Maria Gabriela is dedicated to sustainable design and building solutions both in her private and professional life. While using her free time to participate in forums and community events to discuss the most appropriate solutions for her neighbourhood, her position at Sweco UK of course allows for a wider range of influence: As Senior Sustainability Consultant, Maria Gabriela is currently focusing on setting out the net zero carbon approach to local and international projects. <br><br> It is Maria Gabriela’s main priority to impact as many people around her as possible in a way that they rethink their choices and consumption patterns in order to have a lower environmental footprint.

Lutz Leichsenring is the co-founder of VibeLab, and one of the world’s leading authorities on protecting nighttime-economy, -community and -culture. Since 2009, Lutz has been the spokesman and executive board member for the Berlin Clubcommission, where has fought tirelessly for the rights of Berlin’s vast underground club scene by organizing demonstrations, conferences, workshops and by speaking at round tables and parliamentary committees. <br><br> His role has lead Lutz into the city's Berlin Musicboard and Chamber of Commerce, where he frequently votes on development issues that protect creative space affected by gentrification. In 2017, alongside former Night Mayor of Amsterdam, Mirik Milan, Lutz launched the Creative Footprint, a project to measure, compare, and advocate for creative spaces in cities like Berlin, New York and Tokyo.

Kurt Hofstetter has been involved in innovative projects of city development for more than 20 years and in various positions: as a city planner, project manager and influencer. As the director of the International Building Exhibition “IBA_Wien 2022” he is currently focusing on the topic of New Social Housing. <br><br> Kurt was intensely engaged in the development of Aspern Seestadt in Vienna, which he still sees as one of the most interesting and innovative challenges that he is excited about. His passion is to work on solutions that are useful and helpful for human beings in order to help them run their lives in a dignified way and with high quality standards. <br><br> Photocredit © fotografiefetz

As technical officer at the Citizen Services and Participation Department of the City of Bilbao and assistant professor at the National Distance Education University, Beatriz Acha combines the best of the academic world and the practical experience of participatory contexts at the grassroots level. <br><br> She is convinced that citizens are the motor for real urban change and therefore devotes her work to finding more successful ways of connecting citizens’ preferences in the realm of public participation and municipal public policies.

Diego Garulo has achieved what so many people strive for: he has turned his passion into his profession. Diego has started his career by founding El Gobo Teatro, a self-managed space dedicated to the performing arts, worked as lighting technician, and finally became member of the team that drafted the Zaragoza European Capital of Culture 2016 candidacy. <br><br> In his current position as cultural manager of the City of Zaragoza, Diego is passionately working on devising and managing projects related to cultural planning, shared management, cultural rights and territory, including Harinera ZGZ – an old factory that was recovered as a space for community culture.

Vienna was chosen the most liveable city in the world for the second year running and as Head of the Department for Urban District Planning and Land Use, Bernhard Steger is more than proud that the work of his department has helped to lay the groundwork for this development. One important aspect when it comes to liveability is – among others – housing affordability. Since 2018, Vienna has therefore introduced a new zoning category (“area for subsidized housing”), which is limiting the prize for the land in order to build social housing. <br><br> Bernhard considers it a privilege to actively contribute to the development of a green, social and innovative city, which is also his motivation for always giving his best.

The world changes and cities change too. As Director of Planning and Sustainability at the City of Copenhagen, Rita Justesen sees the necessity of being part of that huge transformation, which is why she focuses on the development of new urban districts that are sustainable both, in the short and long run. According to Rita, some of the most pressing challenges include the growing number of people looking for a place to live, the provision of a high class transport system, and of course the creation of dense, diverse, but most importantly liveable neighbourhoods. <br><br> The transformation of Copenhagen has been going on for more than 25 years and as Rita puts it, it is still a learning process – one that she is more than excited to be a part of.

Gil Penha-Lopes supports and participates in many action-research projects, facilitating synergies between academia and politics to generate tools and guidelines that can assist local communities in assessing their sustainability goals, to then design and implement their regenerative local solutions. He recently founded ECOLISE, an European platform of community-led initiatives towards a sustainable Europe and is working on creating a sustainable village in Abrigada, Portugal, where more than 70 families will co-live as a regenerative sustainable community.

Through her work with the Barcelona City council, Lucía Martín González is working to make a shift away from a housing system based on homeownership to one in which housing is seen as a right and not as a commodity. Barcelona´s 10-year Right to Housing Plan includes not only the construction of public rental units and the development of affordable housing units through public-private partnerships, but also the subsidy of more than 10.000 families. <br><br> It is an impressive feat and Lucía is sure that the problems of the housing sector can only be solved by applying a whole set of different solutions, which combine direct housing provision, collaboration with the private sector, land and tax policy, and regulation.

"As an architect and partner at Kraaijvanger, Vincent van der Meulen is passionate about designing good buildings and public interiors to facilitate a better future for the people of Rotterdam. He likes to create and inspire the right conditions to keep the city and its people vital. <br><br> Vincent is currently working on the Southern area of Rotterdam, where the focus lies on sustainable buildings, green promenades, smartgrids and sustainable mobility hubs. For him, designing buildings and cities is ultimately always about creating a culture of cohesive, circular communities. "

As Technical Director, Maria Rodrigues sets the strategic actions and coordinates the works of Lisboa E-Nova – a company that contributes to the sustainable development of the city of Lisbon and its metropolitan area by applying integrated approaches to adapt to climate change, implementing mitigation actions, and supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. One example of an exciting city transformation project Maria is currently working on is Hub Criativo do Beato – an innovation centre for creative and technological companies which is emerging in a complex of decommissioned factories. <br><br> Personally, Maria is very passionate about the opportunity to idealise and concretise innovative projects in Lisbon with a truly transformative potential – making it happen!

Nancy Shoiry is CEO of SHDM, a non-profit para-municipal corporation that serves as the city of Montréals real estate corporation. She has been and is a key player in the city’s efforts to sustain social and economic development through responsible real estate with a social impact - contributing to the future of the city. <br><br> Prior to this position, Nancy was director of land development for the city of Montreal. For more than 30 years now, Nancy’s main focus has been to cross some of the practicalities of the planning, designing, financing and bringing to fruition of innovative projects in such a competitive and complex environment.

Caren Ohrhallinger’s passion is to facilitate spatial change processes. As Partner and Managing Director at nonconform, an architecture and participatory planning bureau, she focuses on developing fine spaces for people to enable a good life – from buildings and public spaces to larger scale infrastructures, both in the country and in the city. Together with her partners, Caren developed several projects, including the “ideenwerkstatt” – a three-day participatory workshop to define visions for new interventions, as well as the “Leerstandkonferenz”, which addresses the problem of the many unused spaces and buildings in cities and villages. <br><br> In her work, Caren focusses on the processes behind the actual design and planning - “I open up spaces of opportunity in which good solutions are created even in difficult situations”.

Asier Abaunza is contributing to the urban transformation of Bilbao in many ways: when he was in charge of the sustainable mobility planning of the city, the public transport offer was increased dramatically and attractive car-free areas have transformed the streets of Bilbao into safer and more livable places for pedestrians. Today, he is in charge of urban planning issues and is defining how his city will be transformed within the next 20 years.

As the founder of “Creative Climate Cities”, Nadine Kuhla von Bergmann’s mission is to achieve climate-friendly cities through people-driven design processes. The production of visual language and digital tools are key in her projects at district and city levels. One of these projects, the “Smart Sustainable District – Green Moabit” delivered innovative models for district data platforms and helped overcome sector-based street design. Nadine passes on her passion by lecturing “Smart Urbanism and Digital Strategies” at the University of Applied Science in Stuttgart. <br><br> What is next? Nadine is working on a project to increase urban nature services throughout European cities by matching those services with cultural actives and blockchain-based business models.

Oslo has a clear vision of a sustainable future – a vision Gard Skoe Fredriksen, Chief Engineer at the City of Oslo, shares and is passionately working towards turning into reality. How? Gard focuses on the transformation of former industrial areas and currently works on the development of Furuset, a satellite town from the 70s that has struggled with social problems and low development for years. Together with the initiative FutureBuilt, he seeks to raise the area’s reputation and stimulate private development through pilot projects with high environmental and architectural quality. <br><br> Gard is excited about contributing to the process of achieving sustainable development in Oslo, which is also reflected in his credo is: work hard, be patient and have fun along the way. <br><br> Photocredit © Jørgen Lie Furuholt

As Urban Designer at AM Real Estate, Johan Snel is dealing with complex urban mix use projects in the Netherlands, especially focusing on the integration of mix use programmes, sustainability, mobility and spatial quality. He is constantly searching for ways to co-work between public and private parties in city development. <br><br> In one of his current projects – Bajes Kwartier, Johan is working on the redevelopment of a former prison in Amsterdam, which will also be the topic of his presentation at UFGC20.

After being the bouwmeester of Antwerp between 2006 and 2014, Kristiaan Borret is now in charge to stimulate and supervise the design quality of urban development projects as the bouwmeester of Brussels Captial Region. <br><br> His main project right now is the urban development site of the Canal Area. The goal is to transform a line of separation into an urban figure of centrality while meeting the needs of a modern city.

Cayce James leads a coalition to build an innovative and equitable public space network across Seattle that can address the city´s complex challenges of rapid growth, climate change, and environmental injustice. With her team, Cayce identifies key strategies and priorities at the city scale but also tests them at the neighbourhood scale. Through her work, new investments in green infrastructure and public space are directed at the areas of the city most in need, supporting existing residents, rather than exacerbating gentrification and displacement. <br><br> Cayce is passionate about eliminating the disproportionate environmental burdens that low-income communities of colour currently face, and building future cities in which everyone has access to healthy air and water and the opportunity to be inspired by nature.

Dean Landy is actively shaping cities by making them more walkable, connected and sustainable through his design. Combating the struggles of Sydney and Melbourne with population growth and urban sprawl, he worked on one of the biggest projects in Australia to rebalance the population. <br><br> Currently he is advocating for more self-sustaining satellite cities and designing places, communities and cities, that incorporate high density, connected, walkable villages guided by the principle of 20-minute neighbourhoods. Doing this allows him to follow his passion, positively contributing and shaping the built environment through his design.

As a social entrepreneur, Katharina Serafimova aims to re-connect urban and rural realities. She believes in food as a collaborative common and a powerful opportunity to re-connect nature and community. <br><br> After graduating from environmental natural sciences at ETH Zürich in 2004, Katharina entered the corporate world and worked as a consultant and later for an NGO in the area of sustainable resources, agriculture and finance. Over the past years, she further co-created several initiatives such as the Swiss-based organization Foodnetworks.ch and the regeneration initiative Terra Sintrópica in Portugal because “change will not come from organizations, business standards or political agreements but from us, from people that live and work in alignment with our values.”

As a project manager at the Municipality of Eindhoven, Marianne Willemsen-van Noppen works on innovative projects in the centre of town – not only on the visionary level, but also on realizing them. What fascinates her the most are projects like the redevelopment of the NRE site: an area with eleven exceptional factories that is being transformed into a small-scale, lively and creative city neighbourhood where housing, work and culture meet. <br><br> Marianne is particularly excited about the Living Lap approach to smart living concepts: circularity in homes, living-as-a-service, and new ways of living together. <br><br> Photocredit © Marie-Louise Nijsing

Etienne Vignali has worked in the fields of urban projects and sustainable development for 10 years. He has strongly contributed to the increase of renewable energy production and the energy retrofitting of buildings in his city and has implemented data-based tools to monitor and keep improving the environmental performance of the Lyon-Confluence area. Currently, he is coordinating the European smart city project „Smarter Together“ (Horizon 2020 – SCC01).

Nicolai Riise constantly works towards sustainability – economically, socially and environmentally. As CEO of Mad arkitekter, he designs full scale re-use projects – thereby challenging established truths and pushing towards a green shift, which will completely change the way, we think about building and developing cities. <br><br> At UFGC Nicolai will be talking about his Recipe for Future Living in Oslo, which won him the C40 International Reinventing Cities competition. The project takes the construction industry’s enormous waste problem and turns it into an invaluable and unique resource, with the project basing itself entirely on circular economy, the use of sustainable resources and reuse. Furthermore, it will incorporate social entrepreneurship initiatives to give less fortunate people a new chance. When it comes to proving that full-scale urban development projects can be functional and sustainable, for Nicolai the sky´s the limit.

Chetana Andary has been an artist, policy maker and masterplanner for over 25 years. At UAP, the world’s largest public art company, she brings theory to practice connecting art and place. She has worked in Australia and the Middle East for both government and private development. As CEO of artisan, the premier arts organisation in Brisbane, Australia, and Place Manager at South Bank Parklands, she developed holistic curatorial and creative place strategies.

Gerhard Schuster has worked in real estate for more than 30 years. His ambition in aspern Seestadt – the urban lab of Smart City Wien - is to use his expertise to help build a city that changes the way we plan cities in the future. He invites and supports gamechangers from different realms, brings them together with those who already live, work or invest in aspern, thus creating new, prolific networks and initiatives.

Johanna Schäfer is founder and CEO of BonnLAB which is a city lab for the citizens of Bonn, Germany. BonnLAB is multifunctional - it is a public living room, an office for urban development & participation, a coworking space, a social innovation point, an event location and the headquarter of the NGO PROJECTSbonn. The organizations and initiatives which have been founded by PROJECTSbonn or meet at BonnLAB make grassroots projects and #SDGs2030 actions with and for sustainable and smart citizens. <br><br> Johanna is a social entrepreneur, a local activist, a convener and she studied architecture at the anthroposophically Alanus university for arts and society.

Elad Eisenstein is a cities expert, architect and urban designer with two decades of international experience, specialising in leading, designing and delivering complex and large scale urban projects. He is a senior director, advising public and private sector clients on issues of urban design, sustainability, large scale planning, city strategy and infrastructure. <br><br> As the leader of Ramboll’s Cities and Regeneration business and a member of the Mayor of London’s Infrastructure Advisory Panel, Elad is engaged with major infrastructure-led regeneration schemes across the UK and internationally. He works with cities on applying a regenerative apporach and circular thinking to deliver net-zero targets by combining design skills with strategic planning expertise and balancing global challenges with local places and the aspirations of communities.

Inspired by growing up and living in cities that are symbol of radical transformations but also continuation such as Berlin, Sarajevo, Milan, Vienna or Zurich, Haris Piplas realized early on the importance of inclusive and wholistic solutions. This shaped the way he is changing cities today, the significance of understanding the processes, of research and bringing together stakeholders through activism & campaigning, of conceptualizing practical solutions – and in general, integrating diverse interests and visions. <br><br> Currently, Haris is developing new tools, methods and mechanisms to integrate different opinions and expertise that will be applied in ongoing and future projects in countries around the world. <br><br> Photocredit © Marine Drezet

David Sim is Creative Director at Gehl. For more than ten years David has been focusing on Masterplanning Frameworks and urban design, collaborating with other professionals in the planning and building process, applying Jan Gehl’s theories to large-scale projects. <br><br> David is also renowned as an inspiring educator and lecturer, and has taught at architecture and design schools all over the world.

Christina works as sustainability strategist for the city of Stockholm. She’s currently working at the Stockholm Royal Seaport, the largest urban development area in Sweden and one of Europe’s largest urban development projects with sustainability ambitions: a former brownfield area is converted into a vibrant and attractive city district with at least 25.000 residents and 35.000 workers by 2030. <br><br> The ambitious sustainability requirements include 100% low energy houses and local production of renewable energy, 100% green roofs, 100% connection to an automated waste system, reversed traffic hierarchy and an innovative green structure in public open space for stormwater management.

Inspired by the spot and the potentials of the environment, Ellen Monchen, Urban Designer at the Physical Planning Department of Amsterdam, likes to improve existing qualities with new interventions. Her biggest project is Overamstel – a former industrial area that she first encountered 20 years ago and that is since then being transformed into a densely populated area with working spaces and houses. With different designers working on different sub-areas, Ellen is currently focusing on the transformation of Bajeskwartier, a former prison and the area surrounding it. <br><br> It is her passion to not only design sustainable neighbourhoods with their own characteristics created by existing elements but also that all neighbourhoods together form one good whole.

As a business economist, Dr. Luise Noring specializes in urban governance and finance, including socio-economic impact analyses, urban business models and finance mechanisms for implementation of both large-scale urban regeneration and smaller neighborhood interventions. She has several years of experience identifying and implementing models for self-governing and self-financing cities and teaches as an assistant professor at Copenhagen Business School. <br><br> Since 2016, Luise’s company, City Facilitators, has provided specialist advice and guidance on urban growth, business development and urban finance mechanisms.

Andreas Trisko is head of the department for Urban Development and Planning of the City of Vienna, where he leads an innovative team of eighty. He is specialized in the field of large-scale urban development projects and steered urban change processes in Vienna’s largest district. <br><br> Next to being responsible for Vienna’s overall strategies for urban planning and mobility, his focus lies on transferring these policies into the day to day practice and implementing game-changing projects.

Elly Andriopoulou firmly believes that public spaces define a city – not just architecturally but by the ways people interact with and within them. In her position at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation she was able to contribute to the development and operation of Athens´ new landmark, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), which has received LEED Platinum accreditation for its sustainability and managed to redefine public space in Athens as a place of respect, acceptance, and personal growth. <br><br> To see the landmark come to life has been one of the most fulfilling elements of her job: From construction and business plan preparation, it now receives over 15 million visits of locals and tourists who stroll in the park, attend an opera at the Greek National Opera, sail in the canal or learn how to use a PC at age 78.

As a Stakeholder Involvement Officer, Johannes Riegler connects urban actors from local initiatives to European networks to jointly discuss concrete urban issues and translate the created knowledge into strategic orientations for European research and innovation funding. Currently, his work focuses on how urban experimentation and urban living labs can support urban transitions and how experimental methods can be become “the new normal” in urban governance. <br><br> Johannes’ passion lies in working with people to bring different knowledge, expertise and interests into discussions on urban transitions and facilitate the co-creation of ideas for how urban futures should look like.