy and practice, ISOCARP has pioneered the focus of the planning profession on issues such as regional urban planning (1966), urban regeneration (1981), planning for land and water (1998), the creative economy (2005) and low carbon cities (2009).

Past editions of ISOCARP Congresses (2012-2020):

Post-oil City: Planning for Urban Green Deals 56th ISOCARP World Planning Congress Virtual Congress 8 November 2020-4 February 2021	Beyond the Metropolis  55th ISOCARP Congress, Jakarta/Bogor, Indonesia, 9-13 September 2019	Cool Planning: Changing Climate and Our Urban Future 54th ISOCARP Congress, Bodø, Norway, 1-5 October 2018
Smart Communities 53rd ISOCARP Congress; Joint Conference ISOCARP-OAPA Portland, Oregon, USA, 24-27 October 2017	Cities we Have  vs Cities we Need 52nd ISOCARP Congress Durban, South Africa, 12-16 September 2016	Cities Save the World:  Let's Reinvent Planning 51st ISOCARP Congress Rotterdam, Netherlands, 19-23 October 2015
Urban Transformations  – Cities and Water 50th ISOCARP Congress Gdynia, Poland, 23-26 September 2014	Frontiers of Planning – Evolving and declining models of city planning practice 49th ISOCARP Congress Brisbane, Australia, 1-4 October 2013	Fast Forward: Planning in a (hyper) dynamic urban context 48th ISOCARP Congress Perm, Russia, 10-13 September 2012