Beyond Infrastructure? (Un-)built Environments in the Anthropocene

International Conference at the University of Vienna, September 22 – 24, 2025

Infrastructure is often seen as solid, fixed, and inevitable while shaping the way we move, live, and connect. But what about the infrastructures that remain unfinished, abandoned, or merely imagined? How do built, un-built, or non-built environments shape politics, everyday life, and ecological futures? And what happens when we move past conventional understandings of infrastructure?

The Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna, together with the ERC Advanced Grant project InfraNorth (Building Arctic Futures: Transport Infrastructures and Sustainable Northern Communities) as a scientific cooperation partner, are hosting the international conference Beyond Infrastructure? (Un-)built Environments in the Anthropocene from September 22 to 24, 2025, at the University of Vienna.

Addressing a variety of issues stemming from human and more-than-human interactions with built, unbuilt, and not-yet-built environments, this conference infuses infrastructure studies with environmental perspectives. It will feature contributions from across the social sciences, arts and humanities, natural sciences, and engineering, engaging with any part of the world – and beyond.

For more details about the conference schedule, please visit the “Program” section. The full program will be released not later than mid-June 2025.