Title: From Smart Cities to Regenerative Intelligent Ecosystems _ Discussing Ekistics, Smartness, Regeneration, Resilient, Crisis, and the Future of the Ecumenopolis
Chair:
Prof. Maro Sinou
Department of Interior Architecture
University of West Attica, Greece
Assoc. Prof. Nikolas Patsavos
CRISIS Research Lab, Department of Architecture,
University of Ioannina, Greece
Abstract/Description:
This session explores the transition from traditional smart city paradigms and machine-age urban systems toward regenerative intelligent ecosystems, approached not as static technological models but as open, evolving, and adaptive processes. Regeneration is positioned as the central organizing principle of the session: a broad and inclusive framework capable of connecting different scales, disciplines, and forms of practice, while actively supporting cities that seek to restore social well-being, environmental balance, and spatial resilience.
Moving beyond the logic of simple efficiency, regenerative intelligent ecosystems are understood as dynamic and interdependent systems shaped by uncertainty, transformation, and conditions of crisis. Within this perspective, urban intelligence is not defined solely by optimization or technological performance, but by the capacity to interpret complexity, adapt over time, and mobilize collective action. Emphasis is placed on resilience, adaptability, and community participation, alongside the technological, spatial, and institutional enablers—such as artificial intelligence, distributed sensing, ecological design strategies, circular resource flows, and participatory governance models—that facilitate regenerative transitions.
Within this broader framework, the session selectively draws on concepts from urban systems thinking and the ekistic tradition (Ekistics), as articulated by Constantinos Doxiadis, treating them as analytical references rather than dominant theoretical frameworks. The city is approached as a dynamic system of human settlements in continuous evolution, while crisis is understood not as a temporary dysfunction but as a structural and analytical condition that reveals interdependencies between society, space, and infrastructure. From this perspective, the concept of the Ecumenopolis is revisited not as a predetermined future, but as an analytical and future-oriented horizon for understanding planetary urban interconnectedness, uneven vulnerability, and the need for collective, regenerative responses across multiple scales.
The session also revisits Doxiadis’ explicit engagement with crisis as an analytical and operational condition, particularly his methodological scheme of problem – exegesis – need for action. This structure, developed to bridge diagnosis and intervention, resonates strongly with contemporary crisis research, where urban intelligence is measured not by optimization alone, but by the capacity to interpret complexity, anticipate rupture, and mobilize collective response.
The session foregrounds the role of contemporary tools and practices—such as AI-driven analysis, spatial and geoinformatics approaches, regenerative and ecological design strategies, adaptive reuse, and everyday spatial practices—in shaping regenerative approaches across architecture, interior architecture, urban design, and related fields. Particular emphasis is placed on inclusivity and interdisciplinarity, enabling contributions from researchers and practitioners in architecture, interior architecture, design, urban studies, technology, art, and policymaking.
Addressed to researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers, the session frames regeneration not as a closed model but as an evolving field of inquiry and action. It proposes an integrative framework in which ekistic theory, crisis analysis, and contemporary technologies converge, offering pathways for action in an increasingly interconnected and fragile urban world.
The session invites critical perspectives, research-based contributions, and case studies that explore how regenerative thinking can support adaptive and “learning” environments, capable of responding creatively to instability, crisis, and the ongoing transformations of the contemporary urban world. Regenerative intelligent ecosystems are thus framed not as autonomous technological constructs, but as human-centered, crisis-aware settlement systems, capable of learning, adapting, and restoring social and environmental balance across scales.
The session invites papers which explore, but which are not limited to, the following themes:
● Urban Sustainability and Participatory Practices
● Sustainable Buildings and Interior Design
● Objects, Products, and Graphic Design for Circularity
● Traditional and Vernacular Approaches to Sustainable Design
● Contemporary Green Practices and Standards
● Regenerative Futures and Ecological Restoration
● Evolution of Urban Innovation
● AI-Driven Ecosystem Thinking
● Regenerative Design Principles
● Nature-based solutions, and ecological restoration into urban planning.
● Energy and Infrastructure Transformation
● Social Regeneration & Equity
● Inclusive participation, community co-creation
● Metrics Beyond Efficiency
● Health and well being
● Case Studies & Emerging Practices
● Art in urban space
● Ekistics and Urban Crisis
Crisis as a structuring condition of human settlements
● Ecumenopolis as Analytical and Future Framework
Planetary urbanization, foresight, and global interdependence
● Problem – Exegesis – Need for Action
Crisis diagnosis, interpretation, and operational urban responses
● Housing and the Ecumenopolis
Housing as infrastructure, social right, and spatial system
● Urban Sustainability under Conditions of Instability
Environmental risk, demographic pressure, and spatial vulnerability
● Participation, Governance, and Multi-Scalar Settlements
Co-creation and decision-making across ekistic scales
● Regenerative Architecture and Adaptive Reuse
Built environments as long-term settlement resources
● Dynamic Analysis and Urban Systems Modeling
Time-based and scenario-driven approaches to urban change
● Spatial Analysis and Geoinformatics
Mapping, sensing, and interpreting complex urban territories
● AI, Data, and Ekistic Intelligence
Human-centered computational tools for crisis-aware planning
● Energy, Infrastructure, and Network Fragility
Critical systems under stress in the global city
● Social Regeneration, Inequality, and Housing Justice
Health, well-being, and access within the ecumenopolis
● Nature-Based Solutions and Ecological Repair
Regeneration across settlement and landscape systems
● Art, Culture, and Urban Futures
Critical imaginaries and representations of crisis and regeneration
● Critical Case Studies and Emerging Practices
Projects that reinterpret ekistic thinking in contemporary contexts