Call for Papers for UXUC Vol 5 No 2 (2023)

Urban UX, a matter of democracy.   For centuries cities have been built for and by the people living in it. Paris, Lisbon, Roma, Athens developed around their historical settlement, grounded and nourished by their geographical qualities (rivers, fertile plains, hills...). That was a matter of human choices influenced by spiritual or religious purposes. For centuries some people were richer than others and both the planning of the city and the design of the major buildings were made to emphasize the power of only a few of their inhabitants. But still public spaces, facilities and houses were at human scale and done by a mixture of local know-how, technics, skills and materials.   During the XXth century and the rise (and fall?) of the modern paradigm, human scaled cities have been disfigured and assaulted by highways, parking lots, railways, stations, canals… then skyscrapers and other air conditioned malls. Housing became an industry and public space a cars heaven. Real estate companies, engineers, technicians, starchitects and technocracy stall the pen to draw our life. The experience of the city turned to hours-long daily remote commuting, traffic jams and fast food delivered by unknown Uber delivery men. Arguably, the experience of the early XXIth century megalopolis is way different than it was before the industrial and urban revolution.   So more than even, we need to seriously consider the experience a city has to offer, to its inhabitants and to all of them, starting from the life of the ones living in our remote suburbs. Then, additionally, we can include more various "users" typologies, such as the tourists that seasonally modify the vibe and tempo of our streets, squares and public spaces. Knowing about the urban experience of our people is precisely what we call Urban UX. It is about putting words on the vibe of the squares, districts and cities where we live. And yes it is a democratic matter.   As a good website needs a proper UX design (and therefore designers), our contemporary cities are so complex and multilayered/multidimensional that we need to refocus on (and from) the human perspective. Relating with community empowerment and public participation, this move we would call Urban UX, seen as a new paradigm shift, must obviously take into account the climate, environmental and social dimensions. Then our cities will be sustainably and inclusively liveable.

1 of October - Last call deadline for full papers on every journal (for issues not yet published);
Until 15 November - Conclusion of all pending reviews (we expect to review as soon as issues get populated).
15 of December - End of all pending layouts (we expect to layout as soon as issues get reviewed). 
31 of December - End of editorial year, all issues launched (we expect to publish issues during any time of the year).