Speakers and presenters

Ab Rogers is a Designer and Founder of Ab Rogers Design (ARD), a design and architecture studio he established in 2004 and now runs with Co-director Ernesto Bartolini. Known for a wide-ranging practice informed by his unique imagination, Ab’s studio specialises in the design of caring and experiential spaces, sustainability and inside-out design. Working internationally across health, culture, hospitality and residential sectors, it champions a broad skill base in its creation of active, supportive, engaging environments that inject narrative and purpose into the everyday. In 2021 the studio won the Wolfson Economics Prize with its design for the hospital of the future. Following this, Ab co-founded the DRU+, a design research unit that explores the interrelationship between design, culture and neuroscience, using scientific rigour to deliver the art of care, alongside Francesca Bertolotti-Bailey and Ash Ranpura. He has taught all over the world, creating and leading the Interior Design MA Programme at the Royal College of Art from 2012 to 2015. Recent projects include sustainable structures for the Thai music festival ‘Wonderfruit’, the Maggie’s Centre at the Royal Marsden Hospital and a series of immersive exhibitions at cultural centre 180 The Strand, including shows for Wes Anderson’s films 'Asteroid City' and 'French Dispatch', and Universal Everything’s digital extravaganza ‘Lifeforms’.

I am a Director at Innovo. We work with ambitious governments and companies to build solutions for sustainable cities. I am Founder of various organisations: 🏗️ Skyroom: building affordable homes for key workers in the airspace above existing buildings. ♻️ Bio-bean (acq. Envar): manufacturing advanced biofuels and biochemicals derived from used coffee grounds. ⏩ Fast Forward 2030: supporting early-stage social and environmental entrepreneurs. In addition, I work with various organisations: 🚇 Board Member at Transport for London (TfL). 🏛️ Board Member at the Museum of the Home. 🎓 Honorary Associate Professor at UCL Institue for Global Prosperity. 🚀 Entrepreneur in Residence at UCL. 🪴 Chair, Climate Roundtable at the Royal Academy of Engineering. 📗 Author of forthcoming book — Roadkill: Unveiling the True Cost of Our Toxic Relationship with Cars — with Professor Dame Henrietta Moore (Wiley, 2025). Pre-order here: https://getroadkill.com/

Professor Henrietta L. Moore is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Global Prosperity and the Chair in Culture Philosophy and Design at University College London (UCL). A leading global thinker on prosperity, Professor Moore challenges traditional economic models of growth arguing that to flourish communities, businesses and governments need to engage with diversity and work within environmental limits. Her recent policy work focus on new economic models, Universal Basic Services, Artificial Intelligence, environmental degradation and decarbonisation, displaced people and the gender pay gap. In 2016 Professor Moore was made Dame Commander for the British Empire for contribution to social sciences, services to business, policy and the arts. She is also a Fellow of the Clean Growth Network, a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an Academician of the Learned Societies for the Social Sciences, and a Member of the Institute of Directors.

Prof Ashton was appointed director of public health for Liverpool City Council in April 2020 in a joint appointment with the University of Liverpool, where he is an honorary professor in the Department of Public Health and Policy. He leads a team of 30 people in the local authority, covering a range of public health activities, including the commissioning of public health services, health protection, health improvement, healthcare public health, embedding health in all policies approaches, and addressing the wider determinants of health. Matt led on the response to the Covid-19 pandemic for Liverpool, and his efforts have been recognised nationally through the award of the Faculty of Public Health’s presidential medal in 2021, and also the Chief Medical Officers' National Impact Award in 2022. Matt is passionate about bringing together the best people and partnerships in the region to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities in local communities.

Paul was elected as Councillor for Langworthy in 2012, and held the role of Strategic Assistant Mayor, where he championed equalities, technology innovation, urban regeneration, and workforce development until 2016. His focus on fostering inclusive prosperity and sustainable growth laid the groundwork for his future leadership. Since being elected as City Mayor in 2016, Paul has been campaigned for equality, financial inclusion, and the real Living Wage. He has worked to embed social value across the public and private sectors, with a particular commitment to tackling poverty and addressing the housing crisis. His leadership has helped create an environment where innovative solutions to Salford’s housing challenges can thrive. Passionate about empowering young people and nurturing Salford’s rich cultural and sporting life, Paul led the launch of Suprema Lex in 2020, Salford’s shared cultural strategy. Driven by the Salford Culture and Place Partnership, this strategy is a cornerstone of the city’s ambitions for creativity, arts, and community engagement. In his wider role as Deputy City Mayor within the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), Paul has been instrumental in delivering the Housing First initiative and tackling homelessness. He continues to oversee the development of Greater Manchester’s Housing Strategy, while leading efforts on the Plan for Homes, Jobs, and the Environment, ensuring that the city region's growth is sustainable, inclusive, and equitable.

Dr. Yonette Felicity Thomas is the founder and president of UrbanHealth360, an organization of multidisciplinary thinkers centered on a people-oriented, community-focused approach to urban health. Dr. Thomas is a globally acknowledged thought leader, urban health champion, and an advocate for valuing the health of women and girls as an economic imperative. A social epidemiologist/medical sociologist by training, she has served as the chief of Epidemiology at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the National Institutes of Health, held academic positions at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Howard University, and as a vice president for research. She founded Borjoner International and Strategic Transitions to influence the progress, health, and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the world. As a founding board member of Women’s Economic Imperative (WEI), she leads the organization’s focus on the health of women and girls as an economic value. Her work as global advisor for Evidence for Sustainable Human Development Systems in Africa (EVIHDAF) and the Centre for Urban Health and Development within the Asian Institute of Poverty Alleviation (CUHD-AIPA) extends her focus on the global south and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals in this last decade. She is the Associate Editor for Women and Girls for Cities & Health. She is a founding board member of the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) and recently led the organization into sustainability by serving as the inaugural executive director (as a board member) and has served as a science advisor for urban health to the New York Academy of Medicine. She is a founding board member and former vice president of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science (IAPHS) and served on the Steering Committee of the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse for more than a decade. She served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Revisions to the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Her primary research and publications have focused on the social determinants of health, health disparities, the health of women and girls as an economic value, the social epidemiology of drug abuse and HIV/AIDS and the link with geography, including edited volumes: Geography and Drug Addiction, Crime, HIV, and Health: intersections of Criminal Justice and Public Health Concerns.

Abigail Oppong is a young, distinguished professional who is celebrated for advancing AI ethics, particularly in addressing biases in NLP and health systems. She was honored as one of the 100 women in AI ethics by Women in AI Ethics in 2023. Her passion for science, technology, and nature drives her to explore how new developments can advance humanity. Abigail’s work includes evaluating biases in NLP and health systems and enhancing fairness in AI technologies, especially for underserved communities. She has contributed significantly to projects through collaborations, focusing on creating responsible AI systems that meet local and regional ethical standards. Abigail’s professional journey includes a stint as a Research Consultant working with Academia, Industry, and NGOs. She has spoken at international conferences published in prestigious forums like CHI and EMNLP and spoken as a panelist at the Royal Society, where she advocates for the need to build more inclusive health technologies. She has been part of an engagement with an expert group on quantum science at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, where she champions the need for more inclusion in the discovery of science. community-based solutions. Her data science, machine learning, and AI ethics skills make her pivotal in shaping AI governance and ethical standards, particularly in Africa. Abigail’s interdisciplinary approach and previous experience in the nonprofit sector enrich her contributions to AI ethics, emphasizing the importance of localization, trust, culture, and representation in technological development. During her leisure time, she likes giving back to the community. She has co-founded several initiatives to promote Unity, good health, and community development. Her passion for community development influenced her research journey to investigate how local organizations can be empowered in the age of emerging technologies.

Adam is an Architect and researcher with BDP, having first joined as a Part II Architectural Assistant in 2008 and qualifying in 2010. Adam has experience of all aspects of project design and delivery; from initial concept development and masterplanning through project delivery in the residential sector. Adam returned to BDP following the completion of his PhD and Post-Doc research at the University of Sheffield, and has particular expertise in the design of environments that support older people’s health and well-being. Adam has provided expert advice to Sheffield City Council to develop their Older People’s Independent Living Strategy, and his research has been featured in a number of publications including the 2018 RIBA book ‘Age-Friendly Housing’. He regularly presents on the theme of age-friendly housing including talks given to New London Architecture and the Royal Society of Arts. He continues to tutor on the University of Sheffield School of Architecture and Landscape undergraduate programme.

Amarina Donohoe-Bales is a PhD student and research officer at the Matilda Centre, University of Sydney. Amarina’s research explores the social and environmental determinants of mental health, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and associated climate disasters on young peoples’ wellbeing. Prioritising lived experience partnerships and co-production principles throughout the research process, Amarina aims to co-create policy and practice solutions to support future generations’ psychosocial wellbeing in response to diverse, complex, and compounding socio-ecological challenges.

Amber Nyoni is a dedicated public health professional who champions equitable health outcomes for all. She holds a Master's in Population Health from University College London, with a focus on health and wellbeing in the built environment, and an undergraduate degree in Environmental and Public Health from Middlesex University. Amber is a registered Public Health Practitioner with UKPHR. Amber's professional journey has contributed to her passion for the intersection of health and the built environment. She has worked in roles supporting a Health in All Policies approach across various disciplines, including Town Planning which led to the development of the Essex Livewell Development Accreditation for Housebuilders. Currently, as a Strategic Planning and Public Health Lead at Essex County Council, Amber supports the integration of public health and town planning to address and embed the wider determinants of health into planning processes. Her role involves providing public health expertise on health impact assessments for strategic planning applications and building capabilities and capacity within Essex. Amber is also currently a member of the Urban Land Institute Health Leaders Network for Cohort 8. Amber's commitment to creating healthy and sustainable communities has been a driving force in both her professional and academic pursuits.

Dr Pyko obtained his PhD in Environmental Epidemiology from Karolinska Institutet in 2018. He works at the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine within the Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, and at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet. His research focuses on the health effects of air pollution and noise exposure in urban environments. Dr Pyko has contributed to large-scale European projects such as ELAPSE, ESCAPE, and NordSOUND. He currently coordinates data integration and GIS-based exposure mapping for regional health planning tools, with a strong emphasis on environmental justice and equity.

Andrew joined Ryder as an urban design assistant in 2021 after graduating from Newcastle University with a master’s degree in urban design where he achieved the William Ault prize as the highest achieving student. Andrew is passionate about masterplanning, placemaking for health and wellbeing and designing places for all. Prior to Ryder, Andrew completed a variety of interior design projects, ranging from residential, hospitality, and conversion of listed buildings.

Andrew is an air quality scientist with a passion for harnessing technology to expand access to air quality information. Over the course of a 20 year career at the heart of air quality monitoring and management in London he has led the development of pioneering apps, websites, widgets and now with AWAIR, the UK’s first dedicated outdoor air quality display.

Research Associate (PSRC/School of Pharmacy). Angela’s research focus is on applied health care research, with a particular focus on using ethnographic and qualitative methods to explore everyday practice within health and social care settings to understanding how health services are delivered, experienced, and adapted in real-world contexts.

Dr Merritt obtained her PhD in Environmental Medicine from Karolinska Institutet in 2004. Her current position is as Head of the Unit for Environmental Medicine at the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine within the Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm. She is also affiliated as a researcher with the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. Dr Merritt has a particular interest in personal exposure assessment of airborne exposures. She is also Co-PI of a birth cohort in Sweden.

Dr Georgelis obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from Stockholm University in 1989. Since 1990, he has been employed as an environmental toxicologist at the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine within the Stockholm Health Care Service, Region Stockholm. He is also affiliated as a researcher with the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. Dr Georgelis has a particular interest in environmental risk assessment.

Araceli is a descendant of Turtle Island Peoples, which drives and shapes her work as both a scientist and health justice advocate. Within Centric Lab, her role is to create the scientific infrastructure to shed light on the physiological link between people, place, and health. Araceli holds an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience from King's College London and has led Centric Lab’s partnerships with leading academics at a range of university research centres.

Dr Ash Ranpura is a neurologist and cognitive neuroscientist who has been active in brain research for over 25 years. He received his Bachelor's degree from Yale University, completed an M.D. at the Medical College of Ohio and carried out his Ph.D. research at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience in Queen Square, London. He completed an internship in internal medicine and a residency in adult general neurology at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, where he spearheaded new initiatives for improving patient transport and reducing the use of sedation for MRI. In addition to his clinical work, Dr Ranpura has made significant contributions in science communication, having been a Co-founder of Café Scientifique at the Photographers’ Gallery in London, a founding editor at 'BrainConnection' magazine in San Francisco and a host of radio programmes for BBC Radio 4, National Public Radio and Audible.com. He is co-author, together with presenter Ruby Wax and Buddhist monk Gelong Thubten, of 'How to be Human: The Manual', a practical guidebook exploring the effects of meditation on the brain.

Ben Clifford is Professor of Spatial Planning and Governance at the UCL Bartlett School of Planning. At UCL, Ben has been involved in research on devolution and planning, local authority housebuilding, deregulation and planning (particularly permitted development in England) and outsourcing and the public interest in planning. His research on permitted development was recognised with an RTPI prize for research excellence in 2018 and in 2021 he was named by Apolitical as one of the '100 Most Influential Academics in Government' in the UK. Ben is widely published in academic journals and books. He has held academic visiting positions with the University of Melbourne and Public Health England / the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. In addition to his duties in research and teaching, Ben serves as the Programme Director for the MSc Spatial Planning and the MSc Spatial Planning Degree Apprenticeship at UCL. He led the design of the MPlan City Planning and MSc Spatial Planning Degree Apprenticeship programmes at UCL. His teaching focuses on governance, operation, politics, reform and practices of the statutory planning system in the UK. From 2011-2023, he was the departmental tutor with oversight of all taught postgraduate students and courses in the Bartlett School of Planning.

My career began as a fitness professional after studying Sport & Exercise Medicine at Loughborough University. After working in corporate fitness at a London investment bank for a couple of years, I decided that I wanted to help people who really needed support and began working as an exercise referral instructor in deprived areas of London. During this time, I delivered cardiac rehab programmes and coordinated tier 3 weight management schemes in local communities. In 2015, I studied a masters in Public Health at Kings College London, where I learnt about the complexity of public health issues. After completing my studies, I progressed my career in service management and developed community-based support programmes in the London Borough of Wandsworth. This included a physical activity service for people living with and beyond cancer (called Macmillan Move More), a stroke exercise programme and a social prescribing service. After spending 9 years in London, I moved to Sheffield in 2020. My first role in Sheffield was based at a national breast cancer charity, where I managed a volunteer support service for people newly diagnosed with breast cancer. In October 2022, I started my current role as the Operations Manager at the National Centre for Sport & Exercise Medicine, Sheffield. My role involves overseeing our co-location model, which aims to transform the way physical activity is embedded within the NHS. As part of my role I promote physical activity to healthcare professionals and support local NHS services to integrate physical activity within clinical pathways.

Blake Jackson, AIA is an architect working at the nexus of sustainability, wellness, and resiliency. He is the Director, Sustainability for NORR, a 750-person AE company with locations in the US, UK, and Canada. He has 24 years’ experience in the AEC industry, holding a Bachelor of Architecture from Kennesaw State University (Marietta, GA) and a Master of Architecture in Sustainable Environmental Design from the AA Graduate School (London, UK). Blake is a prolific author, speaker, and educator on built environment topics. He is a past Vice President of Advocacy for the Boston Society of Architects, and he is currently on the Advisory Board for the Interior Design programme for the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Blake was recognized by BD+C Magazine as a top “40 Under 40” AEC professional (2015), named a LEED Fellow by the USGBC (2021), and he is a recipient of the AIA Young Architects Award (2024).

Brian is an architect and leads HDR’s behavioral health practice. In his work, Brian introduces current research and design trends to improve safety, patient satisfaction, and staff retention for behavioral health clients around the world. He is an active member of the FGI topic group focused on behavioral health and has received national recognition for his contributions to the field. Brian believes all humans have value and strives to promote equity by building stronger connections for patients, family, and staff in mental health environments and communities.

As Senior Strategic Lead for Health and Social Care, I am responsible for developing/maintaining strategic relationships between the Health and Social Care commissioners/ providers in Salford and the VCSE sector. Specifically to ensure that the VCSE sector is involved with and central to the transformation work of person centred Heath and wellbeing across the Integrated Care Partnership in Salford. As one of three strategic leads at Salford CVS I am part of the organisational leadership group. As part of my responsibilities I oversee the Wellbeing Matters Programme, which is the social prescribing plus model for Salford, and I am also the VCSE lead for Social Prescribing for 10GM working alongside NHS Greater Manchester. Extensive experience of developing, planning and coordinating a range of initiatives in the NHS, Local Authorities and 3rd Sector. > building and maintaining multi-sector partnerships/networks > project /operational management (Social prescribing, health improvement, patient/public engagement, community regeneration) > sustainability planning > developing community assets > planning and delivering training > one to one coaching and mentoring My strengths include: - initiating/developing projects, operational management; collecting/ monitoring of data/evidence; performance reporting; organising events, training and seminars. My Public Health experience is backed by: - > Post Graduate qualification in Public Health and Health Impact Assessment > Post graduate Certificates in Working with Communities and Community Auditing > Prince 2 Practitioner > NLP Practitioner I have extensive experience of training management, staff and volunteers for public organisations in 'Making Every Contact Count' (Health Gain) developed engagement plans for a Wellbeing Service, lectured on Health Inequalities at Manchester Uni and facilitated focus groups.

Caglar Koksal is a Lecturer in Urban Planning at the University of Manchester, with expertise in spatial planning, planning practice, housing and infrastructure planning, urban governance and policy, and health creation and inequalities. He has led and collaborated on numerous funded research projects at national and international levels, and he co-leads the Environment theme within the Healthier Futures Research Platform at the University. His research is grounded in a commitment to evidence-informed, practically engaged scholarship, using both quantitative methods (such as GIS and spatial analysis) and qualitative methods (including policy analysis and elite interviews). Dr Koksal’s broader research and consultancy work includes leadership on projects examining policy design and implementation, as well as collaborative work with local authorities, national government, think tanks, and private sector consultancies.

Camilla Sedgwick holds a Master of Public Health (Chronic Disease Prevention) and a Bachelor of Education. She is a registered secondary school teacher with over 21 years’ experience in schools across Australia and the United Kingdom. Camilla’s expertise in Health Promoting Schools and youth wellbeing has informed curriculum design and special projects for students in high school and college settings. Her recent work focuses on the intersection of social determinants of health, educational outcomes and overall wellbeing. Camilla has conducted research with priority population groups, government stakeholders and policymakers, contributing to the development of the health policy in NSW.

Carolyn Daher is a public health specialist with over 20 years of international experience connecting research, education and implementation to build healthier communities. Carolyn has a B.A. in Environmental Studies (Brown University), Master in Public Health (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School) and a Master in Psychosocial Intervention (University of Barcelona). Her work centers on how to generate greater impact in policy and society using scientific evidence, and ensure evidence-based practices in the creation and implementation of projects to promote health, especially in urban contexts. She currently coordinates ISGlobal’s Urban Planning, Health and Environment Initiative.

Catrin Lyddon is a Public Health Practitioner working in the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit (WHIASU) which is part of Public Health Wales. She has a background in research, with an interest in the wider determinants of health. Catrin is passionate about understanding and identifying health and wellbeing impacts, and uses her role within WHIASU to provide advice, guidance and support to those looking to identify the health impacts of their work by using Health Impact Assessment (HIA). She has supported many HIA workshops at both a national and local level in subject areas such as planning, waste and recycling, and screening engagement.

Celen Pasalar, Ph.D. is Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning and Extension Coordinator in the College of Design at North Carolina State University. She also holds the titles of University Faculty Scholar and Community Engaged Fellow. Dr. Pasalar is actively involved in the Executive Leadership of the Global One Health Academy, where she co-leads the Climate Change and Health Disparities Research Initiative. Her research focuses on creating, translating, and broadening evidence for designing smart, connected, resilient, and healthy communities. Her work in the realms of urbanism, human behavior and environment, and community design has profoundly affected the design discipline addressing the needs in communities at multiple scales. Dr. Pasalar collaborates with multidisciplinary researchers, community partners, and practitioners to develop evidence-based design solutions transforming communities. Her award-winning projects and research have been supported by the National Science Foundation, Federal Emergency Management Agency/U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NC Department of Transportation, the Spencer Foundation, and various non-profits. Her work has been recognized with many awards, including the 2020 Excellence in Service Learning Award from Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, the 2019 Outstanding Extension Award from North Carolina State University, and multiple national awards from American Society of Landscape Architects. She has published extensively, including book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, proceedings, and research reports. She is a member of the Environmental Design Research Association Board of Directors, and the Associate Editor and Executive Board member of the Ekistics and the New Habitat Journal. Dr. Pasalar holds a Ph.D. in Design from North Carolina State University, an MSc. in City and Regional Planning with a focus on Urban Design, and a B.Arch in Architecture from Middle East Technical University. Her impactful work over the years exemplifies her commitment to creating sustainable and resilient communities.

Dr Eriksson obtained her PhD in Environmental Epidemiology from Karolinska Institutet in 2012. She works at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine within the Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, and at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet. Her research focuses on urban environments and their impact on public health with a particular focus on traffic noise, air pollution and urban greenness. She is the primary investigator of the Stockholm Environmental Health Program, a six-year research program with the aim to develop and evaluate strategies for building a sustainable city that promotes good and equitable public health among residents of urban areas.

Cheryl Williams joined the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit (WHIASU) in Public Health Wales in September 2024 as a Principal Public Health Practitioner (Policy and Impact Assessment). Her work focuses on maximising the connections between spatial planning and health. Prior to this Cheryl spent a number of years working in the local Public Health Team in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, where her role included working with both Cardiff and Vale local authorities around planning policy and health. Early in her career, having initially studied town planning, Cheryl worked as a Planning Officer in Coventry City Council and then Cardiff Council, before having a career change and moving into public health.

Chris is Chief Executive of Unlimited Potential, a community benefit society that specialises in social and economic innovation and system change, based in Salford, Greater Manchester. It develops new solutions to social and economic challenges together with local people and communities. Chris has set up, and supported local people to set up, many social enterprises. He is a Fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Originally trained as a social anthropologist, Chris is an Assembly Member at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Greater Manchester VCFSE Leadership Group, the Salford Health and Wellbeing Board, Salford Social Enterprise City and Salford Social Value Alliance.

I am an architect with over 40 years’ practice experience on local and international projects. In 2004, I joined forces with David West, an Urban Designer, to co-found Studio Egret West, an award-winning, dynamic cross platform studio where architecture, urban design and landscape are united to create a unique working environment where city, public realm and buildings speak to each other. I take an active role in the practice’s masterplans (Earls Court, Bratislava Southbank, Digbeth, Mayfield, High Road West, Preston Barracks, & Vicarage Field) and encourage a design by many hands, collaborating with renown and emerging design practices. Our studio operates across multiple sectors. One of my main interests has been housing and its juxtaposition with other mixed uses to establish richer urban places (Clapham Library, New Bermondsey, Caxton Works & The Old Vinyl Factory, Barangaroo, Eastwick & Sweetwater, Cotton Quay, Barking 360, The Rockery, & Bow Common) and I like to explore new typologies that adapt to our changing housing landscape: how can we combine housing with light industry? How can we adapt existing structures to provide buildings with a ‘Second Life’? (Park Hill, Balfron Tower, Smithfield Market & Hayes Park). I am interested in transport hubs – I see them as natural centres of urban life (Brent Cross, East Croydon, London Underground - Design Idiom & The Shoals at Stratford). I have been engaged in the design of schools and workplace incubators, (Erith Primary School & Plus X Innovation, Montpellier’s Maison de la Radio). I have been on many judging panels and teach at the London School of Architecture and frequently lecture on subjects ranging from architecture to sustainable communities, place making and landscape. I like to contribute to thought pieces for the architectural and design press and co-authored “Framing Serendipity, an approach to Evolving Places” – a monograph of Studio Egret West’s work. I moved from Paris to London in 1979 to study at the Architectural Association and spent my formative years working on a number of key projects, notably designing, while a director at Alsop Architects, the Peckham Library (winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2000), the Blizzard Building for the Queen Mary Research Laboratory in Whitechapel, the winning design for the Fourth Grace in Liverpool and the Manchester Millennium Village framework plan.

Claude Hendrickson MBE has been active in the self-build and community-led housing sector for over 30 years. In 1989, he co-founded Frontline Community Self-Build, a pioneering project led by unemployed African-Caribbean men in Leeds. He went on to become a founding member of the Community Self Build Agency (CSBA) in 2000, supporting self-build initiatives across the UK—many involving ex-service personnel. In 2010, Claude became CSBA’s Northern Director (on a voluntary basis), and in 2015, he was commissioned by Leeds City Council to develop a 10-year strategy for self-build. He continues to champion inclusive housing through roles as an EDI Associate at People Powered Homes Leeds, an accredited Community-Led Housing Advisor (CIH), and a Community Land Trust Ambassador. Claude regularly speaks at national housing events and facilitates workshops focused on diversity and inclusion. With deep knowledge of the systemic under-representation of minority groups in housing, he is a long-standing advocate for greater investment in urban self-build and community-led projects across the North of England. In recognition of his contributions, Claude was awarded an MBE in 2023 for services to community self-build and community-led housing.

Coen van den Wijngaart is Manager of Real Estate Development at Anculus and a member of its management committee. He specialises in overseeing the development, redevelopment, and renovation of public sector real estate projects, primarily serving educational institutions through delegated client management. Anculus provides strategic portfolio management with a focus on sustainable and resilient infrastructure. Coen van den Wijngaart holds a degree in Architectural Engineering from Delft University of Technology and an Executive MBA from Vlerick Business School, Brussels. With over 25 years of experience as an architect, entrepreneur, and strategic real estate developer, his expertise lies at the intersection of innovative architectural design, health and well-being in the built environment, and sustainable development. His research and professional interests include the translation of architectural and strategic concepts into healthy, inclusive, and future-proof environments for living, learning, working, and care. His career is marked by a commitment to advancing knowledge and practice in healthy and sustainable public real estate development.

With a strong foundation in retail, entrepreneurship, and community engagement, Cyndi Anafo is a Director and the majority owner at Peckham Palms. Raised in South London by a single mother who was a shopkeeper and entrepreneur, Cyndi brings both personal and professional experience to her work. She has hands-on experience running small businesses, including trading at markets, co-owning the Black-led lifestyle store United80, and co-owning the Snugg Bar (now Supercute) in Brixton Village, which she helped operate until 2014. Running in parallel, she is a seasoned cultural events producer and social commentator on matters specific to her immediate community and career leanings.

My name is Dagmara Wojciechowicz and I live in the L8. November last year I took on the role of Merseyside Polonia’s manager. I am community champion manager focusing on working in partnership with local PCNs, hospital trusts and other health institutions advocating for Polish community. Our partnerships are aimed at bringing down barriers in accessing healthcare and addressing health inequalities affecting our communities. I am a public advisor for ARC NWC based at University of Liverpool on ‘Growing Up Children in Liverpool’ project, and also sit as committee on Health Equality Project Liverpool focusing on addressing low MMR imms uptake amongst children in Liverpool. I have a degree in Business and PR but my focus during my studies was on Corporate Social Responsibility.

Dan is an associate professor coming from urban planning specializing in active transportation, urban and regional planning, and sustainable transportation. He relocated from Nebraska, U.S. to Oslo, Norway during the pandemic to be able to do more research on bicycle use and active transportation.

I have 20+ years of Placeshaping experience encompassing the successful delivery of multiple diverse projects. I’m a Chartered Landscape Architect, Urban Designer, Masterplanner, High Street Task Force Expert and qualified Project Manager. I’m a friendly, warm, approachable team member as well as a dynamic, innovative and collaborative professional. I'm a mentor on Future Greater Manchester Leaders Plus and Women in Architecture programmes. I guest lecture on Manchester Metropolitan/Manchester School of Architecture; Landscape + Urbanism course.

David Cheshire is a Director at AECOM, specialising in sustainability and regenerative design in the built environment. David is the author of Building Revolutions, The Handbook to Building a Circular Economy and a newly published book titled: Regenerative by Design that explains how buildings can have a positive impact on the planet, becoming an active part of the ecosystem.

David Rudlin is one of the leading urban designers in the UK as past chair of the Academy of Urbanism, winner of the 2014 Wolfson Economics Prize and principle author of the Government’s National Model Design Code. David established Rudlin and Co Urban Design consultancy in 2025, having been a former director of Urban Design at BDP, and former principal of URBED (Urbanism Environment and Design) - one of the UK’s longest standing and best respected urban design practices. He is a planner by training and started his career with Manchester City Council. At URBED he was responsible for a range of city centre masterplans including Bristol, Wolverhampton, Brighton and Nottingham. He is author of a number of books on urban design including Building the 21st Century Home (2009), Climax City (2019), and High Street (2023).

Dawn Carroll is the Head of the award-winning House of Memories. She leads on the development and delivery of an expanding House of Memories engagement programme including partnerships, digital training and resources. Dawn has an interest in digital innovation for health, having played a key role in the creation of the ‘My House of Memories app’ and ‘House of Memories On The Road’ a mobile immersive experience for isolated elders in the community. She works with an extensive range of partners, locally, nationally and internationally, including museums, health and social care partnerships, and is a regional representative for the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance.

Elad is AECOM’s director for city master planning and urban design. Based in London and working internationally, he offers clients a holistic approach to city development, urban strategy and design, across the firm's strategic intervention sectors. Trained as an architect and urban designer, Elad has over two decades of global experience, specialising in leading, designing and delivering major large-scale and complex urban projects. His integrated and strategic approach to city design helped shape many projects and places in cities across the globe, including Stratford City’s international Quarter, Tottenham Regeneration Framework and Thamesmead in London, NOMA in Manchester, Zuidas in Amsterdam, Central Renewal District in Sydney, City of Tshwane in Pretoria, South Africa and the Singapore Sports Hub. Elad is an Expert Panel Member for Planning at the NLA and formerly a member of the first cohort of the Mayor of London’s Infrastructure Advisory Panel. He has taught in major universities, including the Architectural Association School of Architecture and UCL. He has published widely, and he is a regular keynote speaker at many international conferences

Senior Fellow HEA, Certified Management & Business Educator and Fellow CMI. Experienced Dean with a demonstrable history of leadership in higher education. Higher education experience builds on professional practice as a marketer.

I trained in the North West on the Public Health training scheme and I’m a medical doctor by background. I have also been an academic trainee and have published multiple peer reviewed papers. I am passionate about improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities through driving collective action to improve the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age within Liverpool. I strongly believe in working with and empowering local communities to improve health outcomes. My current lead areas include wider determinants, addictions (drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling) and research and development, including being the lead for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded Health Determinants Research collaboration Liverpool.

Eman is a Research Associate at Newcastle University Population Health Sciences Institute in the Health Inequalities Team. A geospatial data scientist by background, she has extensive expertise in the use of geographical information systems (GIS) in public health. She is primarily interested in the complex interplay between social, spatial and health inequalities, spatial determinants of health and climate as an emerging facet of inequalities. 

Enrique Tabone is a multidisciplinary artist and designer, whose works have been exhibited in the UK, Malta, Germany, China, Turkey, and Italy. She also produces collections of wearable art through the QUEstijl brand, of which she is the founder. Both lines of creative work are the subject of Toni Sant’s book Enrique Tabone: Catalogue Raisonné (Kite Group, 2023). She has recently completed a postgraduate research degree in Digital Curation at the University of Salford, where she works as a data scientist with the Digital Curation Lab at MediaCityUK and teaches contemporary art practices. Red Leaf (2013), a metal seating sculpture she was commissioned to create, is permanently installed at the Verdala Sculpture Garden in Buskett, the official summer residence of the President of Malta. Her large-scale work Naħla (2017) was included in the third edition of VIVA – the Valletta International Visual Arts festival at Spazju Kreattiv; parts of this work now form part of Fondazzjoni Kreattività’s permanent collection, which is a substantial part of the modern and contemporary section of the National Art Collection of Malta.

Eric Parry RA Eric Parry leads a practice of about 110 delivering high quality buildings that demonstrate sensitivity to context and meticulous attention to detail. He is known for his intellectual rigor and sensitivity in every project, recognizing the importance of art and craft in the built environment. Eric's projects include a broad range of buildings both in the UK and abroad ranging from tall offices to residential as well as research and development and cultural buildings. Eric has undertaken a range of wellbeing-led tall buildings, with inclusive and accessible public realm. Projects in the City of London include 1 Undershaft, to be the tallest building in the City of London; One Fen Court, described by the Guardian as “one of the most well-crafted buildings the City has seen for some time” as well as a new headquarter building for the City of London Police. In Oxford a mental health hospital and a university research building will be on a site with listed buildings, currently in use as a hospital, which will become a new graduate college. International projects include Kyobashi, a landmark 180-metre tower in Tokyo, an R&D building in Singapore as well as a 5 star resort hotel in Okinawa. Eric has held several eminent posts, including President of the Architectural Association and he was elected a Royal Academician in 2006.

Dr Ffion Carney is a Senior Data Scientist in AtkinsRéalis’ Building Design Research & Innovation team. She specialises in urban analytics, geospatial analysis, and social science research. She holds a PhD in Geographic Information Science, from UCL, where she explored the use of big data to understand urban mobility patterns and transport disadvantage in vulnerable populations. Her primary research focus is on the use of open data and geospatial analysis to address challenges and inequalities in urban environments.

In her position as a senior social scientist and team member supervisor at HDR, Francesqca plays an integral role in the development and integration of human studies that support our clients’ knowledge needs and organizational goals. She is particularly interested in the relationships of built and social environments to human behavior, productivity and well-being. Francesqca’s responsibilities include study design and implementation oversight, developing instrumentation for data collection, writing research plans and protocols, facilitating focus groups and interviews, conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and synthesizing findings and insights that support our clients’ success. With her psychology and human-environment relations background, Francesqca brings appropriate methodologies and rigor to our projects, helping to ensure positive human experiences and outcomes.

Dr. Garett Sansom is an environmental epidemiologist whose work bridges environmental science and urban planning to promote healthier, more resilient communities. His research centers on community-engaged environmental assessment and the use of environmental data to inform nature-based solutions that address public health disparities. By integrating environmental monitoring, spatial modeling, and participatory approaches, Dr. Sansom targets communities disproportionately impacted by pollution, industrial development, and inadequate infrastructure. He leads several large-scale projects that connect environmental exposures—particularly to heavy metals and other contaminants—to chronic health outcomes and urban design interventions. His work emphasizes the transformative potential of greenspace, low-impact development, and ecological restoration in mitigating risk and improving quality of life. He directs the Together for a Better Tomorrow program in South Texas colonias, collaborating with community organizations and advisory boards to assess environmental health risks and co-design planning solutions that incorporate green infrastructure and nature-based resilience strategies. As an investigator with the Texas A&M Superfund Research Center, he has conducted post-disaster assessments in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the ITC petrochemical fire—emphasizing the role of built and natural systems in disaster recovery.

Dr Gemma Moore is an Associate Professor in Health, Wellbeing, and Communities at University College London's (UCL) Bartlett School of Environment, Energy & Resources. With over a decade of experience as an applied social researcher, her work focuses on the intersections between people, their environments, and decision-making processes. Her research integrates evaluation and learning processes into large, complex transdisciplinary programs, aiming to bridge research, evaluation, and engagement. Gemma is the Faculty Lead for Impact.

Nature Recovery | Climate Mitigation & Adaptation | Healthy Place-Making Research and Interests: - Nature recovery and green infrastructure as a means of addressing health & social inequalities in urban conurbations. - Nature-based solutions to mitigate risk from poor air quality, flood risk and urban heat islands. - The role of creative engagement approaches in enhancing public opinion and leading the way in policy development. - Community-led solutions as a source of proactive change in local areas/Place. Always open for a chat.

Graham leads Ryder’s sister company, Okana. Okana was created in 2024 to build on the success of BIM Academy – an internationally respected digital consultancy founded by Ryder, and Ryder Alliance – a global network delivering collaborative projects around the world. He believes that genuine transformation arises from cultural change, not merely technological solutions, and is dedicated to growing Okana's influence in shaping the future of the built environment. Graham has worked in construction and academia since 2005, completing a PhD in 2015.

Graham is an urban designer and landscape architect of longstanding. His work spans research and practice from strategy to detailed context of specific regeneration programmes. He has a particular interest in the meaningful involvement of community members in regeneration and the development of lifetime conversations that reconnect people to their places. He is the Chair/Mentor of the Backin' Birkenhead Town Team that is delivering a community-led Place Plan for Central Birkenhead.

Hamde Nazar is Professor of Pharmacy Education and Primary Care Research at Newcastle University. With a strong background in pharmacy education, public health, primary care research and academic leadership, she has significantly advanced pharmacy education through innovative teaching, impactful research, and extensive engagement with healthcare stakeholders. Professor Nazar led the successful transition and re-accreditation of Newcastle's MPharm programme and established the award-nominated Young@Heart student-led clinic, enhancing interprofessional education and public health outreach. Her research, focused on safer care transitions and community pharmacy services, has directly influenced national policy and commissioning in the UK. She has secured over £6 million in competitive funding and supervises multiple PhD students across health services and education research. A Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Professor Nazar serves on national committees including the NIHR, General Pharmaceutical Council, and Royal Pharmaceutical Society. She is also a mentor, educational consultant, and advocate for diversity in academia and healthcare leadership.

Hamide is a Ph.D. Candidate in Design at NC State University, where she has been studying since 2022 as a Provost’s Fellowship recipient. She has a background in architecture and a master’s degree in architectural design. Her current research focuses on climate-smart campuses and student well-being, examining how extreme heat impacts experiences in campus green spaces. Hamide is a student member of the Environmental Design Research Association and has presented her research at international conferences, including the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).

Professor Badland's vision is to create a more inclusive society, where everyone, regardless of their circumstances, can flourish. To do this, she investigates how the built environment is connected to health, wellbeing, and inequities in both adults and children internationally, with an interest in in populations disadvantaged by the system and inadequate policies. Her interdisciplinary, mixed-methods research program engages with end-users, typically policymakers and non-government organisations, to influence on-the-ground change. She is currently working on two major research themes. One is enhancing the social determinants of health for those with disability. The other focuses on reducing inequities in early childhood development.

Hayley Oleksiak is the founder and CEO of Open Space Sandbox, an award-winning civic tech company that helps communities collaboratively design parks and public spaces through a gamified planning platform. Her work combines community engagement, spatial data, and urban policy to drive more equitable and creative citymaking. She was named a Knight Emerging City Champion and is a recipient of Northeastern University’s Women Who Empower Innovator Award.

Heather Macey is a Director and Trustee at Makower Architects, where she shares leadership responsibilities with Tim Makower, helping to guide the practice’s strategic direction and day-to-day operations. With a background in urban regeneration, supported housing and masterplanning, Heather is committed to creating healthier and more inclusive environments through design innovation. Her work spans public and private sectors, including the adaptive reuse of culturally significant sites, residential schemes, and mixed-use masterplans. At Makower Architects, she is leading the studio’s focus on health and housing - advancing new models of place-based care and shaping projects that integrate wellbeing into the fabric of everyday life. Heather is a Trustee and Co-Lead of Homestead, a pioneering supported-housing model that brings together therapeutic design, health innovation and place-based care to support individuals with psychosis. Through this work, she is helping to reimagine supported-housing as a therapeutic ecosystem embedded in its local context. She is also the founding member of Architects Aware!, a London-based think tank dedicated to addressing housing insecurity through design and policy. She is currently producing a podcast series, Therapeutic by Design, which shares insights from clinicians, policymakers, designers and individuals with lived experience to influence health-centred policy and built environment practice. A confident public speaker and regular contributor to policy and design discourse, Heather champions a holistic, cross-sectoral approach to urban health, social justice and systemic change.

Helen is an architect and urban designer who started at BDP in January 2023, following five years at URBED. She has extensive experience working with Local Authorities, developers and community groups in challenging contexts across the UK. Helen has project delivery experience across all stages of the RIBA Plan of Work, including feasibility studies, town centre masterplans and blueprints, residential and communal architecture and retrofit projects, research and design guidance, and post occupancy evaluation. Helen is a skilled facilitator of community engagement and has co-ordinated engagement programmes on a range of complex projects including Stockton-on-Tees Blueprint, the Liverpool Waterfront Plan, and the Diamond Place ‘Design For Change’ engagement process in Oxford. She regularly delivers workshops on Participation in Architecture and Urban Design, and engages in student design reviews and occasional tutoring.

Helen Pineo is an urban planner, Research Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington and Honorary Associate Professor at University College London. Her research focuses on how development, regeneration and urban policy can support health and sustainability. She contributes to the evidence base about why and how to do healthy urbanism by using transdisciplinary approaches and amplifying the needs of under-represented communities and the planet.

Dr Hil Aked (they/he) is a writer and investigative researcher with a background in political sociology who holds a PhD from the University of Bath and an MSc from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. They have conducted research on the ‘Israel lobby’, Islamophobia, neoconservative think tanks and the media, the far right, and civil society activism in the struggle for AIDS treatment in South Africa.

As Assistant Director within the Regeneration and Inclusive Growth Directorate, Iain leads a multi-disciplinary team with the remit to drive forward the Council’s Borough wide regeneration ambitions with an initial focus on transforming their six town centres through a £200m investment programme over the next few years. Iain leads on town centre redevelopment across the Borough’s town centres, covering large scale regeneration and redevelopment sites, infrastructure schemes, site acquisitions and business engagement & development. Working at Stockton straight from University in 2002, Iain’s early career focused on several brownfield regeneration schemes along the River Tees corridor including the redevelopment of Tees White Water Course, Stockton Middlesbrough Initiative and North Shore redevelopment before going on to manage the Strategic Development Team within the Council, successfully drafting the Borough’s Local Plan and taking it through examination in public in 2018 as well as being the Council’s lead officer on the development and delivery of the 128 bed Hampton by Hilton Hotel scheme.

Isabella Bhoan is a chartered landscape architect with extensive global experience developing a wide range of landscape projects. Her approach emphasizes on Eco-harmony, fostering collaboration between nature, technology, and humanity. She's passionate about "rewilding" the urban environment and creating sustainable, supportive architecture. As Global Head of Landscape, Isabella champions a holistic approach that integrates social and environmental factors to craft distinct environments, nurturing both people and biodiversity. She collaborates closely with the in-house Building Information Modelling (BIM) team. Together, they developed the Landscape Information Management tool, which integrates quantifiable ecological benefits into digital models. This tool informs landscape design, helping clients and stakeholders to ensure the implementation of high-quality, sustainable landscapes. A passionate advocate for the intersection of technology and landscape architecture, Isabella promotes a holistic design philosophy that balances social, environmental, and technological considerations creating distinctive environments that enhance biodiversity and improve human well-being through digital, technological and innovative solutions.

Jamie Miller is an award-winning biomimicry specialist and the Global Director of Biomimicry at B+H. He is also the President of the award-winning sustainability consultancy Biomimicry Frontiers and the Founder of Biomimicry Commons, an education and incubator space that Fast Company named a "World Changing Idea." He holds a PhD in engineering, specializing in urban resilience and systems-based biomimicry. Previously co-director of OCAD University's biomimicry program, his deep understanding of biomimicry was shaped by Indigenous Elders and Janine Benyus. As the world’s urban population rapidly grows, Jamie Miller emphasizes shifting our industry’s focus from minimizing harm to maximizing regeneration. His work explores how nature-based solutions and transdisciplinary collaboration can create cities that coexist with nature and actively restore it.

Jeanette is a lecturer with the Centre for Planning Education and Research since November 2017 and is a qualified professional urban planner and urban designer. She teaches on the Masters in Planning and Sustainable Development, Postgraduate Diploma in Planning and Sustainable Development and contributes to undergraduate teaching for the Department of Applied Social Studies, the Department of Geography and to the BSc Public Health. Jeanette co-ordinated and taught the modules awarded Highly Commended by the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Excellence in Teaching Awards 2019. The award winning module included a community engagement component with the Glounthaune Community Association. Jeanette has a BA (Geography and English) from UCC, a Masters in Regional and Urban Planning from UCD and a Masters of Science (Urban Design) from UCD. She is a corporate member of the Irish Planning Institute and member of the Urban Design Group. She is currently undertaking her doctoral research on the topic of compact growth, densification and perceptions of densification under the supervision of Dr Paula Russell and Dr Declan Redmond in the School of Architecture Planning and Environmental Policy, UCD. Jeanette has over ten years' professional experience working as a senior urban designer and senior urban planner in multi-disciplinary consultancies in both Ireland and New Zealand. Jeanette's professional work included researching medium density housing for both the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment and for the Queenstown and Lakes District Council. She has worked on the redevelopment designs of Christchurch City and surrounding towns following the devastating earthquakes in 2011. She has presented expert evidence at New Zealand Environment Court, Council Hearings and Mediation meetings. Jeanette has experience in facilitating public consultation workshop and events in New Zealand and in Ireland and has continued this experience into her teaching. In Cork, Jeanette's experience includes preparation planning applications and Environmental Impact Statements for Docklands, mixed use and retail projects. She was in a team who prepared recreational needs studies for Limerick and Galway. This portfolio of professional experiences and skills has informed the design and delivery of my teaching especially on the MPlan which is UCC's dual accredited professional planning programme. Jeanette's passion is the education and professional formation of the next generation of planners and creating the best possible educational experience through innovative Learning and Teaching, assessments, field and site work, classroom-based teaching supported by research and engagement with wide profession.

As HDR’s Director of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Jeri leads our team of social scientists, researchers, and analysts who use proven expertise, curiosity, and creativity to design and conduct credible research and evaluation focused on real-world outcomes. Jeri is highly adept at developing and implementing quantitative, qualitative, and multi-method studies, including representative survey research, program evaluation, longitudinal and time series approaches, and applications of systems science. Jeri’s work generates actionable insights to inform a range of behavioural and experiential interventions in various built and social contexts including communities, organisations and buildings. She is driven to find solutions to the “people side” of complex problems, and to help our clients create highly effective human-centered strategies, programs, and infrastructure. She has worked extensively with diverse urban and rural communities, and has led local-, regional- and national-scale studies impacting programmatic and built solutions.

Jerryanne Hagan-Tetteh is a communications and research professional passionate about social impact, storytelling, and community engagement. She works at ClearView Research as a Senior Research Executive and in the Comms and Marketing Team, where she heavily works on content strategy, events, and co-creation workshops for clients like Barnardos, Impact on Urban Health, and The Health Foundation.

A highly effective, experienced, and insightful higher education manager with wide-ranging experience in operational and strategic management. Joanne has held senior level roles in both central services and Faculty/Schools in a diverse range of further and higher education institutions.

Having graduated as a building surveyor, Jon has over 30 years’ experience of working in a Local Authority setting. Following an early career in construction, his portfolio of responsibility expanded into delivery of a range of business management, partnership and procurement and frontline operational services. Jon joined Bolton Council in 2020, and as a member of the Corporate Leadership Team, has strategic responsibilities relating to environment and regulation, highways and engineering and more recently, economic development and regeneration which includes delivery of the Bolton town centre and district centre master plans and wider place making activity having regard to the boroughs vision for 2040.

Julia Thrift joined the TCPA in May 2013 and manages projects concerning planning and public health, green infrastructure, and planning and social justice. Throughout her career she has been interested in the links between the design of the built environment and the quality of people’s lives. She worked for CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, where she was the founding director of CABE Space, the government’s adviser on policy and practice regarding England’s urban parks and public spaces. She began her career as a journalist, writing about design, architecture and art. She has a degree in philosophy from University College London.

Ms. Karen O'Mahony is Senior Executive Planner in Cork City Council and was a member of the HIA team that carried out the assessment on the Cork City Development Plan (2022-2028).

Katie is the Director of Research and Urban Health at Future Places Studio. She has over a decade of experience across the public, private and charity sectors on a range of technical urban planning projects with the overarching goal of addressing and challenging health inequalities. A transport planner by training, she has long been focussed on the link between infrastructure, air quality and community health outcomes. Prior to joining Future Places Studio she worked at Momentum Transport Consultancy, leading on the spatial strategy and public engagement around progressive mobility concepts. She has worked closely with a range of central London business improvement districts, local authorities and private sector clients to deliver strategic placemaking and active travel gains. She also has a strong writing and research background, and is currently working on a book project about the social history of a major highway in New York.

My research interests span cultural, political, organisational and interpersonal factors affecting health and wellbeing. My doctoral studies developed theory and evidence to support services deliver positive youth sexual health services I am currently researching whole-systems transformations to deliver person-centred public health including for sexual wellbeing and increased levels of physical activity. I am a methods pluralist with an expertise in realist methodologies which are orientated towards the explanation of social phenomena situated within complex systems. I returned to academia in 2014 following a successful career in contract social and marketing research in the private sector.

Katja Stille is a Director of Tibbalds, an award-winning planning and urban design consultancy, and former Chair of the Urban Design Group. As an experienced urban designer she works collaboratively across professional boundaries to deliver high quality places. Working with private and public sector clients, as well as communities, Katja’s objective is to push the placemaking agenda and ensure we are building healthy places for all. Her work ranges across a broad spectrum, including town centre strategies, masterplanning, the creation of new communities, regeneration projects and design advice. Katja seeks to unlock the issues that prevent us from delivering good design and placemaking. Her work incorporates principles of sustainability, health and well-being from early masterplanning stages through to design codes and delivery. She brings experience of working on three new towns, including Northstowe Healthy New Towns as well as applying her planning, design and delivery experience to site-wide and authority-wide design codes.

Kavya P Krishnan is an architect and an expert in accessibility and universal design, currently working at Mobility Mojo. She is a member of both the National Standards Authority of Ireland and the International Association of Accessibility Professionals. She holds an MSc in Health, Wellbeing, and Sustainable Buildings from the Bartlett, UCL, where she was awarded the Best Dissertation Prize and the Best Overall Degree Mark for the 2023–24 academic year. Her final research dissertation—funded by the Bartlett Community of Engagers Equity Fund—explored wayfinding for individuals with dementia in urban environments across Europe and the UK, promoting inclusivity in city design. Kavya has over two years of professional experience designing inclusive environments across India, including bespoke residences for families with multiple disabilities. Her work bridges architecture, health equity, and sustainability, with a focus on accessible urban design, passive strategies, and the psychological impact of space—particularly in dementia care. She has presented research at international conferences, including the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference , Wiley 2021. Her research and practice reflect a deep, sustained commitment to creating user-centered, age-inclusive environments. By uniting architectural insight with evidence-based strategies in health and sustainability, she champions design that doesn’t just accommodate, but actively empowers—enhancing dignity, independence, and quality of life for all.

Kayla's research draws on sociological, human geography, and Science, Technology and Society (STS) theory to explore engagement with emerging mobile app, sensors and other digitally enabled sources of real-time air quality information. Methodologically she specialises in participatory approaches to research, and how to blend quantitative and quantitative data to support more equitable air quality governance.

(to follow)

Dr Kenny Imafidon MBE is an entrepreneur, author, and social commentator. He is the co-founder & Managing Director of ClearView Research, an agency that specialises in research and strategy projects focused on diverse and underrepresented communities. Kenny has led impactful projects across the UK and globally with FTSE 250 companies, global brands, charities, and public institutions. In 2022, Kenny featured in Forbes' annual 30 under 30 list, and his debut book "That Peckham Boy" was published by Penguin in 2023. He has over a decade of non-executive board experience and currently serves as a trustee for BBC Children in Need.

Mr Kevin O'Connor is Senior Planner in Cork City Council and was a member of the HIA team that carried out the assessment on the Cork City Development Plan (2022-2028).

Dr Leah White is currently the Clinical Director for adult mental health in Tower Hamlets, East London NHS Foundation Trust. Her clinical background is in Older Adult Psychiatry where she works in the CMHT for Older Adults in Tower Hamlets. Dr White studied at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, graduating in 2009, and has spent the majority of her career working and training in East London. Dr White's area of interest is returning the focus of mental health care to the community, working alongside third sector/voluntary organisations as well as the residents we serve to deliver a robust neighbourhood centred mental health offer. In collaboration with NHS England and third sector organisations Tower Hamlets have launched what will be 1 of 6 pilot sites nationally. These are based on the Trieste model and have already begun to truly transform the mental health care offer.

Lidia is a Chartered Engineer with a passion for designing places that put people first. With over ten years’ experience in sustainable transport and urban design, she’s led the charge on Mobility Hubs across the UK and Ireland, from Bristol to Glasgow to Dublin, helping communities reimagine how they move, connect, and thrive. At AECOM, Lidia brings together engineers, urban designers, ecologists, and local voices to deliver projects that embed Healthy Streets principles and champion active travel. Whether it’s transforming neighbourhoods into walkable, liveable spaces or guiding councils through complex regeneration schemes, her work is rooted in collaboration, creativity, and a deep belief in the power of good design to shape healthier futures.

Dr. Lindsay Sansom is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Texas A&M University School of Public Health. Dr. Sansom earned her M.A. from Boston University in International Relations and Environmental Policy. She further received her doctorate in Ecosystem Science and Management from Texas A&M University, where she delved deep into understanding complex ecosystem functions. Dr. Sansom’s research interests include water security, socio-ecological systems modelling, the role of trust in conflict and cooperation, and the association between health and greenspace access, with a focus on promoting community engagement strategies to ensure meaningful research.

Dr Gunn is an interdisciplinary researcher and Lead Investigator of an ARC funded Discovery grant on the role of liveability for healthy ageing and Chief Investigator on an Ian Potter Foundation grant looking at cycling. Her research uses quantitative techniques to explore relationships between the built environment and liveability, and health and wellbeing outcomes. This includes active and public transport research and investigating how planning, health and economic evaluation of infrastructure can support decisions around growth area development and transport and infrastructure delivery. Research collaborations involve the Victorian Department of Transport and Growth Area Councils.

Lucy is a Senior Active Travel Consultant working for AECOMs Streets Team in Manchester. She has a background in Masterplanning and has a breadth of technical experience working nationally on projects with an Active Travel and placemaking focus, including Active Travel Masterplans, Mobility Hub Designs, Street Design Coding / Guidance, Mini-Holland Feasibility Studies, Network Audits and Concept Designs. She is identified as one of AECOMs Inclusive Streets Subject Matter Leads, whereby she co-leads an internal action group advocating for the recognition of people, movement and place within street design.

Lynn is Director of Public Health at Bolton Council. With a background in NHS clinical audit, research, and data analyst roles, Lynn has worked as a Consultant in Public Health in the north west of England, firstly in Blackpool and more recently in Bolton. Lynn is passionate about improving health and wellbeing and reducing inequalities and has a wealth of experience in public health intelligence and analysing patterns of health and wellbeing within populations and implementing effective Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) processes. Lynn took a lead role in Bolton’s pandemic response and now leads on health protection matters across the Greater Manchester subregion on behalf of the Greater Manchester directors of public health. Lynn has a keen interest in the training and development of public health professionals. She is Training Programme Director for Specialty Public Health Training in Greater Manchester and an examiner for the Faculty of Public Health’s Diplomate Exam.

Maddie is a Senior Engineer , working in the 'Streets' Engineering sector of AECOM. She has been involved in a range of active travel projects ranging from feasibility through to detailed design and prides herself on her ability to deliver innovative solutions to enhance walking and cycling facilities to suit the needs of her clients and encourage modal shift. Maddie is particularly passionate about working within her local area (Leeds) and delivering inclusive and accessible infrastructure improvements with Leeds City Council. If selected, Maddie will be supported by Mohammed Mahmood/ Andrew Hall as Project Manager from Leeds City Council.

Marc is the Head of Insight and Impact at Horizons. Marc blends psychological and sociological theory with an extensive background in research and evaluation. Marc holds a PhD in sociology and has published more than 15 academic papers in peer-reviewed journals. These publications span areas such as behaviour change, programme implementation, motivational theory, gamification, alcohol and substance use, physical activity promotion and research ethics. Marc has a passion for applying quantitative and qualitative research methods to real-world settings and using the results to create actionable insights which drive behaviour change. Marc is personally driven to address health inequalities. He grew up in the South Wales Valleys, where fewer people engage in health promoting behaviours and where people live fewer years in good health. Marc aims to use data, research methods and theory to help address these stubborn inequalities which are prevalent in many communities throughout the UK.

Professor Maree Teesson is Director of the Matilda Centre, Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Prevention and Early Intervention in Mental Illness and Substance Use (PREMISE), and an NHMRC Leadership Fellow at the University of Sydney. Prof Teesson is a National Mental Health Commissioner, an Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Fellow, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council. Prof Teesson has made a major contribution to Australia’s health and medical research effort in the field of mental health and substance use. In particular, she is known nationally and internationally for her research on the comorbidity between mental health and substance use disorders.

Dr Marie Ryan is an applied economist with 15 years of experience in higher education, research, and policy development. She was awarded the prestigious President's Individual Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, UCC, 2023. Her research portfolio spans 55+ academic works in health economics, education innovation, and entrepreneurship, with particular focus on well-being and policy, supported by significant competitive funding. Dr Ryan's current research focuses on three complementary areas: healthcare workforce dynamics and wellbeing, with recent publications in Radiography (2025) and Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences (2025); policy development, notably through her work in Cities (2024, IF: 6.0) and Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy; and AI integration in higher education, pioneering approaches to maintain academic integrity while leveraging emerging technologies. She leads a competitive SATLE-funded initiative on ethical AI integration. She is PI applicant on a digital inclusion and regional policy analytics (RADIUS) project and is a Co-PI applicant on HRB and Horizon healthcare grants. Her research has also been featured on Advance HE, QQI and HEA National Forum websites, extending impact beyond traditional academic channels. Her international research network spans three continents through active supervision of PhD and Master's students from Saudi Arabia, France, and China. Dr Ryan's international experience includes five years of teaching in Middle Eastern institutions including DCU@PNU Riyadh and Alasala Colleges in Saudi Arabia. She has secured over €1 million in competitive funding and conducted numerous economic analyses for public bodies including Cork City Council's Local Economic and Community Plan. Her collaborative Health Impact Assessment work has influenced Cork City planning decisions affecting 295,000 residents. Acknowledged in media coverage (Irish Examiner, 2024) her work led to an invitation as keynote speaker at Prince Mohammad University (2024), Saudi Arabia. As Program Director overseeing approximately 500 students across two major undergraduate programs, she has doubled Erasmus exchange capacity at Deusto University and drives an innovative peer-assisted learning program. She established the Mná buddy system supporting over 130 participants and serves on key committees including CUBS Athena Swan and the University Social Research Ethics Committee. She contributes to academic excellence as a reviewer for high-impact journals including Review of Educational Research (IF: 8.3), and the All-Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, among others. She has presented at the European Learning & Teaching Forums and European Health Conferences.

Mark is an experienced practitioner and researcher with 20 years’ experience. He works across the fields of public health, urbanism, and architecture. His work addresses the wider determinants of health, focused on promoting holistic wellbeing, and reducing health inequities. His doctoral research, Healthy Streetlife, undertaken during the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the important role of streets as health settings. Mark is a practitioner and founded Urban Habitats in 2018, putting research into action in local places. He is a board member at Green Squirrel, a social enterprise with a vision for caring communities. Mark has 20+ years’ experience in industry having contributed to the delivery of over $2 billion of social infrastructure. Now his passion is to fuse practice and research with evidence informed, co-created, & community-based interventions for human & planetary health. Happiest whilst on a bicycle, Mark is an optimistic gardener and lives in Cardiff, Wales with his family.

Mark is Senior Lecturer and Deputy Research Lead at Manchester School of Architecture. His research focuses on the intersections between architecture and urban ageing within the home, community and city, with a specific interest in housing inequality and spatial justice. Mark’s research employs participatory and design research methodologies, working with communities of older to develop ‘age-friendly’ initiatives. Mark also works extensively with local government on policy-engaged research, including a two-year secondment at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (2018-21), where he worked with the GM Ageing Hub to develop policy and strategy around urban ageing. Mark is currently principal investigation on ‘Co-creating Age-Friendly Social Housing’, a three-year design-research programme investigating how older people and social housing providers can collaborate to develop innovative housing and community models. Other recent research projects include: ‘Manchester Age-Friendly Neighbourhood’, a four-year programme that engaged over 4000 people in the creation and delivery of community action plans across Manchester, which led to £300,000 of investment in programmes to support older people in four neighbourhoods in Manchester (w/ Southway Housing Trust). ‘Rightsizing’ project, funded by Centre for Ageing Better, which uses large scale data, spatial analysis and workshops to support policy-makers to better plan for the diverse needs of older people within neighbourhoods. ‘Age-Friendly Northern Gateway/Victoria North’, a study of older people’s experiences of 20 years of failed urban regeneration in Collyhurst, Manchester, and their hopes and concerns about future plans for their neighbourhood (w/ University of Manchester and Newcastle University) ‘A Design for Life’, a free ebook developed as part of his secondment to GMCA which challenges urban design professions to find new ways to better address the increasingly diverse needs and aspirations of older people (w/ Pozzoni Architecture) Mark is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and is currently Year 2 lead for the &rchitecture atelier in the Master of Architecture programme.

Mark is a senior MEP director at Stantec. He has worked in construction for 40 years, more than half of which has been dedicated to leadership and design in healthcare engineering. With the industry’s urgent shift towards climate adaptation, he has increasingly concentrated on change management and implementation strategies in pursuit of decarbonisation targets. He has a keen interest in the digital estate for smart operation and maintenance as well as reducing energy and carbon emissions. Mark is a registered authorising engineer for medical gases with the Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estates Management (IHEEM) and is the current chair of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineering (CIBSE) specialist healthcare group. This June, he assumes the prestigious role of Vice President of CIBSE. He is a CIBSE board member and a trustee.

Dr Bower is an exceptional early career academic with a research focus on the broader social determinants of mental health, particularly in understanding loneliness and isolation amongst marginalised individuals and how this relates to the built environment. Dr Bower is also the Founder and Convenor of the multidisciplinary Network for Research in the Built Environment and Mental Health which connects international researchers and practitioners in mental and physical health, housing and planning through shared agenda-setting, education and sharing ideas.

Marlize is an experienced physical activity leader, with a strong background in cross-sector, collaborative working. She was formerly a Senior Research Fellow at Canterbury Christ Church University, where she developed a national educational initiative to upskill healthcare professionals. This project, This Mum Moves™, received National Lottery and Sport England funding and was rolled out nationally. More latterly, Marlize has worked with a group of Active Partnerships (Get Berkshire Active, Active Oxfordshire, Leap) where she led the implementation of the Active Medicine™ programme. Marlize has a strong track record of working strategically and collaboratively across health and physical activity systems.

Mary Rouse is a highly accomplished and passionate community development professional with over 20 years of cross-sector experience spanning health, education, housing, and social care. Currently serving as Community Development Manager at Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC), Mary is the principal link between residents, community stakeholders, and the EDC, ensuring community voices actively shape the future of Ebbsfleet Garden City. Prior to her current role, Mary led the development of a pioneering Health and Wellbeing Hub, coordinating with NHS Trusts, ICBs, and community stakeholders to develop integrated service models for a rapidly growing population. Her work is deeply embedded in the principles of co-design and inclusive placemaking. She leads on major initiatives including a network of 14 community gardens, a successful behavioural change app with almost 4,000 users, and is currently developing a local volunteer network. Mary also manages strategic planning and evaluation, overseeing key performance indicators and impact frameworks, helping ensure that projects align with Levelling Up goals and deliver real, measurable outcomes for local communities. She holds an MSc in Healthcare Management and Leadership and a BA in Philosophy from Cambridge. Alongside her professional work, Mary is an active charity trustee, a former CIC founder, and a long-time youth worker, demonstrating a lifelong commitment to equity, empowerment, and civic engagement. Her leadership is driven by a belief in the power of communities to overcome complex challenges when given the tools, trust, and opportunities to lead.

Dr Matt Cooper – Research Associate (PSRC), Deputy Director for EDI (PSRC/School of Pharmacy). Matt’s research is focused on the integration of health and social care, community health interventions and behaviour change.

Matthew is Head of Healthcare at TODD Architects. He is a highly experienced and well respected Architect who is dedicated to the creation of quality healthcare environments. Matthew is responsible for leading TODD’s healthcare strategy across all studios in the UK and Ireland to deliver a growing portfolio of transformational healthcare projects.

Matthew Morgan is the Director and co-Founder of the Quality of Life Foundation. He is responsible for setting strategy with the Board of Trustees, overseeing the Foundation’s commercial services and delivering lasting impact with the Quality of Life team, itself focused on highlighting the impact of the built environment on people’s lived experience. With over 20 years’ experience in writing and communications, Matthew has previously worked with architects, engineers and developers; in book and magazine publishing; and with charities and start-ups. He is a participant on a number of advisory boards and chairs a multi-stakeholder group that advises on community engagement as part of the UKRI-funded CCQOL (Community Consultation for Quality of Life) project. A published author and mental health advocate, Matthew is particularly interested in how communities are formed and their effects on people’s physical, social and psychological wellbeing, an interest he developed while growing up in an intentional community in Kent.

I am the co-founder and CEO of BYCS, an Amsterdam based not-for-profit organisation, guided by the belief that bicycles transform cities, and cities transform the world. In this role, I lead company strategy, partnerships, global business development and network expansion. As a highly entrepreneurial individual, our programs have led to multi-sectoral global partnerships, garnered vast international media attention, and our Bicycle Mayor Network has grown to over 150 cities in >35 countries. A creative strategist by training, I hold over two decades of experience working with large companies and municipal governments on social impact projects in the field of community building, public relations, media and communications.

Mina is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL. She is a social and urban planner with a strong research background in interdisciplinary studies, encompassing planning, architecture, design, sociology, public health, housing design, planning and policy, and environmental psychology. With international experience in both the public and private sectors, spanning local government, industry and academia, her expertise centres on utilising mixed-methods approaches to investigate people-environment interactions in built environments (residential and neighbourhood) as well as natural settings.

Dr Monica O'Mullane is the PI on the HIA-IM project, co-hosted in University College Cork between the School of Public Health and the Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century (ISS21). The HIA-IM project is funded by the Health Research Board in Ireland to create a HIA implementation model based on the undertaking of two HIAs, one on the Cork City Development Plan and the second on the national Climate Action Plan. https://www.ucc.ie/en/iss21/researchprojects/researchprojects/hia-im/

Nadine is a Senior Lecturer in People Management and holds the role of Subject Group Head for the HRM team. She is is also EDI for People and Culture within Salford Business School. It is in this role that she sits on the project board for the new SBS Building. She leads the People Workstream and oversees the EDI requirements in the project.

With over 17 years of international experience in fitness, health promotion, and workplace wellbeing, I specialise in helping individuals and organisations build resilience and improve quality of life through evidence-based strategies for sustainable lifestyle behaviour change. As founder of Resilience Fitness + Wellbeing, I deliver coaching, fitness instruction, workshops, and training programmes grounded in behavioural science and real-world application. Whether supporting individuals through health coaching or guiding organisations to improve employee wellbeing, my work is focused on creating long-term impact—not quick fixes. I am a UKIHCA-Qualified Health Coach and Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES – NCHEC #22053, since 2013), with a PhD in Physical Activity, Health & Wellbeing. I also hold qualifications in the U.K. as a Personal Trainer, Group Exercise Instructor, Pre and Post Natal Personal Trainer, Exercise Referral Practitioner (CIMSPA), and Vocational Assessor. Currently, I work as a Researcher at Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC), where I lead evaluation for MoveMore Connect. I also design and deliver CIMSPA-accredited CPD courses for fitness professionals and teach a variety of group exercise classes across university, corporate, and community settings. Alongside this, I’m a passionate indoor cycling instructor, known for delivering evidence-based, high-energy sessions that are as engaging as they are effective—helping participants push limits while staying grounded in best practice. My mission is to bridge the gap between academic research and everyday practice—empowering people to make meaningful, lasting changes in how they live, work, and move. With a unique blend of academic insight and real-world application, I aim to bridge research, education, and practice to improve health, resilience, and wellbeing at the individual and population level. For inquiries on workplace wellbeing workshops, talks and co-location of healthcare & fitness email n.grinvalds@shu.ac.uk or resiliencefitnessandwlbeing@gmail.com

Passionate about creating better places, better opportunities and better outcomes. Sustainability is not optional. Good ideas always welcome. Just trying to do my bit…

Nichola is an associate landscape architect with 18 years experience. Nichola has a portfolio of UK and international projects from the detailed design of public spaces to the spatial planning of cities. Her project experience includes a wide variety of sectors including masterplanning, public realm design, education, sports and leisure, science and research, transport and health care. She has a passion for creating spaces with a strong sense of place that inspire people, have true purpose and are user centric.

Director at Pozzoni Architecture, Nigel Saunders, has extensive design expertise within the housing sector across all age groups, with a particularly keen interest in multi-generational living. Nigel is also chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s ‘Housing, Planning & Ageing Group’ which aims to address the city region’s housing options for older people, including creating balanced communities within our towns and cities.

An exceptional leader, Nuala has amassed more than two decades of experience in development and placemaking internationally and is also currently a board member of Limerick Twenty Thirty, a property development company. Her previous roles include Head of Regeneration for the London Borough of Newham, Director for Economy of Place at Bristol City Council and Director of City Centre Development at Belfast City Council. Nuala has also spent time working in New York, leading on sustainable urban development and teaching at Columbia University. She is a registered architect and a graduate of Columbia University with a Masters in Urban Design. She will work closely with the Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson, interim Chief Executive Theresa Grant and the Government Commissioners to continue the transformation of the City Development directorate.

Oisín N. Kavanagh is a pharmacist and Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutics at the School of Pharmacy, Newcastle University and Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. He received the Gold Medal from the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland in 2017 and completed his clinical training in his hometown of Derry before moving to the University of Limerick to undertake his PhD, where he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to the School of Pharmacy, University of Michigan. His research interests are centred around the relationship between drug physical properties and their pharmacokinetics.

Oliver is the Executive Director at London CLT and has oversight of all our live projects and campaigns for new housing sites. His background as an architect with specialist knowledge in housing and low energy design provides invaluable technical expertise and practical knowledge to all our work. He has worked on a wide range of award winning projects from large scale masterplans and housing developments right down to individual homes, with projects in many London boroughs, including Iroko House for Coin Street Community Builders and Somerleyton Road community housing for Brixton Green/LB Lambeth. Having previously designed and constructed a home and studio in Shoreditch, he now lives in north London in a self built zero carbon family house that is so well insulated it has no need for a heating system. He believes that community led housing, coupled with excellent professional input from an understanding design team, has the potential to create homes and places that are beautiful, long lasting and respond positively to the climate emergency.

I am a public health researcher at the University of Cambridge, specialising in environmental interventions to promote health and mitigate the impacts of climate change. My current work focuses on the evaluation of large-scale policy interventions aimed at reducing car use, such as London's Ultra Low Emission Zone. With a strong focus on health equity and social justice, my research interests are shaped by insights from my PhD, where I explored how socioeconomic factors influence young people's physical activity and long-term health outcomes.

Orla is a Project Manager at Unlimited Potential, a community benefit society that specialises in social and economic innovation and system change, based in Salford, Greater Manchester. It develops new solutions to social and economic challenges together with local people and communities. After an academic background in criminology and social work, Orla worked with diverse groups and communities to understand and address inequalities. She recognised that system change is needed to address the root causes of inequality and create lasting change. Her work on growing community wealth offered an opportunity to contribute to system change and work alongside local people and opportunities to achieve this.

Dr Axelsson obtained his PhD in Environmental Psychology from Stockholm University in 2011. In 2013 and 2014, he was a Newton International Fellow at the School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, sponsored by The Royal Society. Since 2022, he has been employed as a statistician at the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine within the Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm. He is also affiliated as a researcher with the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. Dr Axelsson has a particular interest in spatial analysis and optimising urban form with respect to public health.

Paul is a social entrepreneur & artist working variously as a Creative & Commercial Director or CEO across the businesses he has cofounded. He is a cofounder, Director and part owner of Peckham Palms, Mission Kitchen, Makerversity (BCorp), 50m and the art & social practice Something & Son. Together these businesses support over 600 small entrepreneurs - working across food, design, art, fashion, engineering, innovation and in the case of Peckham Palms - Black hair styling, retail and creative practices. The businesses have operate 35,000 sqft of workspace, making and retail space. The group of impact driven organisations all enjoy long term partnerships with a range of third sector organisations to provide support, free and subsidised workspace and training. Alongside Cyndi Anafo, Paul is a cofounder of Peckham Palms and part of the team that tendered to support Southwark Council to reimagine the site in 2014.

Responsible for the Regeneration and Economic development functions of Bolton Council, including Town Centre and district centre master planning and delivery of key regeneration schemes together with the delivery and implementation of the economic growth and resilience plan. Managing the disabled grant function and the Councils workshop that supports people back into employment.

Peter leads all areas of our work at Impact on Urban Health. Peter has been our Executive Director for Impact on Urban Health since 2023. Peter brings together our programmes’ funding and partnerships, as well as the work of our data, evidence and innovation teams in support of our urban health work. Peter brings a range of experience in senior leadership roles, in organisations including the Youth Endowment Fund and The Social Innovation Partnership. He also previously served as a Councillor in Southwark Council and as Chair of Blagrave Trust.

Pouya Molaei is a PhD candidate in the Centre for Urban Research and Social and Equity Research Centre at RMIT, where he will be examining and testing urban variables for healthy ageing and promotion of physical health among older adults. Pouya completed a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Guilan and received his Master’s degree in Architectural Engineering from TIAU in Iran. He has a ten-year history working for a company and academic centres as a draftsperson, architect, research assistant, and teacher assistant. Pouya’s research interests include ageing in place, age-friendly cities, healthy and walkable cities, transport behaviour, and housing.

Dr Murekatete obtained her PhD in Urban Planning and Environment, with a specialisation in Geoinformatics, from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, in 2022. She works at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet. Her research focuses primarily on the application of GIS in sustainable spatial planning and environmental justice.

Former Clinical Psychologist turned placemaking thinker and do-er! After a career journey in healthcare, spanning clinical psychology, service improvement, innovation, and project management roles, with a smattering of property development, Vice Chair of a charity, and all kinds of creative courses in between(!), I ventured into the world of design and urban planning. I co-created Healthy Happy Places which is about using creative participation to nudge and inspire the design of places and spaces that are good for our mental health and wellbeing. Acting as a bridge between sectors, exploring ways of putting tactical urbanism (‘where top down meets bottom up’) into action in places with deep inequalities and using a set of evidence based 'ingredients' to guide possibilities in place. Based in a small corner of North East England, a place that holds my home, heart, and heritage - ever curious about the connections between wellbeing, planning, design and the community as equal partners.

Rebecca is senior research fellow working in the Groundswell consortium based in the University of Liverpool. She has a particular interest in the involvement of community members in decision-making focussed on urban green and blue space. She is leading an evaluation of the community involvement processes in the regeneration of Central Birkenhead.

Rhiannon is a researcher and practitioner active in the field of health/wellbeing-focussed and socially-based urban regeneration, place-making and place-keeping. She works across disciplines to support improved place-based wellbeing outcomes. Her current work is exploring and implementing bottom-up processes to enable the development of community-led regeneration plans. She is working in the trailblazer neighbourhood of Central Birkenhead helping to run the community sessions that form the basis of the Place Plan.

Professor Rob Copeland is Director of Sheffield Hallam's Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, and a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council and British Psychological Society. Rob was the Director for ten years until 2022, of the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine in Sheffield, a London 2012 Olympic Games legacy programme that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of the nation through sport, exercise and physical activity.

Robert studied architecture at the University of Cambridge and the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He joined Eric Parry Architects in 1989 and was made Director in 1997. Currently Robert is working on several consented City of London office developments and the innovative reuse of a 1950s office building in Belgrave Road, Pimlico. Since 2011 he has directed the design for major residential buildings including in Phase 3 Heart of Doha project in Qatar and five apartment buildings in Phases 4 & 6a at Chelsea Barracks. He has led on projects such as prestigious office buildings at 8 St James’s Square and 23 Savile Row, refurbishment works for Selfridges & Co and the innovative 4 Pancras Square building at Kings Cross Central. In the City he was involved in the planning stages of London Stock Exchange at Paternoster Square and 120 Fenchurch Street and the current joint venture for the complex Crossrail oversite development at 1 Liverpool Street. Robert was involved on many of the practice’s earliest award-winning schemes, including Foundress Court, a residential and teaching building for Pembroke College at Cambridge University, and the office building at 30 Finsbury Square, which won numerous awards on its completion in 2003. He was also responsible for the successful delivery of the £36m Renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square. The project consisted of the refurbishment and conservation of James Gibbs’ Grade I listed church and crypt, including reconstruction of the below-ground spaces, the extension of a Grade II* listed John Nash terrace, and the reordering of the publicly accessible spaces. Robert led the redesign of the 1 Undershaft project from EPA’s consented 2016 design. Working closely with client, development managers and engineering team the updated scheme focuses on sustainable construction, increased urban greening and an emphasis on occupier wellbeing and amenities, all with an increase in massing needed for commercial viability. The City of London Planning Committee approved the revised application in December 2024. The project is currently on site. Robert has taught in architectural design studios at the University of North London and the University of Cambridge.

Rosalie is Policy and Project Manager at the TCPA, focusing on the Campaign for Healthy Homes and healthy places, including research with UCL on the health impacts of Permitted Development housing. She is a visiting research associate with the University of Bristol on 'Tackling the Root causes Upstream of Unhealthy Urban Development' (TRUUD). Rosalie has a background in sustainability and health standards, master planning and green infrastructure. She is a full member of CIEEM, affiliate RTPI member, a 'Building with Nature' assessor and 'BREEAM Communities' assessor.

Rukun K.S. Khalaf is a PhD student based in the Institute for Population Health at the University of Liverpool. Her work looks at the impact of Green and Blue Spaces on maternal and neonatal health. She is funded by the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR).

Sally joined the TCPA in April 2022 and works on the Healthy Homes campaign and healthy place-making workstream. This includes working with local authorities to achieve healthy and sustainable places. Prior to joining the TCPA, Sally worked in sustainability consulting for the built environment and homebuilding industry. She holds a Master’s degree in Environment and Sustainable Development from University College London, and preceding that she studied geography, sustainability and geology at Hofstra University in New York. As a part of her studies, Sally completed an internship at Nature Connect in Cape Town that focused on conservation and environmental education.

Mrs Campbell has worked at the city council since Autumn 1999 and has risen through the ranks of the Planning Department to hold various posts such as Principal Planning Officer, Deputy Team Leader of Urban Design and Heritage Team and City Centre Co-ordinator. Her 19 year career at the council has led Samantha to take a lead planning role in a number of major regeneration schemes from Kings Dock to Liverpool Football Club’s stadium expansion to the development of the £2bn Knowledge Quarter and overseeing the growth of the Baltic Triangle. The mother of two, who has a Masters in Environmental Planning from Liverpool John Moores University and Post Graduate Diploma in Urban Design at Salford University, has also played a key role in refreshing the strategy for Liverpool’s World Heritage site, liaising closely on projects such as Liverpool Waters and a new Cruise Terminal. As Head of Planning her brief will be to also oversee the development of emerging growth zones in the city such as Ten Streets, the Fabric District, the new Beatles Quarter and the implementation of the Local Plan to build 35,000 new homes across the city over the next 15 years.

Sam Jarrett leads marketing and communications for the regeneration team of Landsec, one of the UK’s foremost real estate companies. For the last decade he has been focussed on helping shape some of the country’s most ambitious projects, including the transformation of Manchester’s Mayfield district. With a background in broadcast and print, Sam brings a creative storytelling lens to the creation and communication of new places.

Sarah Foster is an Associate Professor and Australian Research Council Future Fellow with the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT University in Melbourne, where she is the Associate Director of the ‘Planning and Transport for Healthy Cities’ theme. She leads a program of applied research designed to influence policy and practice to create healthier built environments.

Sarah joined Latin Elephant in 2021, directly supporting traders who were displaced from regeneration of the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre. In the time since, she has contributed to the organisation’s research projects and policy responses, including by leading an investigation into the impact of concurrent crises—regeneration/displacement, COVID-19, Brexit and the rising cost of living—on traders relocated from the shopping centre. Since 2023, Sarah’s role has included the coordination of Protect Our Places (POP), a coalition of campaigns from across London, each of which is fighting to preserve the vibrant essence of their beloved town centres, markets and affordable retail spaces and to protect them from gentrification. In October 2024, Sarah spoke on behalf of Latin Elephant and the coalition at a London Assembly Planning Committee meeting panel on the role of social value of markets and arch-based businesses in planning and regeneration; she also coordinated Latin Elephant’s contribution to a further call for evidence. Collectively, these fed substantively into the London Assembly’s report on the topic. Sarah is also currently pursuing her PhD in Planning at the UCL Bartlett School of Planning. She is studying the relationship between ‘official’ and grassroots planning stories to investigate how the gentrification of London’s affordable retail spaces and markets represents the racialised displacement of social and cultural infrastructures.

Dr Smout has built an interdisciplinary program of research that focuses on adolescent mental health, public health policy, and the social determinants of health. Her research investigates both the behavioural drivers of mental health, and the socio-political environments that shape these drivers, with an overarching goal of promoting population mental health and wellbeing. In particular, she has built a national and international reputation for my research and demonstrated exceptional thought leadership in the prevention of mental disorders in adolescents via lifestyle behaviour change.

I am a UK based designer interested in ideas that involve cities, urbanism, architecture, objects, graphics and design. I have been involved in urban planning and master projects for over 12 years, working on concept and detail design proposals for urban extensions, city regeneration and strategic & regional framework plans ranging in scale from 10 to 5000ha. I have experience of working in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia as well as the UK, successfully delivering good design with transformative change. I have a background in architecture with a Masters degree in Urban Design for which I received a distinction with a first for my thesis project on the regeneration if Margate's seafront and this augments a Bachelors degree in Architecture and experience working for several London practices on award-winning retail, office and mixed use schemes. My interests and expertise are in urban analytics, smart cities, research-driven design and emergent processes and I strongly believe in design's ability to shape and better the future of the environment we live in.

Sem Lee is an urban strategist and social entrepreneur with over 11 years’ experience managing sustainability, communications, and design projects. Sem founded OURI Labs in response to the pressing need to understand how to link public health and urban planning. OURI Labs is a health innovation research lab committed to shaping healthy and equitable cities that better serve communities and the planet. The practice specialises in participatory research, evaluation, and design, bridging urban planning policy and public health. Key organisations they have collaborated with include Health Innovation North East North Cumbria, Greater London Authority, University College London (Bartlett), and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

Responsible residential developer and advisor, creating and supporting sustainable schemes that feel welcoming to all ages and positively support the wider neighbourhood. Also: > Women in Property Board Director > GMCA Housing, Planning and Ageing Steering Group > Senior Advisor, Housing Growth Partnership > Chorlton CLT Board Member > GM Future Leaders Mentor > Guest Lecturer LJMU & Sheffield Hallam University

Shaun is a senior urban planner and Director of UK Planning at Prior + Partners. He draws on his extensive experience in both the private and public sectors, with Shaun’s expertise spanning the delivery of complex regeneration projects including new communities, formulating strategic planning documents, and crafting masterplans that shape the future of neighbourhoods and urban centres. Shaun is passionate about championing built environment principles and practices that prioritise the creation of healthy communities and places. He is a co-author of ‘The Healthy City’ on behalf of Key Cities, which seeks to embrace the full potential of our urban landscapes to ‘create health’. A Planning Expert to the Government’s High Streets Task Force, Shaun is also collaborating with the Quality of Life Foundation to advise the Local Government Association on a holistic resource for councils to understand and leverage their powers in promoting public health through planning.

Dr Shelley James is a strategic lighting design consultant, TEDx Speaker, author and member of the WELL Light Advisory. She is also a trained electrician and Visiting Lecturer at UCL Bartlett and the Royal College of Art.

Dr Sheraz Ahmad is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical lead for Barnsley Street neighbourhood mental health centre in Tower Hamlets, London for East London NHS Foundation Trust. He has been a consultant psychiatrist for 15 years and believes freedom is therapeutic.

Sigrid comes from the tradition of environmental psychology. Her PhD is about cargo bike’s place in the urban landscape, especially focusing on the user perspective and the sustainability aspect. Her focus is on using the built environment and the complex systems organizing them in combination with psychology to attain more sustainable cities and behavior.

Sophia Schuff is a passionate advocate for designing cities that prioritize the well-being of both people and the planet. As a Director at Gehl, an urban design practice on a mission to create more equitable, healthy, and sustainable cities, she leads Gehl’s portfolio serving the Philanthropy sector. In this role, she advocates for improving communities’ social, health and wellbeing outcomes through urban transformation. Sophia’s commitment to enhancing the urban experience stems from her background as an anthropologist and deep understanding of the human experience within the built environment. She leads projects across various topics including urban design for early childhood development, food systems, regenerative placemaking, and equity in public space.

Sophie is one of The Planner Magazine Women of Influence 2025 and is a chartered town planner. Sophie has worked in both the public and private sectors focussing upon urban regeneration. She is currently working within the unique Regeneration and Infrastructure Team at NHS North East London. In her role at NHS North East London she is influencing planning policy to ensure that health inequalities are not widened through population growth and the consequential development of new communities. She is also a keen collaborator to further develop systems thinking with partner organisations, particularly in relation to the practical implementation of policy through decision making and ensure that health outcomes are not compromised. She is passionate about reuniting the planning and public health systems and the role that strategic planning has in reducing pressures upon the NHS to move us towards more preventative methods of health care.

Love Ssega is a London-born musician, composer and artist of Ugandan heritage. He has performed internationally and had music premiered across BBC Radio 1 to BBC Radio 3 and BBC 6Music. Love Ssega’s site-specific performances have been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Gallery, Hayward Gallery, Serpentine Pavilion and Whitechapel Gallery, whilst his visual art has been exhibited globally at MoMA PS1 and MIT Museum. Justice and climate activism weaves through his work, which was shown at UN COP26 and featured by New York Times Climate Forward. Love Ssega is the Founder of South London arts and community-led Clean Air movement LIVE + BREATHE. Previously Artist-in-Residence with Philharmonia Orchestra and he is currently Associate Artist at the Southbank Centre 2024 -2027. Love Ssega was awarded an Allianz Foundation (Berlin) Fellowship in 2023-2024 for art and climate justice, is the Chair of Shadwell Opera and a Trustee of Brian Eno-led climate charity EarthPercent.

Prof. White will present preliminary findings from their latest research into understanding and creating Age Friendly cities. This interdisciplinary research identifies the key challenges for policy makers, practitioners and communities when trying to make their local neighbourhoods better places to grow older in. It supports approaches to improving the health of local older residents through place-based initiatives, urban planning and housing developments. His research is developing new conceptual models, implementation tools and evaluation processes helping make place-based public-health interventions more effective. The research is led by the Architectural Research Office (ARO) at the Manchester School of Architecture (MSA), working collaboratively with 30+ Healthy Ageing researchers across disciplines at Manchester Metropolitan University (HealthyAgeing@MMU).

Stéphanie Pereboom is a Master’s student and researcher at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, Department of Urban Systems and Real Estate at Eindhoven University of Technology. She specializes in Urban Systems and Real Estate within her Master of Science program. Stéphanie’s research focuses on the intersection of urban development and real estate, emphasizing user-centered and practical solutions to complex challenges. Her approach is analytical, creative, and solution-oriented, aiming to contribute to sustainable and resilient urban environments. During her recent research internship at Anculus, Stéphanie investigated the adoption of circular economy principles in primary school buildings. Her work involved a comparative case study analysis of renovation versus new construction, evaluating sustainable strategies for the educational building sector. This project enhanced her understanding of sustainable design and circular practices in the built environment. Stéphanie combines strong analytical skills with a critical perspective, striving to translate theoretical insights into realistic, user-focused outcomes. Her work supports the development of future-proof urban systems that balance innovation with practicality and sustainability.

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Dr Tara Kenny is the Postdoctoral Researcher on the HIA-IM project, co-hosted in University College Cork between the School of Public Health and the Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century (ISS21).

Dr Toni Sant is the Director of Digital Curation Lab at MediaCityUK and Associate Professor in the School of Arts, Media, and Creative Technology at the University of Salford. Between 2014 and 2020 he was the Artistic Director of Spazju Kreattiv, Malta’s national centre for creativity. He has written widely about digital curation and media archaeology, starting with his book Franklin Furnace & the Spirit of the Avant Garde: A History of the Future (Intellect, 2011). Other recent books include Documenting Performance: The Context and Processes of Digital Curation and Archiving (Bloomsbury, 2017), The Spazju Kreattiv Art Collection (Fondazzjoni Kreattività, 2020), and Enrique Tabone: Catalogue Raisonné (Kite Group, 2023). In 2021 he was awarded the National Book Prize of Malta for literary non-fiction for a book of Facebook posts called Jien-Noti-Jien (Klabb Kotba Maltin, 2020), which he co-authored with EU Literature Prize winner Immanuel Mifsud during the first Covid pandemic lockdown. He is also an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media.

Story teller, development critic, aspiring farmer I have more than 20 years experience in supporting organizations to critically analyze how they are contributing to a more equitable and sustainable world, and to communicate this effectively to different audiences. Specialties: Strategic communications, knowledge management, capturing lessons from development practice, linking research, policy and practice; web content management, capacity development.

Coming from a background in human geography and urban planning, I have been working as a Sustainability Consultant in the built environment since 2019, mainly focusing on embodied carbon assessments and Net Zero strategies. I am particularly interested in urban agriculture, regenerative design, and the circular economy.

Dr. Yonette Felicity Thomas is the founder and president of UrbanHealth360, an organization of multidisciplinary thinkers centered on a people-oriented, community-focused approach to urban health. Dr. Thomas is a globally acknowledged thought leader, urban health champion, and an advocate for valuing the health of women and girls as an economic imperative. A social epidemiologist/medical sociologist by training, she has served as the chief of Epidemiology at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the National Institutes of Health, held academic positions at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Howard University, and as a vice president for research. She founded Borjoner International and Strategic Transitions to influence the progress, health, and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the world. As a founding board member of Women’s Economic Imperative (WEI), she leads the organization’s focus on the health of women and girls as an economic value. Her work as global advisor for Evidence for Sustainable Human Development Systems in Africa (EVIHDAF) and the Centre for Urban Health and Development within the Asian Institute of Poverty Alleviation (CUHD-AIPA) extends her focus on the global south and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals in this last decade. She is the Associate Editor for Women and Girls for Cities & Health. She is a founding board member of the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) and recently led the organization into sustainability by serving as the inaugural executive director (as a board member) and has served as a science advisor for urban health to the New York Academy of Medicine. She is a founding board member and former vice president of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science (IAPHS) and served on the Steering Committee of the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse for more than a decade. She served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Revisions to the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Her primary research and publications have focused on the social determinants of health, health disparities, the health of women and girls as an economic value, the social epidemiology of drug abuse and HIV/AIDS and the link with geography, including edited volumes: Geography and Drug Addiction, Crime, HIV, and Health: intersections of Criminal Justice and Public Health Concerns.

Zoë is part of the delivery team at NHS Horizons, focusing primarily on programs on physical inactivity. She has a highly interdisciplinary and varied background starting with her degree in Human Sciences through to joining Horizons. Zoë has a background in mental health, working as a Support Worker for the NHS/Mind in West Essex during the pandemic. She then followed her interests in sustainability to work in a small agri-tech start-up where her role stretching across business, HR, marketing, grant writing and more. Through this she delivered various projects at the forefront of technology and transformation both internally and externally with funding from UKRI. Her experience led to a keen interest in system change and taking a proactive preventative approach to sector issues as well as in the interaction between health and sustainability issues.

Dr. Abdul Waheed is the Head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at NUST, Islamabad. He holds a PhD in Sustainable Urban Development from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, and has over 15 years of academic and professional experience in urban planning. His work spans sustainable development, spatial policy, and infrastructure planning, with a strong emphasis on applied research and urban resilience in developing contexts. Dr. Waheed has worked with both national and international organisations and remains committed to shaping evidence-based, inclusive planning practices in Pakistan and beyond.

Adam sees himself as a design activist—someone who motivates others to take control of the power inherent in design and transform the world. As part of a dynamic team of multidisciplinary professionals, Adam works to create a culture of community leadership and to advance the principles of urban design and community design. Urban design focuses on people, casting the architect or designer as the translator of people’s needs. Through professional and volunteer activities, Adam has been a passionate advocate for quality design in the built environment—to be better at translating the needs of a community. In addition to architectural projects across numerous commercial and residential types, Adam has worked in urban planning and design, community engagement, community development, affordable housing development, economic development, and process design.

Adrian tries to be a disruptive influence where necessary. He tries not to let over 25 years’ experience in public health impact too much on what he does for the future. He has worked at local regional and national levels in the field of obesity which is where the place based multi determinants of an outcome approach that he now tries to take originated. As penance for too long focusing on individual responsibility for behaviour change he now focuses his time more on creating healthier environments. Adrian’s interests include delivering a broader determinants of health approach in practice not just talking about it, and deconstructing linear cause and effect assumptions. He looks to good jazz improvisation for inspiration in music and public sector commissioning.

Aize Han is a graduate student in department of architecture, Tianjin University. He focuses on applying intelligent algorithms into healthcare architecture research.

Alanis is a Part II Architectural Designer at P+HS Architects and Research Assistant to Dr Jiayi Jin at Northumbria University. Her background spans industry and academia, with architectural project experience complemented by engagement in active research projects. Her specialisms include inclusive placemaking and feminist urbanism, having presented authored work on these topics at multiple events and international conferences such as the Women and Planning: From Theory to Practice Conference and the Royal Geographical Society Annual International Congress. Beyond professional practice, Alanis is actively engaged in the wider architectural community, holding roles on the RIBA North East Regional Council, Co-Chair of the RIBA YAPF committee, and a RIBA Future Architects panellist.

Alessio Russo, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture and Study Area Coordinator at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Prior to joining QUT, he held senior academic positions at the University of Gloucestershire, UK (Senior Lecturer, 2019–2024), RUDN University, Moscow (Associate Professor, 2018), and FEFU, Vladivostok (Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Urban and Landscape Design, 2016–2018). A recognised expert in urban ecosystem services and green infrastructure, his research focuses on their intersection with human health and climate change. He emphasises improving health and wellbeing in cities through access to high-quality, biodiverse green spaces, stronger human–nature connections, and support for mental health. His current and past research explores nature-based solutions that deliver multiple benefits, including thermal comfort, food production, pollution reduction, and stormwater management. This work supports the creation of healthy, inclusive urban environments by incorporating participatory approaches and addressing community needs in the face of climate and biodiversity challenges.

Ali Saleh R A Habona is an experienced mechanical engineering professional currently completing his academic studies at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. With a solid background in the energy sector, Ali has been with Qatar Energy since 2015, where he began in the Operation Engineering Department under the Inspection Section. From 2017 to 2021, he served in the Asset Integrity Department, focusing on Total Asset Management, Inspection Management Systems (IMS), and Risk-Based Inspection (RBI). In addition to his technical responsibilities, Ali was the department’s safety focal point, actively promoting safety and environmental awareness among both staff and contractors. He has been a contributing member of the RBI committee and the Focused Results Delivery (FRD) initiative, and is a certified coach in General Electric’s Asset Performance Management (APM) software. Upon graduation, Ali will return to Qatar Energy, where he will join the Engineering Services and Projects division, continuing to build on his commitment to operational excellence and asset integrity.

Amber Nyoni is a dedicated public health professional who champions equitable health outcomes for all. She holds a Master's in Population Health from University College London, with a focus on health and wellbeing in the built environment, and an undergraduate degree in Environmental and Public Health from Middlesex University. Amber is a registered Public Health Practitioner with UKPHR. Amber's professional journey has contributed to her passion for the intersection of health and the built environment. She has worked in roles supporting a Health in All Policies approach across various disciplines, including Town Planning which led to the development of the Essex Livewell Development Accreditation for Housebuilders. Currently, as a Strategic Planning and Public Health Lead at Essex County Council, Amber supports the integration of public health and town planning to address and embed the wider determinants of health into planning processes. Her role involves providing public health expertise on health impact assessments for strategic planning applications and building capabilities and capacity within Essex. Amber is also currently a member of the Urban Land Institute Health Leaders Network for Cohort 8. Amber's commitment to creating healthy and sustainable communities has been a driving force in both her professional and academic pursuits.

Amy is a Senior Lecturer in Public Health and Programme Lead for the UWE’s MSc Public Health. Her research interests include community development, social justice, health promotion, public health evaluation, and health and wellbeing at different stages of the life course. Amy’s methodological expertise is in qualitative research and the evaluation of community-based health promotion interventions. Amy’s doctoral thesis entitled 'an exploration of community development initiatives as a tool for promoting social connectedness’ and examines a range of projects which share a symbiotic relationship across a range of community approaches, all of which have the potential to promote social connectedness within communities and therefore reduce social isolation and loneliness.

Dr Amy Jones (PhD) is Research Programme Manager, Māori Health, Te Whatu Ora Waikato, Health NZ. She manages large Māori health /Indigenous research projects that predominantly use the Whiri approach to reduce health inequities and improve outcomes for Māori (Indigenous peoples of New Zealand) and for those with the greatest need. Whiri originated out of the Harti Hauora Tamariki project, which is a holsitic approach to support health and well-being for tamariki admitted to hospital. It address the wider determinants of health (such as housing and income) and has evolved into Whiri; which includes an integrated team structured around warm, culturally safe engagement, navigators, a well-being screening tool with follow up pathways for access to services, and nurse led case management. The nurse is supported by a general practice/family doctor with connections to hospital teams, daily reviews, and strong Indigenous clinical governance.

Amy serves as Design Director of Stantec’s NYC landscape architecture studio. She brings over 15 years’ experience with a focus on design of large-scale public parks, event spaces, urban landscapes, and their intersection with other city systems, from mobility to resilience. She is a careful problem solver and an enthusiastic proponent of multidisciplinary collaboration, particularly as the challenges of urban development demand it. With a background in architecture, she brings a sensitivity to the design fundamentals of space and light, and her work across the US and internationally has attuned her to the need for diverse community voices in the design of the public realm. A WEDG certified professional, her recent work is focused on addressing uncertainty to create adaptable, resilient landscapes in challenging urban environments.

Dr. Andy Jenkins is an Assistant Professor in the School of Science, Engineering, and Environment at the University of Salford. Andy's background is in architecture, urban design, urban agriculture, green infrastructure, and the circular built environment. As part of his Ph.D., Andy designed and built a large aquaponic urban farm within a disused warehouse to explore the technical difficulties of integrating soilless food systems in existing buildings. He then went on to co-create zero-carbon neighbourhoods with local stakeholders in cities across Europe, and later he explored the integration of vertical farms within buildings and cities from the perspective of resource synergies. Andy's focus over the last couple of years has been on co-creating urban food projects across Manchester and Blackburn, and developing DIY hydroponic systems to use as educational resources within the university. Andy also leads the Green, Grow, & Thrive Catalyst, which is a research group that brings together colleagues from across the university to pool ideas and share resources on bringing greening and cities closer together.

An efficient manager with 20 years business experience in Poland and in the international environment. Familiar with building organizations from scratch, as well as developing them at different stages of their functioning. Versatile leader exposed to all aspects of running a business. Building company structures, developing organizational culture and teams, creating/implementing procedures, managing all operations of the company and leading changes. Running business negotiations and business transactions.

Annalise Johns is a built environment and health expert. She develops evidence-based designs to improve social determinants of health by combining epidemiological data and population health profiles with cutting edge urban innovations (IOT, biomimicry, circular economy, etc.) to facilitate resilient population health outcomes. Her experience spans public health, transportation, regeneration, urban design and housing innovation. She has produced national policies for the National Health Service, UK, as part of the Healthy New Towns programme, and has developed cutting edge pilots for housing and health for Innovate UK and local authorities across London. She is a co-chair of the Urban Land Institute’s New Housing Paradigm and advises the Women’s Budget Group on gender inclusive transport strategies.

Annamae Muldowney is a PhD researcher at TU Dublin, exploring how AI-driven simulation tools can support inclusive architectural design. With a background in inclusive design, she also works at the Global Disability Innovation Hub at University College London on research into inclusive infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries.

Anosh is a dedicated educator, researcher, and designer with over 8 years of international experience in both academic and professional settings. His research interests include transdisciplinary collaboration, nature-based design approaches, pedagogies in architectural design and urbanism, sustainable built environment, and urban resilience. He holds a Ph.D. in Architecture from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Strathclyde. His doctoral research focused on multidisciplinary approaches, specifically the development and testing of a transdisciplinary collaboration framework for the nature-based design of a sustainable built environment, aligned with the RIBA Plan of Work 2020. Previously, he completed a Master of Architecture in Architectural Design (International) from the University of Strathclyde with Distinction (2018-2020), where he developed his expertise in architectural design, sustainability, and research methodologies. His academic career has spanned both the UK and Pakistan, and he demonstrated leadership in research and teaching across various roles. With a strong foundation in both teaching and research, he is committed to advancing sustainable architectural practices and transdisciplinary collaboration in the built environment. I look forward to further contributing to the development of innovative solutions that address global environmental and societal challenges. Information on his research outputs and professional activities is available at: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9662-9473

A practicing Architect and Urban Designer holding a Masters’ degree in Urban Design from Aalborg University, Denmark and a Bachelors degree in Architecture from GITAM University, India. Her passion lies in designing spaces for people that improve urban quality, enhance liveability, value heritage and contribute to natural environment. Researching theories and concepts that support design of such spaces is one of her key interests.

Barbara Benesh is an architect, design strategist, and founder of B. Grace Strategy & Advisory, a boutique consultancy guiding mission-driven organizations through the intersection of spatial planning, public health, and executive strategy. Named to Virginia Business Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2025, she has advised nonprofits, municipalities, and institutional leaders on how to embed health equity, wellbeing, and operational alignment into the earliest stages of the built environment process. Barbara recently presented at Rice University’s Built Environment & Public Health Symposium and serves as a thought leader in spatial equity, digital tools, and upstream advisory models. Her work translates complex, invisible systems into accessible strategies that help civic and organizational leaders design spaces—and decisions—that support thriving communities

Blake Jackson, AIA is an architect working at the nexus of sustainability, wellness, and resiliency. He is the Director, Sustainability for NORR, a 750-person AE company with locations in the US, UK, and Canada. He has 24 years’ experience in the AEC industry, holding a Bachelor of Architecture from Kennesaw State University (Marietta, GA) and a Master of Architecture in Sustainable Environmental Design from the AA Graduate School (London, UK). Blake is a prolific author, speaker, and educator on built environment topics. He is a past Vice President of Advocacy for the Boston Society of Architects, and he is currently on the Advisory Board for the Interior Design programme for the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Blake was recognized by BD+C Magazine as a top “40 Under 40” AEC professional (2015), named a LEED Fellow by the USGBC (2021), and he is a recipient of the AIA Young Architects Award (2024).

Since joining Article 25 in 2020, Branca has led a range of complex building projects from initial feasibility studies through to completion. Her portfolio includes large-scale initiatives such as Montserrat’s New National Hospital, the Dominica Housing Recovery Project, and the restoration of Yangon General Hospital in Myanmar. With over 20 years of international experience, she has previously held key roles at Noiz Architects (Japan), Adamson Associates (UK), Plarq (Portugal), and Architecture Autonomous (India). Branca’s work is grounded in a deep commitment to socially responsive and contextually appropriate design. She conducts extensive research into how built environments can support holistic approaches to healthcare and wellbeing, integrating social and cultural considerations with technical and functional requirements. Her interest in local construction materials, methods, and community engagement plays a vital role in delivering inclusive and sustainable outcomes. In addition to her design leadership, Branca brings hands-on construction experience, having spent several years as a site architect. This on-the-ground expertise allows her to ensure design integrity during implementation and to resolve challenges collaboratively with builders when adapting plans to real-world conditions. Her interdisciplinary approach makes her a valued contributor to conversations at the intersection of architecture, development, and resilience.

Carola Groenen is a health researcher, she obtained her PhD in December 2021 on the topic of cross sectorial collaboration. Within the Radboudumc, she is currently working on a research project about healthy living environments through participatory action research within municipalities. She combines this work with a position as an educational manager.

I'm on a personal mission to help leaders create the kind of environments where young people can truly thrive - with the support, skills, and connection they need to grow into capable, compassionate citizens of a complex world. My work is shaped by lived experience within the SEND and education systems, alongside a deep understanding of relational parenting and trauma-informed practice. With a background in strategy, change leadership, and creative facilitation, I support individuals and organisations through a coaching-led, collaborative approach rooted in trust, curiosity, and care.

Chandkiran joined the AECOM team in 2023, bringing 15 years of experience in the design industry and 10 years in strategy practice. Her range of experience across urban and architectural scales using evidence-based, people-focused tools (ethnographic, community engagement and behavioral simulations) along with research, brings a holistic approach to addressing complex spatial problems.

I am a Trauma-Informed Design Consultant and founder of Metamorphia. I combine neuroscience, psychology, and design to create spaces that support healing, connection, and empowerment. My work is rooted in lived experience and academic research, driven by a vision to humanise the built environment. I'm currently developing The Adaptive Classroom, with Werk Solutions a scalable model that integrates trauma-informed and restorative practices with innovative classroom design to improve behaviour, engagement, and wellbeing in schools.

Consultant and campaigner focusing on healthy homes and places, working at the intersection of planning, building and health. Started career in planning & construction in the 1990s as director at Boris Construction, where she led the company in developing PFI (Private Finance Initiative) projects within the NHS and focused on designing, building and operating hospitals through a Bovis- led consortium. Over the last 15 years she has worked directly in healthcare through a series of entrepreneurial businesses focused on medical imaging and mens' health. 2 years ago Clare set up her blog “Listen to Locals” where she writes about communities, health and planning, leading to a number of initiatives including a challenge to the development industry to recognise the impact it has on local health. This has culminated in a long awaited report which Clare initiated with the Marmot Institute of Health Equity at UCL called "Building Health Equity- the role of the property sector”.

Dinah Bornat is the co-founder of ZCD Architects. She is a child-friendly cities expert and researcher and has helped develop policy, guidance and best practices around inclusive engagement. Her work has had a significant impact at local, London, UK, and international levels. She is the author of ‘All to Play for: How to design child friendly housing’ which was published by RIBA publishing in February 2025. Dinah is a former Mayor's Design Advocate for the Mayor of London and currently a Design Review Panel member for Harrow, Hounslow, and Brent councils.

Eleanor Albin-Clark is currently pursuing an MPhil in Anthropocene Studies at the University of Cambridge (Murray Edwards College), where her research explores climate urbanism and low-carbon gentrification in Holt Town, Manchester; a neighbourhood undergoing rapid transformation under competing pressures of regeneration and sustainability. In October 2025, she will begin a DPhil in Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford, funded by the ESRC Grand Union DTP and based at St John’s College. Her doctoral project, Sensing the Neurodiver(City), investigates how urban rhythms and walkability are differently experienced by neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals, using comparative, sensory, and participatory methods. Her research intersects with key Healthy City Design 2025 themes including inclusive transport and mobility, community-led urban transitions, and the design of public realms that support diverse sensory and cognitive needs. By centering neurodivergent experience in urban planning, her work contributes to emerging understandings of health equity, environmental justice, and the role of lived experience in shaping resilient, inclusive, and healthy cities.

Ellie is an experienced researcher and academic in Environmental Psychology, with expertise in the design and experience of environments that support psychological wellbeing, especially places in nature. She examines how these places can improve mood and reduce stress, improve cognitive performance, and enhance community connectedness. She is also a lecturer at the University of Surrey. She completed her PhD in Environmental Psychology at the University of Surrey in 2015 and continued to complete two postdoctoral research positions, the first in the Department of Psychology, University of Tampere (Finland), funded by the Leverhulme Trust, and second at the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London (UK).

I am a PhD student in the Department of Geography (School of Environment, Education, and Development) supervised by Professor James Evans and Dr Amy Barron. Working thesis title: Understanding Barriers to Working Class Youth Climate Activism in Salford, Greater Manchester. I began my PhD with an interest in Manchester’s smart city and its tendency to prioritise city branding above genuine social and environmental sustainability. I was concerned about failure to involve young people in key decision-making processes about the future of their city. I wanted to assess how ‘sustainable’ this smart city vision truly was by empowering Greater Manchester’s youth– an often under-researched and under-represented group– to play a significant role in reforming the smart city concept and vision. Typically, the smart city appears as a major branding tool, presented as a ‘saviour’ for often intractable urban problems, promising ‘technologically advanced, green and socially inclusive’ cities (Vanolo, 2014, p.883). Its aim is to demonstrate how it can ‘serve as a thread binding the three sides of the sustainability triangle’ (Trencher and Karvonen, 2019, p.625)– environmental, economic, and social aims and issues. Secondly, I was also very interested in young people's increasingly vocal and passionate stances towards climate change, social justice, and climate justice after the 2019 climate strikes, and wrote my undergraduate dissertation on this. The intersection between young people's agency, empowerment, passion for climate activism and justice, and the smart city's focus on 'solving' environmental issues seemed, then, like an interesting area to focus my research. Could young people have more of a voice in the future of Manchester’s smart city? Could it be truly green, environmentally sustainable, and socially inclusive, as it is often marketed? My working thesis title then was: Smart and (Un)sustainable? Empowering Greater Manchester's Youth to Reform the Smart City. As I delved further into the first year of my PhD, it became clear that this link between the smart city, youth, and climate activism wasn’t, unfortunately, as strong as I thought it could be. The annual review helped me realise that the smart city concept wasn’t doing as much for my project as I had hoped, and that it may be better to view it as context and background instead of centre stage. With that, youth climate activism gained greater focus and attention. I narrowed my focus further from Greater Manchester as a whole to Salford– a largely under-researched, ‘ordinary’ city that, despite its rapid and ongoing development, has not attracted much attention at research level. Salford also adds a very personal element to my PhD; being raised there made me incredibly aware of and emotionally sensitive to both its potential and its struggles. It bore the brunt of industrial decline and political changes, yet now attracts major investment and attention whilst still retaining its working class identity and culture. It became interesting to me to think of what Salford’s future– socially, environmentally, and economically– has in store. This ‘ordinary’ city is anything but ordinary, and its potential is exciting. Mayor Paul Dennett’s focus on tackling the climate emergency, poverty and inequality presents a solid case for Salford as somewhere that can have a more sustainable future whilst remembering its industrial past and what this meant for community and Salford’s identity. I began to think about how its future could hold and make space for the intersection between working class identity and climate change action, whilst still recognising the importance of placing young people’s agency and their voice at the forefront of change. There is a significant research gap when we consider working class young people and climate activism. They are often not consulted for their ideas, opinions, nor their imagination and thoughts on what they would like the future of their place and space to look like. Thus, my research considers working class youth activism in Salford, the importance of place to them, and whether there are barriers to engaging in climate activism as a working class young person– especially important given climate activism in the UK has, typically, operated in middle class spaces. There is also exciting potential to utilise participatory research methods. Overall, I hope this research acts as an enabler: empowering youth voices, sharing them with stakeholders, and allowing young people to advocate for the future of their place. This research is with and for the young people of Salford, not on young people and Salford. I am also a member of the Manchester Urban Institute (MUI), the Society and Environment Research Group (SERG) and the Cities, Politics and Economics Research Group (CPEG). Teaching I am a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) on the following courses: Spring 2023: 2nd year Geography fieldtrip to Amsterdam 1st year GEOG10192 Key Ideas in Geography 2023-2024: Manchester Institute of Education (MIE): MSc Research Methods EVDV70001 Research Literacy and Design 1st year GEOG10251 Introducing Human Geographies 1 2024-2025: GEOG10251 Introducing Human Geographies Panel speaker: "Meet the Experts" new teaching assistant training GEOG10192 Key Concepts in Geography marking, fieldwork, and student consultations Other research 2021 GrowGreen (Horizon 2020): Green Cities for Climate and Water Resilience, Sustainable Economic Growth, Healthy Citizens and Environments. Managed by Professor James Rothwell and Dr Jamie Anderson, I worked as a research assistant collecting post-intervention survey data in West Gorton and Pendleton (Salford) in 2021. West Gorton was the focus of a GrowGreen initiative and funded as part of the European Commission's Smart Cities and Communities call for nature-based solutions in cities. The 10 year regeneration programme demonstrated the ability of a new sponge park to reduce flood risk through nature-based solutions and sustainable design. The intercept surveys I helped conduct assessed self-reported use of outdoor spaces using a seven-point ordinal response scale, ranging from 'never' to 'everyday'. The survey data also aimed to contribute to the assessment of the extent to which the development of the park has enhanced community cohesion, wellbeing, and active lifestyles. Findings from the project can be found in our article 'Large walking and wellbeing behaviour benefits of co-designed sustainable park improvements: A natural experimental study in a UK deprived urban area' (Anderston et al., 2024). Dissertations: Undergraduate (BSc) (2020): Youth Activism: Climate and Social Justice in a Time of Crisis. Master's (MSc) (2023): Smart and Socially Unsustainable? Problematising the Smart City's In(exclusion) of Young People as Empowered Citizens: A Qualitative Systematic Literature Review. Qualifications MSc Research Methods with Human Geography, The University of Manchester: distinction. BSc Geography, Royal Holloway University of London: 1st class. Further information If you would like to contact me please email ellie.barker@manchester.ac.uk

Partner at Hawkins\Brown, a large design-led architectural practice working on a variety of projects ranging in scale and by sector. My experience and expertise spans a variety of sectors but generally has seen me work on large, complex project briefs, with and around historic buildings in dense inner city sites to deliver Healthcare, Science & Research buildings. I thrive on making key strategic, technical and aesthetic decisions and drive direction into projects. Collaboration and co-ordination is at the heart of every project I work on be that in their realisation or project culture.

In her position as a senior social scientist and team member supervisor at HDR, Francesqca plays an integral role in the development and integration of human studies that support our clients’ knowledge needs and organizational goals. She is particularly interested in the relationships of built and social environments to human behavior, productivity and well-being. Francesqca’s responsibilities include study design and implementation oversight, developing instrumentation for data collection, writing research plans and protocols, facilitating focus groups and interviews, conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and synthesizing findings and insights that support our clients’ success. With her psychology and human-environment relations background, Francesqca brings appropriate methodologies and rigor to our projects, helping to ensure positive human experiences and outcomes.

Gail Shillingford, a seasoned urban planner with over 30 years of experience, is passionate about creating inclusive, sustainable communities. Her expertise in master planning, urban design, and landscape architecture has led to award-winning projects worldwide. Gail's collaborative approach prioritizes community engagement, particularly for underrepresented voices. She believes in pushing the boundaries of design to create resilient, equitable, and thriving communities. Gail’s experience encompasses a variety of streams, including all scales of city master planning, landscape design, and urban design. She has developed award-winning visions, design frameworks, policies, guidelines, and detailed designs for various projects, including community improvement and secondary plans, post-secondary campus master plans, heritage conservation districts, LEED ND neighbourhoods, downtown and waterfront plans, and open space and streetscape designs. Gail’s focus on her projects is entrenched in building resilient communities in a rapidly changing world. She thrives on pushing the frontiers of design and enabling new ways of thinking.

Gemma Hyde is a passionate advocate for healthy place-making and works at the intersection of planning, policy, and public health. As Projects and Policy Manager at the Town and Country Planning Association, she leads initiatives that embed health and wellbeing into local and national planning frameworks as well as championing the rights of children and young people in the built environment. Gemma has experience across local government, consultancy, and NGOs. She has contributed to professional publications and given evidence to government committees. Through her work, she champions equitable, active, and sustainable communities that support human and planetary thriving.

Georgina Blix is the Director of Blix Architecture, a research-led design studio with a focus on design for wellbeing in housing, urban design, education and aged care. In 2023 she was awarded a Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship to travel the world researching how we can design for wellbeing and measure it in social and affordable housing. Her research covers intergenerational design, design for trauma, and how to improve housing for joy, social connection and other evidenced-based wellbeing design interventions. With the rising challenges of mental health and loneliness, her research outlines the correlation between housing design and improved mental health outcomes particularly at the scale of the neighbourhood. As a practising Architect and pracademic with a professional certificate in Applied Positive Psychology (University of Melbourne), her studio focuses on how to make cities safer and more connected with practical design processes and solutions. She has taught at Sydney University, been published in Bulletin Magazine, regularly speaks at conferences, and has co-authored research into wellbeing with Sydney University. Most importantly she wants projects to make a positive impact, and to spend more time at the beach with her dog Lola.

Georgina is the Research and Impact Lead at Re-engage, a national UK charity focused on reducing loneliness and isolation for older people over the age of 75. Together with our volunteers and older people, we’re growing our research work to better understand and address loneliness as we age. Before joining Re-engage four years ago, I worked in communication and media studies; an increasing focus on audiences led me to move into applied research in the third sector.

Arch. Giulio Felli General Director & Senior Principal After graduating, in Architecture from the University of Florence, he began collaborations with several studios in Europe, participating in the conceptualization and design of international projects and competitions on an urban scale, and dealing with issues relating to environmental and energy sustainability. In 1996 he began his professional activity at the CSPE and in 1999 he became a Principal, dealing with the coordination of the design in the various phases, from the concept to the realization of the projects. Since 2006 he has held the role of Principal and Technical Director. He works on various international projects and competitions as project manager, also in collaboration with renowned British and American design firms. Many of the projects he has worked on have received awards and accolades for the environmental-friendly solutions adopted. He held the role of Adjunct Professor at the Department of Architecture at the University of Ferrara focusing on the "Design of Building Systems" and Architectural Construction courses for 10 years.

Grant Waters is the founder and Director of Tranquil City and has a background in acoustic consultancy with specific expertise in urban soundscapes, GIS techniques and inter-disciplinary collaboration and innovation. He has led projects for governmental bodies, including Defra, Natural England, Transport for London, European Commission funding bodies, architectural and urban planning practices, local authorities, NGOs, business improvement districts and technology companies.

Hadiya J. Khuwaja is an architect and urban planner currently engaged in graduate research at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad. Her work explores the intersection of urban design, public health, and social equity, with a particular interest in fostering inclusive and resilient cities in the Global South.

Hakimeh Shams, born in 2003, is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning at the Faculty of Art and Architecture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan. She has a keen interest in urban design and planning, with a focus on sustainable development strategies.

Hannah is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Global Centre on Healthcare & Urbanisation at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, and a Research Associate at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing. Hannah is an urban health geographer and planner, with an interest in how social and physical environments influence health and wellbeing throughout the lifecourse. With experience that bridges academia, policy, and practice, she is interested in how we can co-design environments and communities that promote a good quality of life, whilst recognising and addressing existing socio-spatial injustices and health inequities. Hannah’s research interests span urban health and social geography, healthy urban planning, and geographies of ageing. She is passionate about innovative methods and methodologies including the use of qualitative, geo-spatial and community-based participatory approaches to understand lived experiences of place. Hannah previously worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher and Assistant Professor in Human Geography at Dublin City University, a Research Assistant at Queens University Belfast, and as a Planning Policy Officer. She completed her PhD in the Department of Geography at Maynooth University, which explored how older people in the Greater Dublin Area define and enact ageing well in place.

Heather Macey is a Director and Trustee at Makower Architects, where she shares leadership responsibilities with Tim Makower, helping to guide the practice’s strategic direction and day-to-day operations. With a background in urban regeneration, supported housing and masterplanning, Heather is committed to creating healthier and more inclusive environments through design innovation. Her work spans public and private sectors, including the adaptive reuse of culturally significant sites, residential schemes, and mixed-use masterplans. At Makower Architects, she is leading the studio’s focus on health and housing - advancing new models of place-based care and shaping projects that integrate wellbeing into the fabric of everyday life. Heather is a Trustee and Co-Lead of Homestead, a pioneering supported-housing model that brings together therapeutic design, health innovation and place-based care to support individuals with psychosis. Through this work, she is helping to reimagine supported-housing as a therapeutic ecosystem embedded in its local context. She is also the founding member of Architects Aware!, a London-based think tank dedicated to addressing housing insecurity through design and policy. She is currently producing a podcast series, Therapeutic by Design, which shares insights from clinicians, policymakers, designers and individuals with lived experience to influence health-centred policy and built environment practice. A confident public speaker and regular contributor to policy and design discourse, Heather champions a holistic, cross-sectoral approach to urban health, social justice and systemic change.

Huzaifa Sarfraz is the Co-Founder and CEO of Neosyss- a US based software company operating at the intersection of AI, web, mobile, GIS, and blockchain technologies. The journey of this startup began with a project, where he and his team tackled the challenge of boosting the Electric vehicle infrastructure in Pakistan. To address this issue, they designed an EV battery swapping station and conducted a comprehensive analysis of EV charging stations in Islamabad, including solar-powered charging solutions. Since then, he began exploring new domains; diving into marketing, learning non-tech concepts and coding for fun which eventually led to Neosyss. Their team’s first product was Guidly, an AI-powered EdTech platform designed to tackle career challenges faced by students and job seekers. Now he is focused on Eco Muhafiz ("Muhafiz" meaning "protector" in English), which is a climate tech solution that combats deforestation using AI and IoT-based sensors. Through these ventures, Huzaifa has helped address various real-world urban problems and remains committed to the mission of enabling communities to thrive through innovation.

Ilias Gkoumas is a PhD candidate at the University of Portsmouth, within the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Technology. His research focuses on integrating Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) into the design and material selection process, with the aim of improving sustainability in post-disaster housing shelters and ensuring that the needs of affected communities are not overlooked. The project also incorporates environmental, social, and economic assessment methods (LCA, LCC and S-LCA), as well as tools such as Multiparametric Analysis and Multi-Criteria Decision Making. He holds an Integrated Master’s degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Patras, Greece. During his studies, he developed a strong interest in sustainable architecture, computational design, and building technologies. His diploma thesis and research projects emphasized lightweight, eco-friendly structures and the relationship between design and environmental performance. He has also participated in academic workshops and projects involving artificial intelligence, design methods, and sustainability, further deepening his interest to sustainable design.

Illyana is a talented architectural designer with a strong attention to research, visualization, and design solutions. These skills have been developed during her six-year journey in healthcare design. Illyana envisions a path where she is a community design architect working to improve the social, mental, and behavioral healthcare experience of communities through sustainable design. Additional Acknowledgements Alex Cummings, Designer Callie Collins, Designer Maithili Awasarikar, Designer Janice Hogan, Graphic Designer Madelyn Stafford, Landscape Designer Olivia Perrins, Landscape Designer And many other collaborators, thank you all!

Dr Jack Benton is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Manchester. His interdisciplinary research bridges public health, behavioural science, and urban studies, focusing on generating evidence to inform urban policy and decision-making for healthier cities. He specialises in using natural experiments to evaluate how changes in the built environment influence health and wellbeing.

Senior Lecturer at The University of Manchester.

Jacquelyn (Jax) is a project architect from the Philadelphia office working on variety of healthcare and K-12 education projects for clients including Jefferson Health, RWJBarnabas Health, UPMC Pinnacle, and Goochland County Public Schools. In her role, Jax has supported projects from programming through construction administration. Her passion for designing spaces that help people heal and grow is what drives her every day. Her commitment to design goes beyond the walls of Stantec. Jax is a member of the PHDC Percent for Art Committee and an adjunct professor at Thomas Jefferson University’s College of Architecture and the Built Environment.

Interdisciplinary researcher, exploring multiple perspectives surrounding different narratives of national infrastructure planning to identify areas for proactive policy reform

James O'Connell is a public health doctor working in the health service in Ireland. He has a strong interest in creating healthy places. He has a Masters in Public Health and a Diploma in Planning and Environmental Law. He is an affiliate member of the Irish Planning Institute.

Professor of Physical Geography at The University of Manchester.

Research Fellow at The University of Manchester.

As HDR’s Director of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Jeri leads our team of social scientists, researchers, and analysts who use proven expertise, curiosity, and creativity to design and conduct credible research and evaluation focused on real-world outcomes. Jeri is highly adept at developing and implementing quantitative, qualitative, and multi-method studies, including representative survey research, program evaluation, longitudinal and time series approaches, and applications of systems science. Jeri’s work generates actionable insights to inform a range of behavioural and experiential interventions in various built and social contexts including communities, organisations and buildings. She is driven to find solutions to the “people side” of complex problems, and to help our clients create highly effective human-centered strategies, programs, and infrastructure. She has worked extensively with diverse urban and rural communities, and has led local-, regional- and national-scale studies impacting programmatic and built solutions.

Jess is the Head of Policy, Research and Consultancy at Re-engage, a leading national charity dedicated to ending social isolation and loneliness for people aged 75 and over. With a deep commitment to understanding the causes of loneliness and the challenges older people face, Jess leads the charity’s research and policy and activities, focusing on data insights and monitoring, evaluation, and learning to inform service development, increase impact and work towards the overall mission of ending social isolation and loneliness for people aged 75 and over. In addition to her research role, Jess also leads Re-engages consultancy activities, offering expert guidance to organisations and communities seeking to address social isolation and loneliness among older adults, and improve the services or products they offer. Through her work, Jess helps shape strategic planning, impact assessments, and co-production methods that directly contribute to Re-engages mission of ensuring that no one is ever too old to make friends. An experienced leader in the charity sector, she is passionate about advocating for those often marginalised or let down by societal infrastructure. Jess specialises in research, consultancy and inclusion, ensuring that the voices of older individuals are amplified and included in all relevant forums and conversations on a local and national scale.

Before joining Northumbria in 2018, Jiayi held teaching and research positions at Mixed Reality Lab (MRL) and the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham. She has over 12 years of experience in architecture and urban planning with international architecture practices like Gensler. These practical reflections have led to different research projects funded by the British Academy (2021 and 2024), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC, 2023-24 and 2025-26), and various research and innovation funds. She also received multiple research awards when collaborating with museum and art institutions, including Newcastle Culture Investment Fund (2021), Early Career Artist Bursary (2020-21), Digital Culture Award (England Arts Council, 2019), etc. Her research focuses on the role of new media and technologies in knowledge production and socio-spatial linkage generation, inclusive innovation with architectural or urban environments, and creative participation in sustainable, inclusive city development. Her projects include "Participatory Neighbourhood Planning for the ‘Brown to Green’ Transition in Tyneside" (AHRC), "Gender-inclusive Cities", "Developing a Grassroots Sustainable Futures Platform: Collective Participation in Community-Based Cultural Organisations / CEoN" (British Academy).

Dr. Litt is currently leading the Re-imagining Environments for Connection and Engagement: Testing Actions for Social Prescribing in Natural Spaces (RECETAS) Consortium, funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020. This consortium aims to develop and test nature-based social prescribing interventions to address loneliness through the deployment of three RCTs and three pre-post studies. This project involves 13 partners across 6 cities in Latin America, Europe, and Australia. She received her PhD in environmental health and public policy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has experience in the area of urban environmental health working over the past decade in the neighbourhoods of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, and Denver and more recently, Barcelona, Spain and Marseille and Montpellier, France on a variety of issues related to the built and natural environments and health including urban brownfields clean-up and redevelopment, lead poisoning, residential demolition, environmental justice, chemical risk assessment, housing, green spaces, community gardens, and local food systems.

Jo explores the strengths of technology and data to enhance people's experience of public spaces. She focuses on digital innovation and multidisciplinary collaboration, aiming to create more pleasurable, sustainable and citizen-centred environments through inclusive digital placemaking practices. She is a founding director of the Association of Collaborative Design and an Industry Champion for Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre.

Joel is a researcher who first joined Social Life through the field team in 2023. He has since supported the Southwark Estates Health and Wellbeing project, and helped facilitate the second round of research into public space interventions in the OPDC area along the Grand Union canal. Joel also lectures in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts (UAL), where his work explores how the university can strategically utilise its resources to support housing campaigns in the local area. He has an MSc in Urban Development Planning from UCL, and sits on the board of trustees at community land trust RUSS, who recently completed a project of 36 mixed-tenure, permanently affordable homes in Lewisham, south London, which were partly self-built by volunteers.

Jon was a senior civil servant in UK Government until 2014 working in the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Roles included Director of Homelessness and Housing Support; Director of a Regional Government Office; and Deputy Director of the Government’s Neighbourhood Renewal and Social Exclusion Units. Since leaving the Civil Service, he has been CEO of a local Citizens Advice service and contributes to training programmes for overseas civil servants. He is also a Trustee of a charity that focusses on neighbourhood planning and community development and is a coopted member of his local council planning committee. He has written 3 books, the most recent ‘Modern Management and Leadership - People, Places and Organisations’ was published in 2023.

Jon is an experienced healthcare designer with more than two decades of expertise improving the design and functionality of large-scale behavioral health spaces. He has demonstrated success at using design as a catalyst to improve the delivery of behavioral healthcare for private, public and government clients nationwide. Jon is passionate about leading the field in this specialized and dynamic service line and equally engaged in mentoring the next generation of behavioral healthcare designers. His work is repeatedly published and presented at national conferences. Jon is passionate about leading the field in this specialized and dynamic service line, and he’s equally engaged in mentoring the next generation of behavioral healthcare designers. His work is repeatedly published and presented at national conferences.

PhD candidate at The University of Manchester.

Designer, lecturer, researcher, and project manager in the real estate sector. A passionate advocate—both in theory and practice—of spatial design in its broadest sense. She is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz. In 2019, she was awarded a PhD in Art and Conservation from her alma mater, where since 2023 she has been leading the Studio for Universal Spatial Design. Since 2014, she has co-run 2x3 studio, a practice specialising in exhibition design and visual identity. She is also a permanent collaborator with OKAM Capital, one of Poland’s leading development companies in the residential and commercial sectors, where she holds the position of Director of Development.

Building on a distinguished career as a landscape architect, Katharina’s PhD research led to the development of globally applicable guidelines for integrating purposefully designed therapeutic gardens into hospital environments. She established the term therapeutic hospital gardens (THG), spaces that are “purposefully designed and well-integrated within the hospital grounds or hospital building, which medically, spatially and culturally support patient care and visitor and staff wellbeing”. This definition does not replace previous research or alternative terminology; rather, it establishes a robust foundation for interdisciplinary inquiry, design innovations, and evidence-based advancements. Her groundbreaking work first appeared in Health Environment Research Design (HERD) (Nieberler-Walker et al., 2023), followed by THG guidelines for healthcare decision-makers in Sustainability (Nieberler-Walker et al., 2024) and for healthcare designers in Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE) (Nieberler-Walker et al., 2025). Katharina’s guidelines empower healthcare professionals, designers, decision makers, and clinical practitioners to implement therapeutic gardens in hospitals as an integral part of care environments. Beyond academia, Katharina is dedicated to mainstreaming therapeutic gardens in hospitals and urban settings by collaborating with healthcare professionals, policymakers, architects, and investors. Her signature projects as a landscape architect include the ‘Healing Gardens’ at the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane (Nieberler-Walker et al., 2019), and the ‘Therapeutic Landscapes’ at Meir Medical Center, one of Israel’s largest hospitals. Katharina is a registered landscape architect, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) and the recipient of the 2022 Australian Health Design Council scholarship, which supported her research over three years. Publications Nieberler-Walker, K., Desha, C., Bosman, C., Roiko, A., & Caldera, S. (2023). Therapeutic hospital gardens: Literature review and working definition. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/19375867231187154 Nieberler-Walker, K., Desha, C., El Baghdadi, O., & Reeve, A. (2019). The efficacy of healing gardens: Integrating landscape architecture for health. In D. Battisto & J. J. Wilhelm (Eds.), Architecture and Health (1 ed., pp. 181-195). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429021169-13 Nieberler-Walker, K., Desha, C., Roiko, A., Caldera, H. T. S., & Bosman, C. (2025). Sustainable healing environments: guidelines for designing therapeutic gardens for integrated hospital care. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-09-2024-0380 Nieberler-Walker, K., Desha, C., Roiko, A., Caldera, S., & Bosman, C. (2024). Sustainable Health and Well-Being: Guidelines for Integrating Therapeutic Gardens for Holistic Hospital Care. Sustainability, 16(23), 10288. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310288

I am an ex police officer from Zimbabwe and also worked as a PCSO for Greater Manchester Police. I am lecturer in Policing and my research interests are in artificial intelligence and witchcraft. Friendship bench initiative is a hobby!

Dr. Kevin Raaphorst is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Urban and Regional Research, at the department of Geography, Planning, and Environment at Radboud University. He has an extensive academic background in Spatial Planning, GIS, Landscape Architecture, Human Geography, Visual and Qualitative Research Methods, and Visual Semiotics. Trained as a spatial planner (BSc) and Geo-Information Scientist (MSc), his primary research interests lie in the ways that space and place are digitally and visually represented, and how those representations influence the shaping of the built environment (PhD). Specifically, he investigates how visual and digital representations of planned and designed spaces, as spatial knowledge products for planners and policy makers, influence participatory processes of place-making in relation to health and climate adaptation. Previous and current research projects funded by NWO-NWA (BENIGN: Blue and Green Infrastructure in relation to Heat Stress), ZonMw (Space2Move: walkability and physical activity friendly environments) as well as the Radboud Institute for Management Research (Usability of Climate Services) all contribute to the body of knowledge that surrounds these topics. Additionally, Dr. Raaphorst teaches various courses at the BSc and MSc level on cartography, GIS, planning scenarios and research methodology.

Kristine Mourits is a senior researcher at the Academic Collaborative Center AMPHI at Radboudumc Nijmegen, The Netherlands. She obtained her PhD in October 2024 on the topic of how health can be integrated into spatial planning developments within Dutch municipalities. This research focused on four key questions: what is a healthy living environment, how does a spatial planning process works, how can cross-domain collaboration be strengthened, and how does the public health policy advisor fulfil the role of boundary spanner in this issue. Within the Academic Collaborative Center, she is currently working on establishing the research line about healthy living environments and follow-up research through participatory action research within municipalities. She combines this work with a position as a senior policy advisor for Health / Healthy Living Environment at the municipality of Nijmegen.

Luke Engleback, CMLI FRSA, is a Chartered Landscape Architect and Ecourbanist based in the UK. He founded Studio Engleback in 1999 and brings nearly 40 years of experience in landscape architecture and ecourbanism. Since 1984, Luke has taught at the university level and regularly presents on ecourbanism, biodiversity, climate change adaptation, and health, both in the UK and internationally. A former member of the INTEGER Intelligent & Green think tank (1999–2005), he currently works with ‘Our Green Group.’ He stays updated through Nature and Science, integrating insights into design practices. He became a Fellow of the RSA in 2022.

Marta Czachorowska is an architect who dedicates her professional and academic pursuits to the design of caring environments, encompassing medical facilities, therapeutic settings, as well as spa and wellness centers. She holds a firm conviction in the restorative influence of well-crafted design. She belives in the healing power of good design. Marta advocates for the notion that thoughtfully planned urban areas and architectural structures can contribute significantly to the physical and emotional well-being of those who dwell within them. Her exceptional work in designing a maternity ward for a gynecological hospital was honored with the prestigious Red Dot Design Award in 2023, and she also received acclaim by winning the "Designed for People" award from Gazeta Wyborcza's contest. Her insights on medical design have been featured in esteemed publications like RZUT, Miej Miejsce, and Architektura Murator, and she is a familiar presence at design festivals, such as the Łódź Design Festival, where she champions the concept of health-promoting design. Marta leads the creative team at m+design office. Visit mplusdesign.eu to explore more of her work.

Mary Rouse is a highly accomplished and passionate community development professional with over 20 years of cross-sector experience spanning health, education, housing, and social care. Currently serving as Community Development Manager at Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC), Mary is the principal link between residents, community stakeholders, and the EDC, ensuring community voices actively shape the future of Ebbsfleet Garden City. Prior to her current role, Mary led the development of a pioneering Health and Wellbeing Hub, coordinating with NHS Trusts, ICBs, and community stakeholders to develop integrated service models for a rapidly growing population. Her work is deeply embedded in the principles of co-design and inclusive placemaking. She leads on major initiatives including a network of 14 community gardens, a successful behavioural change app with almost 4,000 users, and is currently developing a local volunteer network. Mary also manages strategic planning and evaluation, overseeing key performance indicators and impact frameworks, helping ensure that projects align with Levelling Up goals and deliver real, measurable outcomes for local communities. She holds an MSc in Healthcare Management and Leadership and a BA in Philosophy from Cambridge. Alongside her professional work, Mary is an active charity trustee, a former CIC founder, and a long-time youth worker, demonstrating a lifelong commitment to equity, empowerment, and civic engagement. Her leadership is driven by a belief in the power of communities to overcome complex challenges when given the tools, trust, and opportunities to lead.

Mat Jones is Professor of Public Health and Community Development at the Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing at the UWE Bristol. He has an academic background in social anthropology, social and political science applied to public health, and a practice background in community development. Mat is currently working on eight research projects in the areas of nature, food systems and health; community capacity building; and inequalities in urban health. These include the EU funded RECETAS nature-based social prescribing programme. With a track-record of research with 48 projects, and producing 77 reports, 55 conference papers and 47 peer review publications, Mat is a leading UK specialist in participatory methods for the evaluation of complex health and social change programmes. Methodologically he focuses on the pragmatic application of Co-production, Realist Evaluation, Outcome Harvesting, Social Return on Investment, Theory of Change methods alongside the use quantitative pre-post and quasi-experimental methods. He sits on a number of funding selection committees including NIHR’s DLAF and ESRC/UKRI Evaluation Development Fund.

Matthew Morgan is the Director and co-Founder of the Quality of Life Foundation. He is responsible for setting strategy with the Board of Trustees, overseeing the Foundation’s commercial services and delivering lasting impact with the Quality of Life team, itself focused on highlighting the impact of the built environment on people’s lived experience. With over 20 years’ experience in writing and communications, Matthew has previously worked with architects, engineers and developers; in book and magazine publishing; and with charities and start-ups. He is a participant on a number of advisory boards and chairs a multi-stakeholder group that advises on community engagement as part of the UKRI-funded CCQOL (Community Consultation for Quality of Life) project. A published author and mental health advocate, Matthew is particularly interested in how communities are formed and their effects on people’s physical, social and psychological wellbeing, an interest he developed while growing up in an intentional community in Kent.

I'm a Public Health and Health Policy doctoral researcher investigating a new iteration of urban mental health initiatives: thriving cities. The focus of my research is social connectivity in cities and its impact on mental health. There is an international scope to the research with focus cities including Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and Dublin. The research investigates how thriving city initiatives involve themselves in and impact social connectivity. My overarching research interests are in wellbeing, social isolation and connectivity, and social and environmental determinants of health.

Michael Hamilton has been involved in leading community development projects and programmes for over 40 years. In the past 7 years Michael has been working with Systems change methodology to help communities to birth the changes they want to see in their communities.

Michael Rigby is the Data Partnerships Manager at Impact on Urban Health. Since October 2022, he has managed and created data partnerships to improve Impact on Urban Health's evidence and knowledge by utilising the latest data-driven approaches available. Michael has worked within the not-for-profit sector as a 'data for good' expert for over 20 years and was previously ‘Head of Digital’ at the Football Foundation – the UKs largest sports charity – where he was responsible for a successful digital transformation to enable the delivery of a ten year National Football Facilities Strategy.

Dr Michelle Howarth is a Professor in Health and Special Care at Edge Hill University with a specialist interest in social prescribing and the use of nature based, person centred approaches to promote health and wellbeing. Michelle is passionate about promoting personalised care to support people with long term conditions and leads the National Social Prescribing Network Special Interest Group for Nursing and chairs the national PerCIE group, through which she is actively campaigning to raise awareness of social prescribing and salutogenic, personalised approaches amongst nurses, social care, AHPs & medics through research, curriculum development and placement opportunities.

As a parent to two brilliant neurodiverse children, I am deeply committed to creating a kinder, fairer, more inclusive world for my children and yours. My motivation for the Adaptive Classroom has been shaped by my children's personal experience of mainstream education. As a qualified teacher, trainer, and restorative conference facilitator, with over 20 years' experience in UK education, I'm frustrated by the broken system and channelling my frustration into practical action. Since 2017 my team and I have supported thousands of young people, families, and educators through restorative practice, trauma-informed approaches, and inclusive strategies leading to meaningful and lasting change.

Natasha Reid is founder of MATTER SPACE SOUL, a progressive spatial design lab and practice shaping places for health, wellbeing and social sustainability. Building on her experience at award-winning architecture studios, she began innovating new approaches at the intersection of design, human sciences and the arts from 2013. The studio now specialises in Human-Centred Design and Neuroarchitecture, and works closely with a network of collaborators across disciplines. Natasha’s Compassionate Places Method is an experience-led approach for design that responds the complexity of human needs. Developed as a “Place Quality Model”, it was implemented in the first London borough’s planning standards in 2023. This will be featured by the World Health Organisation as a case study in 2025. Natasha an advocate for the power of design to create change that matters, recognized in international publications such as Wallpaper* and Elle Decoration, as a “Groundbreaker” and “Women to Watch”.She is a fellow of the Centre for Conscious Design and design review expert for two London councils. She often speaks at conferences on her work in architecture and design innovation. She is also an artist.

Dr Nina Scott is a public health physician in New Zealand with affiliations to Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua, and Waikato iwi. She holds leadership roles as Co-Chair Hei Āhuru Mowai (Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa) and Manager Rangahau Hauora Māori and Interim Chief Medical Officer, Hauora Māori Services, Te Whatu Ora. Her research focuses on Kaupapa Māori methodologies and health interventions that reduce inequities for Māori. Dr Scott serves on various national cancer control boards, advocating for integrating Māori knowledge into health policies and practice. She has received several awards for her contributions to Māori health and continues to champion equity in healthcare.

As Managing Director of WerkSolutions, I'm driven by a simple belief: every child deserves a learning environment that works for them not against them. Watching too many students struggle in rigid, outdated classrooms sparked a personal mission in me to do better. I'm on a mission to create learning environments that respond to the needs of every child. Our adaptive, inclusive furniture supports movement, choice, and neurodiverse ways of learning. Made with sustainable materials and designed for longevity, it's much more than furniture.

Peter Kraftl is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Birmingham, UK. His research focuses on children and young people’s experiences of and participation in their everyday environments, exploring their perspectives on key challenges such as sustainable urban design and environmental change. His work informs many local and national policy organisations in the UK, alongside UNESCO and UNICEF. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Peter completed his PhD in Design Engineering at Imperial College London. The focus of Peter’s research and work is “design for human connectivity” – that is, supporting organisations to improve human connectivity outcomes through design. Prior to completing his PhD, Peter worked in creative, innovation, and strategy roles across the globe helping large organisations communicate and tell their stories in more compelling ways. Peter is a graduate of the THNK School for Creative Leadership.

Polly Atatoa Carr is Associate Professor at Te Ngira (Institute for Population Research), University of Waikato, NZ. Her research focuses on broader determinants of population health and wellbeing equity, particularly for children within the context of whānau and community. Polly is a Public Health Physician within Child and Youth Health at Te Whatu Ora Waikato.

Dr. Rakesh Kumar is an accomplished researcher in public health and population studies, with over a decade of experience specializing in urban health, nutrition, migration, and geospatial analytics. He currently serves as a Senior Consultant at the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), New Delhi, where he contributes technical expertise and research leadership to projects addressing health inequalities, child malnutrition, and urban development. His work is conducted in collaboration with leading organizations, including UNICEF and the TATA Trusts. Dr. Kumar holds a Ph.D. in Population Studies from the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, where his doctoral research examined the spatial dynamics of tourism flows across India. He also holds an M.Phil. and M.A. in Population Studies, along with a Master’s degree in Geography, grounding his expertise in spatial demography and urban research. His research has been widely published in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Global Health, SSM–Population Health, Demography India, and Springer Nature. In addition to scholarly publications, Dr. Kumar has co-authored numerous policy reports and data-driven tools, including the Parliamentary Constituency Factsheets on nutrition and health, and evaluation studies for major national programs such as ICDS and Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB). Dr. Kumar has presented his work at prestigious international conferences, including the Population Association of America (PAA) Annual Meeting and the International Geographical Congress. His contributions have been recognized with full travel grants and fellowships from institutions such as TATA Trusts, MERH, and the Government of India. He possesses advanced proficiency in statistical and geospatial software, including STATA, ArcGIS, and GeoDa, and plays a pivotal role in developing interactive dashboards and analytical frameworks to support real-time monitoring and policy decision-making.

Saleha Ansari is an accomplished Architect, Urban planner and Project management professional with over seven years of experience working at the intersection of architecture, urban development, and sustainability. Her academic journey reflects a deep commitment to spatial justice, climate resilience, and design innovation. Saleha’s work spans from architecture, real estate projects, planning consultations, and academic research focused on post-pandemic learning spaces, sustainable urbanism, and revitalization of urban spaces. She has published several peer-reviewed articles and has presented at various international conferences. Her work now focuses on the socio-political implications and financial risks associated with climate change and is therefore, working with Neosyss as a sustainability consultant on “Eco Muhafiz”-a climate tech solution that combats deforestation using AI. Saleha is driven by the belief that thoughtful design and strategic planning can transform lives, and she is committed to entrepreneurial ventures in the built environment.

Sally joined the TCPA in April 2022 and works on the Healthy Homes campaign and healthy place-making workstream. This includes working with local authorities to achieve healthy and sustainable places. Prior to joining the TCPA, Sally worked in sustainability consulting for the built environment and homebuilding industry. She holds a Master’s degree in Environment and Sustainable Development from University College London, and preceding that she studied geography, sustainability and geology at Hofstra University in New York. As a part of her studies, Sally completed an internship at Nature Connect in Cape Town that focused on conservation and environmental education.

Sapna is a chartered engineer and academic researcher at UCL. She has a background in delivering technical designs for non-domestic and domestic buildings across the UK. Her experience also includes masterplan and urban designs for new developments and regeneration across councils. She has a detailed understanding of the complexities of building design and energy systems to deliver climate mitigation and climate adaptation. In addition, Sapna has experience in a policy advisory role. Her experience includes supporting local authorities with their decarbonisation strategies. She has also been seconded to the civil service to support on policy development to decarbonise non-domestic buildings. Through her doctoral research, Sapna has honed her knowledge of policy development across multiple governance levels and the roll of different actors to drive forward regenerative solutions.

Founder and CEO of Innatify, a healthtech company focused on reducing the administrative burden on healthcare staff through data-driven innovation. With over 15 years of experience leading large-scale digital transformation programs across government, enterprise, and healthcare sectors, my goals it to bring a deep understanding of system design, workforce dynamics, and scalable technology deployment. Holding an Advanced Master’s in Biotech & Medtech Ventures from Solvay Brussels School in Brussels, I have dedicate the past three years to applied research into the root causes of healthcare workforce shortages across hospitals, aged care, and community nursing services. Research focused on public backed healthcare and covers seven countries, with the NHS central to the work. Research include 700+ interviews and collaborations with healthcare leaders, frontline staff, and policymakers, leading to the development of practical solutions already delivering measurable results in European hospitals. I'm passionate about aligning healthcare innovation with community needs, co-creating with healthcare solutions and better systems to support those who care for others.

Sem Lee is an urban strategist and social entrepreneur with over 11 years’ experience managing sustainability, communications, and design projects. Sem founded OURI Labs in response to the pressing need to understand how to link public health and urban planning. OURI Labs is a health innovation research lab committed to shaping healthy and equitable cities that better serve communities and the planet. The practice specialises in participatory research, evaluation, and design, bridging urban planning policy and public health. Key organisations they have collaborated with include Health Innovation North East North Cumbria, Greater London Authority, University College London (Bartlett), and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

Simon Battisti is Executive Director of the Relationship Center (Qendra Marrëdhënie, “QM”), a non-profit research and design agency, based in Tirana. QM provides technical assistance to local governments to deliver mobility and public space projects that center the needs of children and caregivers. Since 2020 QM has supported the Municipality of Tirana’s city-wide school streets program. Simon is also the Creative Director of the Start with Children Summit, an annual convening on urban childhoods held in Bratislava. He holds degrees in architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture, and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. https://www.qendra-m.org/en https://www.instagram.com/qendra_marredhenie/ https://startwithchildren.com/

Sofia Rostami Nia is a Bachelor’s student in Urban Planning at Bu-Ali Sina University, with a keen interest in urban design and clean energy development.

Sonja is a Professor of Architecture and Sustainability Design Innovation with over 20 years of experience in sustainability and design research. She has led complex, multidisciplinary projects valued between £200k and £29 million, both in the UK and internationally, serving as an associate architect, senior manager, and principal investigator. She founded the Radical Architecture Practice for Sustainability (RAPS) network, collaborating with design experts from across Europe, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Serbia, and France. Sonja serves as a Thought Leadership Specialist Advisor to the UK Design Council and is a board member of the World Green Building Council (Serbia). She is also an advisor on several scientific and industry panels, including ARENA and the New European Bauhaus Collective. Her work is highly interdisciplinary, connecting architecture with computer science, psychology, environmental science, and sociology. Her recent research on socially responsible housing design was recognized in the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee’s report Off-site manufacture for construction: Building for change, and presented at the Westminster Social Forum in 2020. With a background in architecture, construction management, and engineering, Sonja brings a unique systems-thinking approach to addressing climate change and complex environmental challenges in the built environment.

Sophie Hadfield-Hill is a Professor in Human Geography at the University of Birmingham. Principally a Children’s Geographer, Sophie’s expertise is children and young people’s everyday experiences of urban change in diverse contexts. Her research portfolio spans young people’s lives in the UK, India and Brazil; she has been Principal and Co-Investigator on numerous research projects related to urban transformation. Sophie is currently Chair of the RGS-IBG Geographies of Children, Youth and Families research group.

Sruti Samhita Malladi is a final year student at FLAME University, pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Public Policy. She aspires to work in urban policy and planning, and especially loves mobility, civic administration, and generally creative solutions.

A dedicated behavioral health planner and mental health design subject matter expert, Stephen is a proponent of “architect as advocate” for colleague, client, and community alike, and he believes strongly in leadership through service. A proponent of “architect as advocate” for colleague, client, and community alike, he believes strongly in leadership through service. Stephen has served a diverse client base, including the Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, helping to develop the VA’s new Inpatient Mental Health Design Guide. He has volunteered as a pro-bono medical planner in the US and abroad, is an accomplished design researcher and advocate of mental health world-wide. Stephen has been named a Behavioral Health Business Future Leader, AIA AAH U40 Award, ENR Top 20 under 40 Young Professional Award, HCD Rising Star, HFSE George Pressler Under 40 Award recipient, and is a ULI Health Leader. Stephen is the youngest licensed architect elected to the AIA Strategic Council, having led their Mental Health + Architecture Incubator. He currently serves as Associate Director for the Design in Mental Health Network headquartered in England, is a founding member for the Center for Health Design’s Behavioral & Mental Health Environment Network and US Representative to the International Union of Architect’s Public Health Group.

Swaleha is a development practitioner and global mental health enthusiast with an academic background in psychology and a strong commitment to advancing health equity. Over the years, she has designed, implemented, and evaluated community-based mental health programs that center the voices and needs of marginalized and underrepresented populations, including women, refugees, low-income groups, and survivors of trauma.

Dr. Dora Mavridou is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the BEng Engineering Management Top-Up program in the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, within the Faculty of Technology at the University of Portsmouth. Her teaching expertise includes Engineering Practice, Sustainable and Environmental Management, and Design. Her research interests focus on Building Optimisation, Inclusive Design, Sustainability, Environmental Design, and Social Sustainability. She is particularly passionate about exploring ways to maximize value while minimizing waste. Dr. Mavridou has over a decade of industry experience as a chartered engineer, specializing in engineering design and project management. She graduated from the School of Architectural Engineering at Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, in 2006. She later earned an MA in Lighting Design from the School of Applied Arts and Sustainable Design at Hellenic Open University in 2017 and a PhD from Democritus University of Thrace, where her research focused on optimizing industrial buildings through sustainability and lean thinking. Additionally, she holds a PGCert Diploma in Higher Education from the University of Portsmouth. Throughout her career, she has worked on engineering projects across various European countries, including the UK, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Greece.

Tinghui Yang, Master Candidate School of Architecture and Planning, Shenyang Jianzhu University Shenyang Key Laboratory of Performance Enhancement Technology for Healthy Human Settlements (SJZU) Supervisor: Prof. Yao Fu Research Focus: Inclusive and Accessible Space Design

Tobias Fellows is an architect and Principal, Public Buildings (Ottawa) for NORR, an 800-person integrated architecture and engineering company, headquartered in Toronto, with locations in the US, UK, and Canada. He has over 20 years’ experience in the AEC industry, holding a Bachelor of Architecture from Carleton University, with a focus on Science and Research, Education, Commercial and Public Buildings projects across Canada and internationally. He leads a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team of architects, engineers, planners and designers in developing solutions for complex, purpose-driven designs, from recapitalization projects to new construction at every scope and scale, with an emphasis on project work that promotes sustainability, adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, and Truth and Reconciliation between Indigenous Peoples and Canadians.

Toby joined Article 25 in 2017, bringing a deep commitment to creating architecture that is both beautiful and transformative. His work focuses on delivering buildings that not only meet functional needs but also improve lives and empower communities. Notable projects include the multi award-winning Collège Hampaté Bâ in Niger, Kao La Amani Children’s Village in Tanzania, and the Anandaban Hospital Trauma Centre in Nepal. With a strong foundation in sustainable design and development, Toby’s early work with Indian NGO SEEDS in post-disaster reconstruction in Ladakh shaped his sensitivity to environmental, social, and cultural contexts. He further developed his design and project management skills at Jestico + Whiles in the UK, working on education and community-focused buildings. Toby is highly experienced in all project stages—from community engagement and brief development to the assessment of local materials and construction skills. He consistently applies a holistic approach to sustainable design, integrating appropriate technologies and locally grounded solutions. His ability to combine technical expertise with diplomacy and cross-cultural sensitivity has been key to the success of projects across Africa and South Asia. Toby’s work exemplifies how architecture can drive positive social impact while pushing the boundaries of design in resource-limited settings.

Research Associate at The University of Manchester.

Wenbo (Wendy) Wu is a registered Landscape Architect with both an MLA and MBA degree. She is an empathetic designer passionate about creating public outdoor spaces that resonate with users through thoughtful design language, support individual and community needs, and prioritize sustainability and climate resilience. Wendy’s work spans the planning and design of public parks, community gardens, waterfront greenways and institutional campuses. She is experienced in working with multi-disciplinary teams and is capable to develop the design from concept to construction documents. Her holistic visions allow her to come up with creative design solutions that address site specific opportunities and challenges. She works with precision and high standards to ensure the designs both visionary and practical for implementation.

Weston is Senior Professor in the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London where he leads the Interaction Foundry — an interdisciplinary design research group working at the intersection of behavioural science and design. His expertise includes human-centred design and behavioural change through digital and physical product, service and experience design. A particular area of focus is on developing design tools and methods to support the creative design of behavioural interventions.

William Joe is Assistant Professor at the Population Research Centre, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. Dr. Joe has a PhD in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University with research interests in health economics and demography. He is engaged in research, monitoring and evaluation work for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India. Dr. Joe also leads the UNICEF-IEG collaboration on Anemia Mukt Bharat technical support activities for MoHFW. He is a member of the NITI Aayog working group on strategy for improving nutrition in India. He is also a member of the Technical Advisory Groups on Nutrition and Anemia for the Government of Karnataka, Government of Jharkhand and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).

Xinlei Wang, Master Candidate School of Architecture and Planning, Shenyang Jianzhu University Shenyang Key Laboratory of Performance Enhancement Technology for Healthy Human Settlements (SJZU) Supervisor: Prof. Yao Fu Research Focus: Inclusive and Accessible Space Design

Yao Fu, Professor School of Architecture and Planning, Shenyang Jianzhu University Shenyang Key Laboratory of Performance Enhancement Technology for Healthy Human Settlements (SJZU) Research Focus: Architectural Design & Theory, Urban Renewal & Healthy City Design, Green Building Performance Enhancement, Modern Architectural Theory

Dr. Yilin Song is an associate professor of School of Architecture, Tianjin University, China. Before joining in Tianjin University in 2018, she received her doctorate and master degrees from Texas A&M University, the United States focused on healthcare architecture design and research. She continues working on evidence-based design, children and infants’ healthcare facilities, and the equity of healthcare resources with more than ten papers and several international and national conference presentations. She has completed two research projects funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China as the principal investigator.