Keynote Presenters

Salvador Rueda

Salvador Rueda is one of the world’s most significant urban placemakers. His work has focused on different aspects of the urban environment from an integrated perspective. He has been coordinator of renovation and revitalisation programmes in the Ciutat Vella (Old City) district of Barcelona, and since 2000 has been director of the Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona, which has worked on a number of projects aimed at reorienting cities towards a more sustainable model.

He is probably most famous for inventing Barcelona’s Superblocks which, simply put, take street space traditionally devoted solely to motor vehicles and open it up to multiple uses (walking, cycling, play etc) by managing vehicle access. These have resulted in some amazing outcomes and Salvador now advises on their implementation in cities and towns across Europe and the Americas. 

Janette Sadik-Khan

Janette Sadik-Khan is one of the world’s foremost authorities on transportation and urban transformation. She served as New York City’s transportation commissioner from 2007 to 2013 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, overseeing historic changes to the city’s streets—pedestrianizing Broadway in Times Square, building nearly 400 miles of bike lanes, seven rapid bus lines and creating more than 60 plazas citywide. A founding principal with Bloomberg Associates, she works with mayors around the world to reimagine and redesign their cities. She chairs the National Association of Transportation Officials/Global Designing Cities Initiative, implementing new, people-focused street design standards, which have been adopted in more than 150 cities across the United States and around the world.  ​

"It seems to be a wonderful way to change people's mindsets"