Council Meetings of ISUF, 2004

ISUF's Council met for a total of over 6 hours on 24/25 August 2004, at the conclusion of the symposium held in Newcastle upon Tyne. In addition to the usual reports, considerable attention was given to the future development of ISUF. This accorded with the priorities outlined by the President last year ( Urban Morphology7(2), 84-6) and took account of an exchange of e-mails, particularly between the Officers, in recent months. The meeting took a series of decisions which, it was felt, demonstrated progress on a number of important issues.

Constitution

One of the major items of business was to revise the Constitution, which had remained unchanged since 1997. Following last year's report of the Secretary-Treasurer, owing to increasing workload it had been decided to divide the responsibilities of this post among two Officers. Council had duly appointed Michael Conzen as Secretary-General and Keith Lilley as Treasurer. The necessary amendments to the Constitution were discussed and agreed; the opportunity was also taken to make other minor adjustments and discuss related issues. The agreed revised constitution is printed elsewhere in this issue (p. 90), which constitutes the requisite due notice to members. The new Officers will formally take up their positions on 1 November 2004.

Secretary-Treasurer's Report

The retiring Seceretary-Treasurer. Michaël Darin, reported that ISUF now had three bank accounts: one cheque account in Birmingham associated with the principal focus of expenditure, the Journal; a higher-interest account in Guernsey; and three in Switzerland. The latter had been opened at the suggestion of the President on the assumption that charges would not be made for foreign currency payments, although this proved inaccurate.

The balance sheet was discussed. While the current balances were healthy, they reflected the biennial income derived from major conferences, and a significant sum was allocated for develop-ment of the Journal. Over the years a financial reserve had been slowly built up.

The incoming Treasurer would explore other bank accounts in more convenient locations, and would develop an annual budget. He and the Webmaster, Elwin Koster, would also work to ensure that credit card payments for conferences could be made, via the website if practicable.

Keith Lilley thanked Michaël Darin for all his work for ISUF over the first decade of its existence, and this was wholeheartedly endorsed by other Council members.

Editor's Report

The Editor, J.W.R. Whitehand, had circulated a written report, and had brought further details relating to the management of the Journal for inspection and discussion. He noted the submission rate of papers, and the range and speed of referees' reports. The Journal has, in comparison to most others, a high 'impact factor' calculated by citations of its papers. The significant development of the Book Review section was mentioned, and the work of Michael Conzen in this respect was welcomed. However, following his appointment to the new position of Secretary-General, he was vacating the Review Editorship. Piper Gaubatz had been appointed to fill this post.

A major part of the Editor's report consisted of a discussion of the change to notched binding, which had been agreed by Council at a previous meeting and would take effect from Volume 9, Number 1. This higher-quality binding would give the Journal an improved appearance and would allow an increase in the number of pages per issue, but would involve higher cost.

Subscriptions

Some time has elapsed since the last increase in subscriptions. With the rising costs of the Journal and the desire to expand ISUF's activities, it was agreed that subscriptions should be raised by a small amount.

The individual subscription will be increased from £15 to £20 with effect from 1 July 2005; and for institutional members from £35 to £40 with effect from 1 January 2005.

Other business

It was recognized that the website was potentially very valuable in raising the profile of ISUF, and in facilitating business such as electronic conference booking and payment. The Web Editorial Board had submitted a report, and Council agreed in principle to provide financial support for specific developments. The Board agreed to review its report in the light of comments commissioned by the President from David Prosperi, and to report back to Council as soon as possible. Owing to a new academic post, Nicola Marzot resigned from the Board and has been replaced by Phil Jones.

The issue of registering ISUF as a non-profit organization was discussed further. Comments had been sought from other organizations including the International Council for Science. The main benefits of such registration would be felt if ISUF had employees or managed grant income. The incoming Secretary-General would consider the issue and make a recommendation to Council.

It was agreed that ISUF would benefit from having a Publicity Secretary, who would help Council members and Officers in promoting the organization and publicizing its activities. Members interested in taking on this new role are invited to contact Michael Conzen.

It was also felt that Regional Representatives would be helpful in establishing ISUF's presence in various continents and regions, most particularly where at present there are few members. They would work with the Publicity Secretary and the Editor, and would also help to recruit new members. Again, members interested in taking on this new role are invited to contact Michael Conzen.

After some discussion it was felt that preparations for a major conference in 2005 were insufficiently far advanced, and that a smaller meeting would be more practicable. Several suggestions were received, and the Secretary-General would investigate these, make a recommendation to Council as soon as possible, and conference arrangements would be advertised as soon as practicable principally through the website. Offers of venues and organizers for a major conference in 2006 are now sought; Council's view is that a Far Eastern location would be helpful for ISUF's profile. A structured bidding process for future conferences will be developed. However, it was felt that a separate Council appointment of Conference Convener was now superfluous, and oversight of conferences would be undertaken by the Secretary-General.

It was proposed that Guiseppe Strappa should, if willing, be co-opted to Council for one year, with particular responsibility for promoting publication of the Italian perspective on Alnwick that had been reported to the Newcastle conference. This was agreed unanimously.

Finally, Council considered that it had examined thoroughly the issues raised by the President and others and that appropriate records and evidence had been presented for inspection. It affirmed its complete confidence in the Editor, Webmaster, and the outgoing Secretary-Treasurer. It was hoped that the decisions taken, and the creation of a range of new opportunities, would draw in more people to manage and develop the organization.

Peter Larkham, School of Planning and Housing, University of Central England, Perry Barr, Birmingham B42 2SU, UK. E-mail: peter.larkham at uce.ac.uk