2026 ARL International Summer School on Urban Infrastructures in Amsterdam

About

In cooperation with the Regional Studies Association (RSA) the ARL invites applications for the ARL International Summer School 2026, on “New perspectives on Urban Infrastructures.” The Summer School will take place from 8 to 10 July 2026 at the University of Amsterdam.

Urban and regional studies have experienced an infrastructural turn, broadening the understanding of infrastructure beyond technical artefacts such as pipes, cables or roads. Increasingly, infrastructures are conceptualised as socio-political, ecological and relational arrangements, encompassing nature, digital systems, labour and care practices. These developments raise new conceptual and methodological challenges for research.

The Summer School provides an international platform to explore and critically discuss these emerging perspectives on urban infrastructures. It is aimed at PhD candidates working in human geography, urban and regional planning, or related social science disciplines. Applications are welcome from researchers conducting empirical work in both the Global North and the Global South.

Contributions may address, among others, the following themes:

multiple temporalities and rhythms of infrastructure configurations,
the politics and governance of infrastructuring, and
co-creating alternative infrastructural systems and futures.
Participants will present their research and receive individual feedback from an international group of academic mentors. The programme will be complemented by a keynote lecture, a field trip and social activities.

The ARL covers travel and accommodation costs for all participants. No participation fee will be charged.

Application deadline: 15 February 2026

Course leader

ARL-Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association, University of Amsterdam, RSA Europe, University of Amsterdam

Target group

The Summer School is open to all PhD students whose work addresses issues related to urban studies, sustainability, political sciences, human geography, and related fields. It is particularly aimed at 2nd and 3rd year candidates

Course aim

Selected participants are expected to submit an academic text (max. 7000 words) before the summer school. The text should synthesize the main aspects of the presentation that you are expected to give during the Summer School. As academic institutions, the organizers encourage academic publications and aim to compile a special issue in an international peer-reviewed journal on the theme of the summer school. Hence,
participants are asked to develop afterwards their academic texts into an academic journal paper