The Call for Papers for the 2020 Annual Conference of 

the Asian Association for Public Administration (AAPA)

Today, with an urbanization rate of 50% in Asia, more and more people will be living in urban areas. The rapid urbanization has led to many problems: poverty, income disparity, energy consumption, traffic congestion, and environmental pollution and so forth. The concept of sustainable development plays an essential role in addressing these challenges by offering a conceptual framework of promoting prosperity and justice to achieve a more sustainable future. Urban governance is critical for achieving sustainable development goals. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to explore how sustainable development can be promoted. This conference also focuses on the good and best practices of urban governance across cities as well as counties, which may be applicable to other regions. We need to learn from each other by exchanging ideas, sharing best practices, and exploring new theories around the world. The theme of this year’s conference is:

“Towards Sustainable Urban Governance in Asia: New Theory and Innovative Practice”

We are interested in soliciting proposals focusing on comparative studies to facilitate interdisciplinary and cross-country dialogue and enrich practice on urban governance in China and other Asian countries. We invite scholars, researchers, policymakers, professionals, and other stakeholders to share their research and best practice on sustainable urban governance and yield practical solutions to challenges facing Asian urban areas.

The submitted papers are suggested to focus on one of the following sub-themes:

l  New theoretical development on sustainable urban governance

l  Comparative studies on mega-city governance models

l  Application of sustainable concept to urban governance

l  The use of new technologies to reshape urban governance

l  Inter-jurisdictional and regional collaboration

l  Innovative modes of urban service delivery

l  Cross-sectoral collaboration to address urban challenges

l  Financial suitability in urban governments

l  Governing inclusive and equitable cities

l  Public policy innovations towards sustainable development

l  Aligning urban governance interventions and innovations to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 2020 AAPA Annual Conference will be jointly hosted by the Asian Association for Public Administration (AAPA) and China Institute for Urban Governance, School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University in collaboration with The China-America Association for Public Affairs (CAAPA). 

The Conference will be held at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Xuhui Campus, Shanghai, China from May 28th to 29th, 2020.