The fascinating region offers many lessons for livable cities, and for resilience and recovery from disruptive periods of history
ABOVE: Beautiful Riga and Jelgava, Latvia, our host venues for the 2026 IMCL conference.
JELGAVA, LATVIA - The 2026 conference of the International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) will be held here, from 10-14, 2025. The topic is "Regenerative Architecture: Recovery and Resilience After an Age of Disruption."
Cities and towns across the globe are experiencing unprecedented new disruptions from social, political and environmental forces that are straining our ability to respond effectively. However, ours is far from the first time in history that disruptions have required new responses and new forms of resilience. There are timeless lessons as well as new strategies that cities and towns can employ to cope with stress and seize opportunities, balancing adaptive innovations with the continuity of heritage and local identity.
The country of Latvia is an excellent case in point. At the forefront of geopolitical tensions, the country has also come through enormous past disruptions, including the devastation and regeneration of its cities. As it has done so, it has sought to build on its own local identity and culture. Today that work continues as Latvian cities emerge from mid-20th century era destruction, followed by reconstruction too often shaped more by the dictates of occupiers than by the needs and desires of local citizens.
We will gather in the beautiful cities of Riga and Jelgava to examine two nearby but distinct urban contexts, and to participate in workshops to assess and propose ongoing work to recover and regenerate a more durable, more local, more resilient urban architecture. We will also examine many other parts of the world with similar challenges, as citizens and professionals strive to cope with new environmental, political and technological stresses.
As always, this IMCL conference will be is an opportunity to share the latest knowledge on effective tools and strategies to meet our pressing urban challenges. We gather in beautiful and instructive case studies, meeting with local leaders to gain first-hand knowledge on their successes and lessons learned. We also examine other case studies from around the world, as well as the latest research on urban challenges and successes.
August is an excellent time to travel in Latvia, with generally beautiful summer weather. There are excellent opportunities for side trips to other parts of Latvia, the Baltic States and Europe as a whole. Partners in the conferences (to be confirmed) include the City of Jelgava, UN-Habitat, the Congress for the New Urbanism (US), The King's Foundation (UK), the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism (UK), and several universities, as well as others to be announced.
ABOUT THE IMCL: The International Making Cities Livable conference series, a premier interdisciplinary, cross-border gathering of city leaders, researchers and practitioners, was established in 1985 by Henry Lennard, a Viennese medical sociologist, and Suzanne Croqhurst Lennard, a British architectural scholar. Our last conference in Potsdam, Germany in October 2025 included leaders from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Attendee comments included “An absolutely fantastic event, with amazing speakers and extremely well organized,” “Wonderful conference!”, “Such rich content!”, “Excellent… High professional level and warm atmosphere”, “I left brimming with ideas and contacts for a great cohort of new colleagues.”
PLEASE STAY TUNED for the Call for Abstracts and the registration portal, to be opened the week of January 5, 2026. Space is strictly limited, and registration will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. We hope to see you there!
