How can the complexity and challenges of physical territorial reconstruction (after disasters) across diverse disciplines, stakeholders and governance be organised and synthesised?
Do current debates and practices on physical territorial reconstruction (i.e. urban and rural built environments after destruction by "natural" disasters, warfare, conflict or industrial accidents) reflect the scope required to address the whole range of complex issues? Does the inherent complexity of the task cause the fragmentation of scholarship and knowledge into an array of disciplines and issues that must be partial in order to remain governable? Is there a need for a theory capable of composing and giving operational coherence and strength to separate efforts? Is there value in rethinking how knowledge can be managed?
Aims and scope
The aim of this special issue is to probe the socio-technical, conceptual and organisational processes underlying physical reconstruction after disasters. The focus is on the integration of diverse knowledge domains in planning processes concerned with the reconstruction of damaged or destroyed urban and rural territories. Whilst recognizing the wealth of analyses and experiences focusing on distinct aspects of physical reconstruction, this special issue will explore the ability of different conceptual dimensions to be brought to inform one another, within a systemic view of the entire endeavour. By emphasizing disciplinary and methodological differences between contiguous efforts that might be better functionally connected, the special issue seeks to expose the complexity of physical rebuilding and social recovery processes whilst highlighting areas, gaps or links in need of scholarly or specialist attention.
This special issue has five strategic objectives: 1. to elucidate the epistemological and socio-technical complexity of reconstruction efforts 2. to explore the political dimensions of dealing with the same problem at different scales 3. to address the practical challenges of exploiting multi-disciplinarity within a landscape defined by advanced specialisation and knowledge fragmentation 4. to reflect on the transferability of lessons typically characterised by intrinsically idiosyncratic experiences 5. to discuss the role of theory in reconstruction studies and practice, as well as its relationship with data collation.
Timeline
Deadline for abstract submission
24 March 2025 - noon (GMT)
Full papers due
05 September 2025
NB: authors can submit sooner if they wish
Referees’ & editors' comments to authors
16 January 2026
Final version of papers
06 March 2026
Publication of special issue
June 2026
NB: papers are published as soon as they are accepted
Briefing note for contributors
We welcome contributions from the research community in both the Global North and Global South.
You are invited to submit an abstract for this special issue. Please send a 500 word (maximum) abstract to editor Richard Lorch richard@rlorch.net by 24 March 2025 (noon GMT). Your submission must include these 3 items:
the author's and all co-author's names, institutional & departmental affiliations and contact details, email addresses
the question(s) or topic(s) in this Call for Papers that the abstract and intended paper address
the abstract (500 words maximum) defining the research question(s), scope, methods and results
Abstracts will be reviewed by the editors to ensure a varied, yet integrated selection of papers around the topic. Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit a full paper (6000-7500 words), which undergoes a double-blind review process.
Buildings & Cities is an international, open access, double-blind peer-reviewed research journal. Its focus is the interactions between buildings, neighbourhoods and cities by understanding their supporting social, economic and environmental systems. More information can be found online: & published papers are found here:
