APERAU - Association for the Promotion of Education and Research of Architecture and Urbanism brings together higher education institutions of the Francophone world. The International APERAU promotes scientific research in the urban planning and development, in all its forms. APERAU is a university network member of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie.
AESOP was established in 1987 in Belgium as an international association with scientific, artistic and educational purposes and operates according to its Charter.
With over 150 members, AESOP is the only representation of planning schools of Europe. Given this unique position, AESOP strengthens its profile as a professional body. AESOP mobilizes its resources, taking a leading role and entering its expertise into ongoing debates and initiatives regarding planning education and planning qualifications of future professionals. AESOP promotes its agenda with professional bodies, politicians and all other key stakeholders in spatial and urban development and management across Europe.
The French and British Planning Studies Group was founded in 1998, initially by British academics who had undertaken research in France. Very soon after its foundation it developed into a dialogue between French and British academics undertaking research in the other country, which allowed in-depth discussion based on the very extensive knowledge of its members. In the first instance the Group had no other objective than to provide what proved to be an invaluable meeting point for the exchange of ideas at its biannual meetings. From these discussions, however, arose the possibility of joint publications, and the Group, led by Philip Booth, has been instrumental in producing two books, both of which have appeared in both English and French, and a special edition of Town Planning Review on European Capitals of Culture (January 2011). In the second of the two books, Spatial Planning Systems of Britain and France (Booth et al. 2007) each chapter was co-authored by a French and British member of the Group. More recently further to two seminars in 2012-2013, a special issue on Rail and Urban Development was published in Town Planning Review (2014, 85/2).
The group currently gathers more than 50 members, mostly from Britain and France. A dedicated steering group, composed of Lauren Andres (University of Birmingham), Elsa Vivant (Université Paris-Est), Florine Ballif (Université Paris-Est), Philip Booth (University of Sheffield), Mike Devereux (University of the West of England), Olivier Sykes (University of Liverpool), is responsible for the management of the group. Since 2005 it has been formally constituted as a sub-group of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) and will shortly have a web-page on the new AESOP site. This has enabled the Group to tap into a larger European audience and it has had a presence at the annual AESOP congresses since 2004.
CRENAU laboratory - "Centre de Recherche Architectures Urbanités Nantais" - is the result of the merging of two laboratories of Nantes School of Architecture:
CERMA, founded in 1971 was specialized in the methodological and numerical approaches of the built environment (including climate and energy issues) and
LAUA, founded in 1991, which worked in socio-ethnographic approaches for urban factory and forms of urbanity.
CRENAU laboratory is the Nantes team of UMR 1563 CNRS / MCC / ECN "Ambiances Architectures Urbanités" with CRESSON laboratory, at the National School of Architecture of Grenoble since 2015.
Researchers work on housing, living environment and urban public spaces. They spread a wide range of competences in architecture, urban planning, physical sciences, computer graphics, sociology, anthropology, history, arts.
CRENAU and CRESSON lead the International Ambiances Network "Ambiances.net" , which aims at structuring and developing the research field of architectural and urban ambiances, with twenty international team members (Germany, Brazil, Canada, United States, ...).
CRENAU is involved in a partnership with the Institute for Research on Urban Sciences and Techniques, IRSTV -,founded by CNRS, which leads an interdisciplinary research in the field of urban environment.
CRENAU is involved in research master programmes of Nantes School of architecture and particulary in the speciality "Perceptible atmosphere and urban forms" of the master of Sciences and Techniques on Urban Environment, which relies on researchers and scientific and research facilities of CRENAU.
L'objectif fondamental de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Ange-Guépin est d'aider la recherche nantaise en sciences de l'homme et de la société à se structurer selon une dimension particulière, celle de l'interdisciplinarité, et par rapport à une thématique originale qui fonde son identité : « le lien social ».
La MSH Ange-Guépin ne regroupe pas directement des équipes mais héberge et accompagne des projets de recherche agréés par son conseil scientifique, émanant des chercheurs et enseignants chercheurs des équipes qui lui sont associées.
Elle met à leur disposition un ensemble de services destinés à accompagner leurs activités de recherche et assurer la valorisation de leurs travaux.
Elle leur offre la possibilité d'intégrer des réseaux plus larges, nationaux et internationaux et elle contribue à leur mise en relation avec le tissu économique et social, par l'intermédiaire de ses membres et, de façon plus générale, par les manifestations ouvertes qu'elle organise.
