The conference Cities of the Future – the Future in the City. Urban Dynamics in Interdisciplinary Research: From Diagnosis to Vision (Miasta w przyszłości – przyszłość w mieście. Dynamika miejska w badaniach interdyscyplinarnych: od diagnozy do wizji) took place in Katowice on 25–26 May 2026. This annual conference, with a long-standing tradition, places the city at the centre of interdisciplinary academic debate and reflection on the future. It brings together research, practice and innovative thinking from Poland and abroad.

The programme included expert discussion panels, thematic sessions, “kaleidoscope” sessions and poster presentations. One of the six thematic sessions, “Planning and Management in Urban Space”, featured a presentation by Dr Paulina Legutko-Kobus (SGH Warsaw School of Economics). In her talk, “The City as a Space for Cross-Sectoral Cooperation for Migrants – Research Challenges”, she pointed out that the mass influx of war refugees since 2022, particularly into Polish cities, set off a wide range of parallel aid initiatives. Support was delivered at many levels, often through cooperation between different stakeholders, in a multi-actor and multi-level manner. The presentation contributed to the debate on the role of cities – as an example of the local level – in supporting migrant integration through entrepreneurship, and on multi-level governance (MLG) of migrant entrepreneurship at city level. It also addressed the “local turn” in migration governance and the development of local, and especially urban, policies in this field.

Conference organisers:

• Department of Spatial and Environmental Economics, University of Economics in Katowice

• European Regional Science Association – Polish Section (ERSA Polish Section)

Conference website: https://www.ue.katowice.pl/en/events/cities-of-the-future-the-future-in…