6th Annual CASNiG Conference on “RE-Making the City: Urbanization with its Opportunities and Challenges in Central Asia.”

From June 8 to 10, 2025, Bishkek hosted the 6th Annual CASNiG Conference under the theme “RE-Making the City: Urbanization with its Opportunities and Challenges in Central Asia.” The event brought together researchers, urban practitioners, and students to reflect on the ongoing transformations of Central Asian cities, focusing on issues such as governance, inequality, cultural identity, and sustainability.

The conference was co-organized by the International and Comparative Politics Department at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) and the French Institute for Central Asian Studies (IFEAC), in collaboration with the Institute of Geography, Augsburg University. It was led by a team of scholars and organizers: Görkem Atsungur (AUCA), Paulina Simkin (Augsburg University), Irène Mestre (IFEAC) and Buğra Güngör (AUCA).

The three-day program combined academic panels, hands-on workshops, and open discussions, offering a unique platform to explore how cities in Central Asia are being reimagined, contested, and reshaped in the face of global and local pressures.

Day I – June 8, 2025 | Tactical Urbanism in Action

Location: French Institute for Central Asian Studies (IFEAC), Bishkek
Peshcom Workshop led by Altynai Nogoibaeva and Rada Valentina kyzy, focused on tactical urban interventions in Bishkek.

Day II – June 9, 2025 | Urban Politics, Inequalities, and Cultural Narratives

Location: Ololo Bishkek, Erkindik Boulevard

Keynote Lecture:
Dr. Emil Nasritdinov (American University of Central Asia) delivered an inspiring keynote titled “Nomadic Urbanism,” moderated by Dr. Görkem Atsungur (American University of Central Asia).

Session I – Urban Politics and Governance
Chaired by Dr. Beril Ocaklı (University of Vienna), this session explored urban governance in Kazakhstan and Central Asia:

• Dilda Kulmagambetova Ramazan (Sorbonne University, Eur’ORBEM / CNRS-IFEAC), “Towards the Hostile City: Almaty and the Limits of Citizen Agency”
• Bakhytkul Tokbergenova (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) and Dr. Serik Beimenbetov (Kazakh-German University), “The Contested Power of Genplan: Growth Machine and City Building in Almaty, Kazakhstan”
• Dr. Adrien Houguet (Webster University in Tashkent, IFEAC), “French and German Cultural Institutes with the Urban Cultural Landscapes in Central Asia: Between Soft Power and Local Frameworks”

Session II – Political Epistemology of Infrastructure
Moderated by Egor Muleev and Dr. Wladimir Sgibnev (Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography).

Session III – Social Segregation and Inequalities
Chaired by Paulina Simkin (Institute of Geography, Augsburg University), this panel highlighted emerging socio-spatial divides:

• Dr. Lucia Direnberger (CNRS, French Institute for Central Asian Studies) & Dr. Negar Elodie Behzadi (University of Bristol), “Social and Spatial Mobilities in late Soviet Period in Tajikistan. Cities and Women’s Elite Trajectories”
• Marina Fedorovsky (University of Geneva), “From Soviet Blocks to Elite Housing: New Urban Aspirations and Socio-spatial Divides in Bishkek”
• Kamil Rakhimbekov (International IT University), “Field Methods and Program Evaluation in the Study of Social Protection Services for the Population in Temporary Residence – Case of Organization for Homeless People in Almaty”
• Dr. Rune Steenberg (Palacky University Olomouc and American University of Central Asia), “Kashgar’s Colonised Ethnospace. Before and After 2017”

Day III – June 10, 2025 | Environmental and Identity Dimensions

Location: American University of Central Asia (AUCA), Bishkek

Session IV – Urban Environment and Climate Change
Chaired by Dr. Irène Mestre (French Institute for Central Asian Studies), this session focused on ecological and sustainable urban development:

• Chynarkan Saparova, Nazgul Bazarbaeva, and Dr. Madina Junussova (University of Central Asia), “The Role of Community Engagement in Nature-Based Solutions: Insights from the Naryn Urban Resilience Programme”
• Anipa Almazbek kyzy (American University of Central Asia), “Sustainable Revitalization of Bishkek’s Industrial Zones: Enhancing Connectivity, Ecology, and Inclusivity”
• Zhamilia Baiborieva (American University of Central Asia), “Results of National Urban Assessment by ADB in Kyrgyzstan 2023”

Session V – Identity and Transformation
Moderated by Dr. Buğra Güngör (American University of Central Asia), this final session explored urban identity and cultural shifts:

• Daria Lopukhova (American University of Central Asia), “Reimaging Bishkek’s Soviet Past Looking Through a Glass House”
• Paulina Simkin (University of Augsburg), “The World Drinks Coffee – Why Shouldn’t We? » – Portraying Bishkek’s New Urban Middle Class”
• Book Launch on “Marshrutkas” by Egor Muleev & Dr. Wladimir Sgibnev (Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography)

The 6th Annual CASNiG Conference successfully brought together academics, urban practitioners, and students to explore the multifaceted processes of urban transformation in Central Asia. The three-day program blended theoretical reflections with applied workshops and case studies, creating a dynamic platform for re-imagining urban futures across the region.

To see the detailed program of the conference, click here.

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