Resilient Planning and Design for Sustainable Cities

Francesco Alberti

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 post-graduate courses in “Smart City Planning” and “Sustainable mobility infrastructures”. Moreover, 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) and a member of the scientific team of the University of Florence at the spoke “Urban Mobility” of the “Nation Centre on Sustainable Mobility”, established in 2022 by the Italian Government.

His scientific interests in the fields of spatial planning and urban design refer to an approach aimed at giving cultural consistency 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.

Professor Paola Gallo

Professor Paola Gallo is 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 has been Member of the Scientific Secretary 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, and Genoa. Starting from 2018, she has been Director of European Master Course “ABITA – Sustainable Design and Technologies for Built Environment” at the University of Florence.

Professor Paola Gallo has gained experience in scientific peer-reviewed publishing as Author in the field of Technology of Architecture and has also attended and presented papers in several international and national conferences.

Abraham R Matamanda (PhD Urban & Regional Planning) is an NRF Y2-rated Urban and Regional Planner who also trained as a social ecologist. Abraham lectures at the University of Free State (UFS) in the Department of Geography. Abraham is currently the editor of the Town Planning Journal published by UFS and also serves on the academic editorial board of Plos Water Journal. He is a fellow of the Department of Higher Education and Training Future Professorate Programme Phase 1, third Cohort. Abraham is the South African PI for a global collaborative research project exploring how children and young people from monetary poor households have adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic focusing on food, education and play/leisure. His research focuses on urban governance and planning, climate change adaptation and resilience, informal Global South urbanism, urban food systems, and housing studies. Abraham is co-editor of the book Urban Geography in Postcolonial Zimbabwe: Paradigms and perspectives for sustainable urban planning and governance published with Springer Nature in 2021.

Dr. Eric J. Strauss

Dr. Eric Strauss is Land Use Lawyer, Urban and Regional Planner, and 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 as Governor’s Staff in Wisconsin. He then joined the University of Kansas where he was Chair of the Graduate Program in Urban Planning. His research areas included such topics as energy conservation, growth management, and adequate public facilities.

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.