Urban and Transit Planning: Towards Liveable Communities: Urban Places and Design Spaces

Francesco Alberti is Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Design at the Department of Architecture of the University of Florence, where he is currently in charge of the Laboratory of Urban Planning and Design at the 5-year Master's Degree Course in Architecture, and of the course “Smart City Planning” for the postgraduate programme “ABITA” (Bioecological Architecture and Technological Innovation for the Environment). In the same Department, he is the scientific coordinator of the research unit "SUP&R" (Sustainable Urban Projects & Research) and of the related university spin-off "Urban LIFE” (Urban Liveability & Innovation for Everyone).

As a member of the Italian National Institute of Urban Planning (INU - Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica) he joined the National Committees “Networks, Infrastructure and Innovation Policies” (2014-2016), “Urban Accessibility for Everyone” (2016-), and “Mobility, Infrastructure, and logistics” (2019-). Since 2016 he is the President of theRegional division of INU in Tuscany.

His scientific interests in the fields of spatial planning and urban design refer to an approach aimed at giving cultural coherence and operational continuity between the dimensions of research and education on the themes of the city and the territory, with a special focus on two main areas: 

- the relationship between urban planning, design, and management in the perspective of sustainability; 

- the interpretation of mobility systems as "public spaces", playing a major role in structuring contemporary territories.

On these topics, he has written many essays, articles, and books, joined national and international conferences, lectured in postgraduate programmes and master courses for professionals and public administrators, provided expert help in participatory processes, coordinated seminars, and conducted research on behalf of public institutions and private enterprises. 

Yasser Mahgoub is an architect, academic and scholar and received his Doctorate in Architecture degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, in 1990. He held several academic positions at Ain Shams University, United Arab Emirates University, Kuwait University and Qatar University, and practiced as a professional architect and consultant in Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. He teaches design studios, research methods, environment and behavior, creativity and innovation, professional practice, graduation/senior projects and graduate courses. His research interests include social and cultural aspects of architecture, sustainable architecture, architectural education and the impact of globalization on architecture. He published several refereed research papers in internationally refereed journal and book chapters and attended and presented papers in several international and regional conferences. Served as a scientific referee for many scientific conferences and journals, he was a member of the Agha Khan for Architecture Award reviewers for the 2010 cycle.

Paola Gallo is an architect, academic and scholar in Architectural Technology at the University of Florence in Italy. With more than 20 years of experience in the field of built environment and sustainable governance, she works on energy efficiency in architecture, especially in refurbishment field and is specialized also in industrial ecologically equipped areas planning. Since 2007, she is Scientific Secretary and Member of the University Research Center ABITA (Bioecological Architecture and Technological Innovation for the Environment) set up between the Universities of Florence, Rome, Naples, Milan, Turin, Reggio Calabria, Genoa. Starting from 2018, she is a director of European Master Course “ABITA – Sustainable design and technologies for built environment ” at the University of Florence. Professor Paola Gallo gained experience in scientific peer-reviewed publishing as author in the field of Technology of Architecture and has attended and presented papers in severalinternational and national conferences. She has also served as a scientific referee for many scientific conferences and journals and is assistant editor in a reputable journal edited on emerging scientific topics related to promoting technology of architecture for the sustainable development.

Adriana Galderisi, Architect, graduated cum laude in Architecture in 1989. Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning in 2000. She is Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitel. She was one of the founding members of the thematic group "Resilience and Risks Mitigation Strategies (RRMS)" within the AESOP (Association of European Schools of Planning) in 2007 and she is currently part of the Coordinating Board. She has carried out research on issues related to sustainability of urban environment, vulnerability and resilience of urban systems in the face of environmental risks, also in the context of several national and European projects. She also authored more than 100 essays in books and scientific journals. In 2018, she edited the book A. Galderisi, A. Colucci (2018), Smart, Resilient and Transition Cities Emerging Approaches and Tools for A Climate-Sensitive Urban Development. Elsevier Publisher.

Eric Strauss is a land use lawyer, urban and regional planner and an academic who has taught in both fields. He has held faculty positions in the following fields: agriculture; architecture and urban design; environmental studies; geography; law; public administration; public affairs; and urban and regional planning. Dr. Strauss began his career working on a Governor’s staff in Wisconsin. He then joined the University of Kansas where he was the chair of the Graduate Program in Urban Planning. His research areas included such topics as energy conservation, growth management and adequate public facilities. In 2001, he moved to Michigan State University where he was Director of the Urban and Regional Planning Program.  He has taught at Universities in Ireland, Germany, Romania, South Korea and Turkey. Dr. Strauss was Fulbright Specialist in the Municipality of Panama City, Panama, focusing on urban planning and transportation issues. He scheduled to be a Fulbright Scholar in the Spring of 2021 in the Faculty of Public Administration at Babes-Bolyai University in Romania. He has published in a variety of academic and professional publications. He recently co-authored a textbook on land use law. His research has been funded by federal, state and local governments as well as private organizations.