In a globalized world where everything rapidly changes and transforms young urbanists, as well as more experienced professionals have to find their way into the future. Projects have become more complex and Urbanism has become a multidisciplinary practice.  Over the last twenty years, we see a trend in which market’s influence on spatial and urban planning has increased. Commercial businesses as IKEA, Google and Apple have a great impact on our lifestyles. The way in which real estate is continuously embracing lifestyle, by developing and selling high-end environments, is a domain that has to be explored. This trend has big influences on our daily routines and seems to design lifestyles for people. At the same time big companies promote possibilities for people to contribute, as a reaction on the desire of people to be involved in design processes. In that context, Urbanism Week offers a perspective towards the future by pointing out the new shaping role of urbanists.

Students in the field of urbanism have to be able to successfully and innovatively combine the different disciplines and aspects. Thus, new skills have to be combined together with existing or new knowledge, trends and practices in order to tackle current and future challenges. Through workshops related to different themes the Urbanism Week also tries to provide answers to questions like “what are the first steps after graduation?”, “what are job possibilities and how to look for them?” and “what should be the skills of an urbanist today?”. The Urbanism Week of 2013 is not seeking for definite answers, but will be an attempt to combine existing knowledge and experience together with the future needs for the best possible equipment of the future urbanist.

Thus, 2013 Urbanism Week has a twofold aim. On the one hand, it tries to expose, examine and even predict the new trends, practices, roles and issues, which will influence the discipline. On the other hand, Urbanism Week is trying to be a link between students and the professional field. By a four- day program new ways of approaching different infrastructure aspects, new practices dealing with the globalized world, including new urban structures and new urban players are going to be designated. The future of urbanism has to be found in order to demonstrate the importance of our existence to the society.