Dr Madina Junussova
Dr Madina Junussova is General Co-Rapporteur of the 59th Isocarp congress. She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy and Administration (IPPA), University of Central Asia (UCA) and a CERGE-EI Foundation Teaching Fellow. She holds a PhD in Public Policy from Carleton University, Canada. Since 2022, as part of the global OECD-led SIPA team, she has started facilitating the creation of a Regional Knowledge Network on Sustainable Infrastructure in Central Asia. Her research interests include planning sustainable and resilient urban and regional development, local governance and participatory planning, evidence-based policymaking, policy monitoring and evaluation.
For almost six decades, Isocarp members have been committed to making cities better places to live, work and rest. As an active member of Isocarp with 20 years of membership experience, I aim to continue the tradition of evolving congresses bringing together Isocarp members from around the world. At the same time, I want to preserve our society's values, long history of knowledge accumulation and dissemination, and culture of putting people first. With members from over 100 countries, Isocarp, as a global association of planners, can contribute its accumulated knowledge to meet Climate Change challenges. Urban Economic Forum (UEF) has established an excellent horizontal platform for beneficial dialogue allowing Isocarp members to increase their knowledge and capacities on climate finance. This joint event is an opportunity for ISOCARP and UEF to complement each other and reinvent urban planning, urban governance, and city financing.
Julio Carrillo
Julio Carrillo, AICP, LEED AP ND, is a Senior Planner & Manager with Parkhill's Planning Sector. Julio is a Certified Planner (AICP), Peruvian Architect (CAP), and LEED Accredited Professional. He co-founded and directed Peru's Green Building Council.
He served as chair in Austin's AIA Urban Design Committee (2022), and currently serves as the chair of Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Urban Land Institute of Austin – Texas. He has been awarded and recognized for his urban design practice. In 2021 Julio was selected as an International Expert of a group leading a research team of young professionals planning the future of cities in Asia.
Julio is Director at Planning Commitment Inc (www.planningcommitment.org), forging the implementation of the PLANNING 2050 initiative: a commitment for cities, communities, planning professionals, firms, and organizations to take action that positively impact aspects of Equity, Climate Change and Resiliency.
Adriano Bisello
Adriano Bisello graduated in Urban and Environmental Planning and holds a Ph.D. in Real Estate Economics. He has been recently appointed vice president of ASSURB (Italian Association of Spatial Planners) and delegate to the ECTP-CEU (European Council of Spatial Planners).
He works as a senior researcher and project manager in the Urban and Regional Energy Systems group at Eurac Research in Bolzano (Italy). Adriano's activities range from local to European-funded projects in the field of smart cities and innovative digital-natural urban solutions, with a focus on multiple benefits and sustainable energy transition. Actually, he is a subtask co-leader in the EBC-IEA Annex 83 on Positive Energy District. At Eurac Research he is the project manager of the European H2020 smart city project STARDUST for the "Lighthouse city" of Trento, responsible for the coordination of some research activities in the H2020 project VARCITIES on innovative green public spaces, in the Horizon Europe project PROLIGHT on social housing districts rehabilitation and sustainable communities development, in the Horizon-Life project PLENTY-LIFE on urban-energy planning in small and medium-sized municipalities, in the Green Deal project ARV on climate positive circular communities.
Passionate public speaker, since 2015 Adriano also coordinates the international conferences SSPCR on "Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions" and already joined the scientific committee of ISOCARP annual world congresses in Bødo (2018) and Jakarta (2019).
More than 20 of his research works are published in international books and journals; recently he contributed to the report of the European Commission entitled "Systemic Changes in Governance. Equipping local governments for realising climate-neutral and smart cities".
He serves also as a reviewer for scientific journals, as an Editorial Board member of the Journal "Investment Management and Financial Innovations", as a Review Editor for "Frontiers in Sustainable Cities", and as a supervisor of international master and Ph.D. students.
Dr. Gary Davidson
Dr. Gary Davidson is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners (FCIP) and a Registered Professional Planner (RPP) with the Ontario Professional Planners Institute with considerable planning experience dating from the 1970s. His experience encompasses all governmental levels, private consulting and university teaching. This experience includes numerous aspects of community life including, regional planning, community-based climate change adaptation planning, governance structure, public involvement, tourism, strategic planning, and local economic development. Gary is based in Bayfield, Ontario, Canada but his work spans local, national, and international assignments and has work extensively with Canadian Indigenous communities. Gary is past president of both the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute Currently, Gary is the Co-Chair of the Commonwealth Association of Planners Climate Action Working Group which involves over 40 world-wide professional planning organizations.
Hadeel Abuzaid
ISOCARP Scientific Committee member experts in various fields of planning and urban development. A motivated urban sustainability coordinator and urban designer with 3+ years of experience in sustainable urban development, including urban climate change adaptation and resilience programs, master planning, landscaping, place-making and urban design, public spaces design, adequate shelter design, environmental impact analysis, urban health, financing sustainability, urban regeneration, and heritage renovation. Familiar with municipal laws and structural audit measures and have in-depth knowledge of sustainable development goals and strategies.
I am a researcher in Urban design and planning studies, focusing on Sustainable cities development, heritage adaptation and conservation. My research interest focuses on studying the relationship between the city and the people, sustainable urbanism, human behaviour and experience in urban spaces, social sustainability, adaptive cities, CPTED, urbanism, urban segregation and urban form, urban risk management, and urban health. I believe that urban development focusing on the people who live in the town is key to achieving a lively, sustainable, and healthy city.
Hanna Obracht-Prondzynska
Hanna Obracht-Prondzynska, PhD, MArch, Eng., is an urban planner and spatial data scientist with a background in architecture. She has an international planning and academic experience from Poland, USA, China, South Africa, Colombia, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania and Turkey. Currently she is based at the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and she is an assistant professor at the University of Gdańsk, Department of Spatial Management. Her research focuses on data driven planning and data-based solutions supporting cities climate-proof. She concentrates on linkages between quality of urban space and social behaviors. She works on big data and social media data-based models to assess urban perception and on digital solutions aiming to mitigate climate changes and supporting social participation. After her studies at the GdańskTech and Vienna University of Technology, she graduated as a GIS analyst at the Warsaw University of Technology, and further obtained data scientist certificate. Her PhD defended with distinction received 6 awards including 2 by the Minister of Economic Development and Technology in spatial planning and geoinformation, and Polish Academy of Science. She worked at the Pomeranian Office for Regional Planning and is a coauthor of spatial development plan the Gdańsk metropolitan area. She works with SoftGIS tools and coordinates planning documents. She is an active member of the International Society for City and Regional Planners.
Jacob Adejare Babarinde
After acquiring a BSc in Real Estate Valuation and Management from the University of East London in 1981 (erstwhile Polytechnic of East London), Jacob obtained a MURP and a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning in 1986 and 1995 respectively from the University of Ibadan, a former College of London University-UK. He later served as a Visiting Research Fellow in Forced Migration at the University of Oxford's Queen Elizabeth House in 2001. In 2004, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in London, following his successful 2-year Test of Professional Competence (TPC/APC). Jacob has more than 35 years' experience in urban planning and asset valuation in England, Canada, Nigeria, Zambia, Namibia, and Papua New Guinea. He also combines professionalism with research and journal publication skills yielding at least thirty-five academic journal publications focusing on land-related, multidisciplinary areas. He has served as Professor and Head of Department of Surveying and Land Studies at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology in South Pacific. In December 2022, he became a consultant to the firm AvranceCorp Developments (Condo Developers) based in Toronto and continues to serve as a Certified Publons Academy Peer Reviewer. He is an Editorial Board member for several academic journals, including External Editor, Interdisciplinary Journal of the BUILT ENVIRONMENT of the PNG University of Technology. He is a Life Fellow of the International Society for Development and Sustainability, Japan. He is a Nigerian-Canadian citizen.
Mohamed Ouerghi
Mohamed Ouerghi is a consultant with ten years of experience in regional development and urban policies. He has been a member of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) since 2016 and is currently a National Representative for Tunisia. He is also the Founding and Elected General Secretary of Planners Federation (FNUT) and is recognized by the Worldwide Order of International Experts in Geneva. Mohamed has advised municipalities and governmental bodies in Europe and the MENA-Region at all spatial levels, and his technical skills have been validated through in-depth research of quantitative and qualitative data. He has launched critical development policies and projects in compliance with performance, quality, and sustainability standards. Mohamed is completing his PhD and is committed to continuing his work and applied research to create a complete portfolio of studies related to digitally enabled citizen engagement for sustainable futures.
Nadine Bitar
Nadine Bitar is a highly skilled international practitioner and advisor on cities and regions. She works with governments, institutions, organizations, and development agencies on innovative policies, transformational programs, and mission-oriented strategies for a healthy, green, livable, and inclusive world. Her professional journey includes planning and development of regions, cities, large-scale districts, and urban areas across the world. As a public speaker, she addressed audiences on Place and Sustainable Development in global forums and regional roundtables organized by corporate boards, regional governments, and international bodies such as the United Nations, the World Bank, GCC, the Arab League, and MIT among others. She delivered capacity building and workshops on future, smart, and sustainable regions and cities in the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, KSA, and UAE. Mrs. Bitar is a certified architect, landscape designer, urban designer, and city planner with two master's in urban planning and sustainable Development and certified member of multiple global, regional, and local professional associations in related fields.
Prof. Olusola Olufemi PhD, MCIP RPP
Olusola is an Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning. She also has a Certificate in Food Security. Olusola has taught in various universities in Nigeria, South Africa, and Canada. Olusola is well published in peer reviewed local, national, and international journals and her research interests are in Homelessness, Food Security, Housing and Environment, Gender, Faith, and Development Issues. In 2005, Olusola was a recipient of Gerd Albers 2005 Award. A member of the Planning Knowledge Exchange of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, Canada since 2018 and a Lifelong member of the International Society of City and Regional Planners. Olusola currently works as an Independent Consultant and Research Associate with the Society for Good Health, Sustainable Development and Environmental Awareness, Ibadan, Nigeria. She is involved in mentoring and training young urban and regional planners specifically in the areas of Urban Management and Planning; Health and Housing; Homelessness; Gender; and Food Security in Africa. Currently engages with marginalized people occupying precarious habitats in Nigeria.
Opeyemi Comfort Akintola
Akintola Opeyemi is a Town planner at the department of Physical Planning, University of Medical Science Ondo, Ondo State Nigeria, and the CEO Alad and Associate planning consult. She is a Registered Town Planner of the Town Planning Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC) and a member of the Young Professional Planners of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP). She is currently one of the executives and members of the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP) Ondo State chapter. She has participated in various projects like Urban Renewal of Akure city Ondo state Nigeria, Redesign of NEPA and ISIKAN market Akure city, dualization of roads in Ondo city and Akure city.
Opeyemi has been involved in studies that explored the causes and the consequences of regional imbalance in Nigeria and a significant part of her research has evaluated the management frameworks that can be used to remedy the issues surrounding inequalities in the Nigeria. Her research has also interfaced with the nuances surrounding the location of telecommunication masts in sensitive regions of the Southwestern part of Nigeria and the effects that they may have on the health and well-being of individuals.
She has her bachelor's degree in Urban and regional planning and a Master of Science in Geographical Information Science and Cartography, with a specialization in in Landuse Planning and Urban Development.
Rajendra Kumar
Rajendra Kumar is an architect and planner based in New Delhi, India. He is Director of School of Architecture and Design, LPU. He was recently awarded the "Most Admired Education Influencers in India, 2022"and in the past he received "Global Educational Influencer 2020" and "Indian Young Achievers Award" in 2009. He graduated from Chandigarh College of Architecture, India and Post-graduation from Politecnico Di Milano, Italy. He is member of International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), Netherlands, Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) USA.
Actively involved in academia and research. He believes in sensible urbanism and responsible community. He is advisory member of various think tanks of national and International importance, invited members for various projects and engagements with global leaders including Prime Ministers, Governors, Ambassadors, Mayors, Policy makers, United Nation, WHO, UN Habitat etc.
Equipped with mixed experiences of varied scale projects, ranging from urban scale planning to buildings. 100+ publications and invited lectures, visits in national and international conferences, delivered lectures on many national and international forums on various issues related to cities, climate crisis, community planning, human settlements, sustainability at national and international forums in India, Spain, Hong Kong, South Africa, Slovenia, Italy, Germany, Thailand, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, USA, Taiwan, Poland, UK, Romania and many other parts of the world including Harvard, Columbia University, Gdansk University, IIT Chicago etc.
Renelle Sarjeant
Renelle Sarjeant is an urban planner and designer engaging with issues at the intersection of the built environment, equity and sustainability. She is the founder of Public Space Global, an NGO which champions greener and friendlier urban development in the Caribbean. She completed her graduate studies in Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Sheffield and in 2016 was a Chevening Scholar in Interdisciplinary Urban Design at the University College of London.
Renelle's experience includes managing projects such as the Digital Transformation of Trinidad and Tobago's Construction Permitting System, the San Fernando Waterfront Redevelopment and an assessment of National Adaptation Plans in the Eastern Caribbean. Currently, she works with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) developing strategies for infrastructure resilience and with UN Women to promote gender equality and climate resilience in public transport systems.
Sabelo Goniwe
Sabelo Goniwe is a South African Urban Planner and GIS Specialist with over 13 years' experience in academia as well as the public and private sector. He currently works as a Senior Project Development Manager for South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation within the Tirisano Construction Fund. His work sees him work directly with communities and public organizations on social infrastructure development and investment, with the responsibility for the development of skills within the built environment. In the past four years, he has also worked for the Presidency of South Africa's Infrastructure and Investment Office (IIO). He further worked for Infrastructure South Africa where he served as a Provincial Lead for Infrastructure planning responsible for the Mpumalanga Province. Sabelo is also a researcher on climate responsive infrastructure, sustainable urbanism, technologies in planning and more recently, infrastructure futures. Whilst working as a lecturer for the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, he also participated in the ISOCARP Young Professional Planners workshops in Durban, South Africa, Gdynia in Poland as well as the 54th World Congress in Norway.
Şebnem Hoşkara
Şebnem Hoşkara is a tenured Architecture and Urbanism (Urban Design) professor at the Department of Architecture, Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU). She is the Director of EMU's Urban Research and Development Center (URDC) and the EMU Press Executive Committee Director. She is the Editor of a recently published academic journal – the Journal of Urban Research and Development. She worked as a Visiting Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) as the Interim Director of Urban and Regional Planning (URP) Graduate Programs between 1 September 2018-31 May 2019, and she was the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at EMU between October 2010 – October 2016. She is a founding member of Cyprus Network for Urban Morphology (CYNUM), and a member of ISOCARP, CSA, ICOMOS TR, ISUF, and TICCIH. She is co-chair of the Senior Advisory Board on Public Space in City Space Architecture (CSA) and an elected Scientific Committee Member of ISOCARP for 2023-2026. Professor Hoskara continues her research in Architectural and Urban Design Education, Urban Morphology, Public Space and Placemaking, Sustainable Urban Design and Planning, SDGs in Architecture, Urban Design and Urban Planning, Urban Conservation, and Conservation of Industrial Heritage in Cyprus. She has supervised 8 Ph.D. and 17 master's theses and currently supervising 8 PhDs and 1 master's.
Dr. Tijana Tufek Memisevic
Dr. Tijana Tufek Memisevic is an architect, a researcher and a sustainable urban development specialist. She is the principal of a multidisciplinary design and research company in the US and a licensed architect in BiH. She obtained her master's degree in architecture from the University of Sarajevo, BiH and her PhD in urban planning from Cracow University of Technology in Poland.
With over 15 years of experience in the field, Dr. Tufek Memisevic has worked in various capacities encompassing architectural practice, teaching architecture and urban design courses at international universities in Sarajevo and Cracow, conducting research, editorial and peer-review work, and leading research initiatives in sustainable urban development. Furthermore, she has effectively spearheaded and coordinated numerous international scientific symposia and workshops specifically focused on smart, inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities. She has been invited to deliver guest lectures, engaged in student mentorship programs and served on multiple award competition juries.
Dr. Tufek Memisevic is a board member of the Bosnian Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS), a member of the American Planning Association (APA) and she served on the Committee for the Environment of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for Northeast Illinois.
Currently, she is leading an ongoing sustainable development program that facilitates a platform for local and global stakeholders in the Western Balkans to engage with civic society, fosters dialogue with local authorities, and provides researchers and academics with the opportunity to publish their research.
Zhiyun Ling
Zhiyun Ling is a designer at Jiangsu Institute of Urban Planning and Design (JUP). JUP as a state-owned institution, accepting work directions from functional departments of the government which provided Zhiyun the opportunities to participated in government-guided projects including the provincial cities' greening initiative, the reversion of provincial garden city standards, and the formulation of Jiangsu Proposal and Jiangsu Consensus. Zhiyun was also part of the organizing team of the 2020 International Urban Green Development Conference, Wuxi. Besides, Zhiyun is experienced in general landscape construction designs, Jiangsu provincial scenic area planning and Jiangsu garden expo parks planning (Jiangsu garden expo is important annual horticultural exhibition activities in Jiangsu and also advanced in China, forming a well-known brand effect within its long history). Based on professional experience in digitalization of data, standardization of analysis process, and visualization of working results, Zhiyun is currently devoting in research projects exploiting landscape digital application toolbox aiming at promoting the real transformation of the industry to a digital direction.