The 1st International Online Conference on Urban Sciences

Department of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, University of Valladolid, Campus Duques de Soria, Soria, Spain;Luis Hernández-Callejo received the degree in electrical engineering from the University of Valladolid in 1996, the degree in computer engineering and the master's degree in communication, network, and content management from European Higher Education from UNED University in 2004 and 2011, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in telecommunications engineering from the University of Valladolid in 2014. He is currently a Professor/Researcher with the University of Valladolid. His research interests include renewable energy, microgrids, smart grids, smart metering, and artificial intelligence.

Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Australia;Peter Newman is an environmental scientist and the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. Peter has written 23 books and over 400 papers on sustainable cities and has worked to deliver his ideas in all levels of government, having been an elected councillor, seconded to advise three Premiers and on the Board of Infrastructure Australia 2008-14. He is the Co-ordinating Lead Author for the UN’s IPCC on Transport. In 2014, he was awarded an Order of Australia for his contributions to urban design and sustainable transport. In 2018/19, he was the WA Scientist of the Year.

UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, University College London, London, UK;Dr. Francesco Aletta is a Lecturer in Building Physics and Soundscape at University College London. He earned his Master’s degree in Architecture (2010) and PhD in Environmental Design (2014) from the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” (formerly known as the Second University of Naples). In 2013, he joined the Acoustics Group of the School of Architecture at the University of Sheffield as a Research Associate to work on developing soundscape methods within the EU-funded network “SONORUS”. He moved to Belgium in 2016 to work as a post-doctoral researcher at the WAVES Group, in the Department of Information Technology of Ghent University. There, he collaborated on several projects, including AcustiCare and C3Places, relating to both soundscapes and public spaces. He was a visiting lecturer at Birmingham City University and the Polytechnic Institute of Turin in Italy, teaching about environmental acoustics and soundscapes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In 2018, he joined UCL IEDE as a Research Associate to work with Prof. Jian Kang on the Soundscape Indices project, funded by the ERC Advanced Grant scheme.

Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China;Dr. Jianming CAI is a full professor at the Beijing Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and got his Ph.D. from the University of Hong Kong. He is author and co-author of more than twenty books in Chinese and one book in English as co-editor, entitled as Towards Socially Integrative Cities--Perspectives on Urban Sustainability in Europe and China. He has published more than 170 papers so far in academic journals since 1990, both in Chinese and English, as well as many consultant reports, including the reports for World Bank, ADB, Lincoln Institute and Shui On Land. He frequently serves as a senior consultant or expert on urbanization, regional development, urban agriculture and food security issues to both international agencies such as the World Bank, IDRC, DGIS, GTZ, Lincoln Institute and Chinese Government Ministries such as the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, local governments and private sector (e.g. the Shui On Corporation). His current research focuses on sustainable urban development and spatial restructuring of China’s large cities with an emphasis on peri-urban development dynamics and metropolitan governance, as well as urban agriculture，agro-tourism and rural revitalization.

School of Architecture and Design, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK;Dr. Jieling Xiao is a Reader in Architecture and Sensory Environments at the College of Architecture, Birmingham City University, UK. She co-leads the Urban Cultures research cluster. Her expertise lies in the theories and creative practices of place-making and environmental design that interpret and play with people’s sensory experiences, particularly in relation to soundscapes and smellscapes. She has led a Research Topic in Frontiers on “Smells, wellbeing and the built environment” and co-edited a handbook of research called “Perception Driven Approaches to Urban Assessment and Design”. Most recently, she has organised a symposium on “Inclusive Design with Multi-senses”, which looks at sensory sustainability and addresses the climate crisis and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities. Jieling is interested in the new opportunities brought about by the challenges of climate change, the activist's approach to bringing ambience into design practice, and innovating using vernacular knowledge and artistic interventions.