The Power of Nature in Cities

Professor Lilli Lička in a landscape architect, teacher, researcher and activist. She is the head of the Institute of Landscape Architecture at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna since 2003. She focuses on public space, parks, transformation of street space, squares and green space justice. Among other things, she monitors and presents landscape architectural practice in Austria and is actively involved in the development and enforcement of professional standards. She is a co-founder of Westbahnpark − micro-utopias and visionary walks as well as BLA, an initiative, which deals performatively with social manifestations in public space. She is also an author of numerous publications.

Cecil Konijnendijk has 30 years of experience studying, teaching, and advising on aspects of urban forestry and nature-based solutions. He is widely considered as one of the world’s leading urban forestry experts. He co-leads the Nature Based Solutions Institute, a think tank for the evidence-based greening of cities, based in Utrecht, The Netherlands and is an honorary professor at the University of British Columbia and a visiting scholar at Wageningen University. Cecil helped found the leading academic journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening and is currently editor-in-chief of the journal Arboriculture & Urban Forestry. In 2021, he launched a new evidence-based guideline for urban greening, the so-called 3+30+300 rule.

Ferenc Szigeti is a geographer and urbanist with vast experience managing, developing and facilitating knowledge transfer projects across Europe in the field of urban regeneration, environmental protection, nature-based solutions, climate adaptation, cultural heritage and social innovation. From working in public sector to taking on a role as an URBACT expert (lately with BiodiverCity action-planning network), he is also spreading his knowledge as the key expert of Bright Urban Solutions related to nature-based solutions, environmental protection, nature conservation, urban biodiversity, climate adaptation and urban green infrastructure. He is also the founder of TeAM HUb – the Hungarian Nature-based Solutions Hub.

Martí Franch is a landscape architect, founder and director of EMF landscape architecture. EMF landscape architecture is an interdisciplinary practice in the field of urban and environmental design, exploring hybrid ways between ecological systems and cultural constructs with a longstanding interest with the ‘design with nature’ and the urban re-naturalization. In the last decade, EMF has had the chance to contribute to key re-naturalization projects of the city of Barcelona, such as the Superblocks (C/Girona), Pi i Margall and Rambla Carmell green axis, and Girona’s city greenbelt project. Franch is currently also a landscape design associate professor at master’s degree in landscape architecture in Barcelona.

Tom Stoisser is a landspace architect working as a consultant in the Department of greens and waters at City Council of Graz. He is responsible for the City Tree Programme Graz, meaning the development and implementation of sustainable tree plantations in Graz (around 400 per year), conversion of all planting substrates to biochar, management of all associated research projects, communication, as well as international lectures on the topics of sustainable tree plantings and urban rainwater water management with green infrastructure.