Presentation
The management of the proposed commission follows the rules of the IGU in having an Executive, (Chair and two Deputy Chairs) and a Steering Committee (up to eight members). These have been chosen from participants with records of high quality research, with an equitable global and gender distribution, and have been elected by vote of the membership at large. In addition, we added two advisory committees to increase participation within the commission: first, the expertise of long-term members is available in a Mentors Committee, and second, a Younger Scholars Committee encourage participation and ideas from younger members. Both consist of four members, elected every four years during annual meetings. These committees normally meet the day before each annual meeting to discuss problems, procedures and new initiatives.
Activities of the commission is open to all qualified urban geographers. A new effort is made to attract members from countries that do not currently participate in our work. The new commission formalise procedures to identify voting members, such as one based on attending at least two meetings during the previous six years, in order to encourage more active participation in the commission. Every effort is made each year to publish a book of research papers, or special editions of journals based on lectures presented at the annual meeting, in order to create a wider audience for the work of the commission. The commission also develop the website, listing current members and interests, the titles of papers, and how to access them, to help those unable to attend meetings.
During each yearly conference two formal open business meetings, will be organized by the Executive and Steering Committee. This will include: an agenda and minutes that will be available in advance of the meeting; votes on specific motions if necessary, as well as a section on ‘Any Other Business’ to allow members to raise issues of interest. Specific task forces, made up of separate and representative committees, is constituted on a temporary basis to deal with major urban problems as they arise. The proposed commission follows the successful pattern of previous urban commissions by organizing annual meetings in different cities, usually lasting for three or four days, followed by two days of scientific excursions so that participants will be able to have personal experiences of local urban issues and problems. The organisation of the meeting is the responsibility of the hosts and the Executive and Steering committee. Usually one day of the meeting is set aside for papers on one of the main problem areas to focus debate, and include invited papers by experts and/or roundtables. Written proposals for hosting commissions is required, along with presentations to the business meetings so members can provide advice on the plans of any host, and, if necessary, vote on competing proposals.
