City Space Architecture actively participated in the 61st ISOCARP World Planning Congress (WPC61), held in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from 1–4 December 2025, under the theme “Cities and Regions in Action: Planning Pathways to Resilience and Quality of Life”. As a member of the Global Planners Network (GPN), an alliance of leading planning institutions committed to sustainable development, City Space Architecture was an endorsing partner of the 61st ISOCARP World Planning Congress through The Journal of Public Space.
Our Founder and President, Dr Luisa Bravo, was invited to co-lead, together with Luca De Stefano and Mohamed Morsi Hassan, the Young Planning Professional Workshop (YPP) on “Designing for Walkability and Liveability: Multi-Scalar Public Space Strategies in Riyadh“, with the support of a local team from the Municipality of Riyadh, led by Eng. Hadeel Alaqili and Eng. Reema Alrushaid.
The site was Al Al Dirah District – Central City: starting from Al Masmak Palace Museum, participants explored the surrounding area, including residential neighbourhoods and key heritage sites, to understand how public space shapes everyday urban life, through a multi-scalar approach. The challenge was not about reducing reliance on cars. Cars are essential for Riyadh’s mobility, but the balance between vehicle infrastructure and pedestrian environments needs adjustment.
The workshop brought together 31 emerging planners from 15 countries: five working teams were formed to deliver five distinct planning and design perspectives. Together, their work contributed fresh, multidisciplinary visions for a more liveable, inclusive and climate-responsive Riyadh.
She was also a speaker in the roundtable “Placemaking as Infrastructure for Resilience and Liveability in Dynamic Cities“, exploring how placemaking can be redefined as essential urban infrastructure, strengthening resilience and enhancing liveability in fast-changing cities.
In addition, she served as co-editor, with Dr Tijana Tufek Memisevic and Prof. Hope Magidimisha-Chipungu, of the book ISOCARP Review World Planning Practices “Cities and Regions in Action: Pathways to Resilience“, 2025 Diamond edition, which was launched at the Congress.
Watch the interview our Founder and President, Dr Luisa Bravo, gave at the 61st ISOCARP World Planning Congress (starting at minute 1.50).
Other City Space Architecture members, Dr Gregor H Mews, Prof. Sebnem Hoskara and Dr Shradha Chandan, attended the Congress. They all served as Rapporteurs and Session Moderators for Track 4, “Culture, Identity, and Inclusive Urban Transformation.” In this role, they moderated and synthesised discussions across multiple sessions, contributing to the consolidation of themes on community-led placemaking, cultural continuity, and inclusive urban futures. Across diverse contexts, the discussions highlighted shared challenges of displacement, access, and spatial inequality, reinforcing the need to align cultural continuity, spatial justice, and everyday lived practices in rapidly transforming urban settings.
In addition, Greg moderated the session on “Public Spaces for All”, Greg and Shradha moderated the session on “Tactics of Everyday Urbanism: Informalities and Temporalities of Place”. Shradha also presented two papers, on “From Weimar to Puri: Climate-Responsive Placemaking in Cultural Heritage Cities” and “Whose City? Placemaking, Citizenship, and Belonging in the Global South”.
Sebnem coordinated the Student Twinning Programme, which is a key part of the Congress’s youth track and demonstrates ISOCARP’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of planners. The programme actively involves students and young professionals in the field of planning, enhancing their practical and international skills and preparing them to take on leadership roles in an increasingly complex urban world. She also co-authored and presented two papers, on “Manama’s Vision for a Holistic Urban Design: Balancing Smart City Initiatives with a Need for a Resilient Historic Core” and “Cultural Heritage and the SDGs: Bridging Gaps in Iraq’s Urban Recovery”.
Our member and Senior Advisor, Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, was awarded the 2025 Gerd Albers Award for Best Article by ISOCARP for his work, “From Segregation to Inclusion: Children’s Engagement in Urban Public Spaces“. The award recognises his research on how children’s active, daily use of urban space can redefine inclusive design, highlighting his, along with colleagues from the Auckland University of Technology, contributions to creating child-friendly and resilient cities.
This study demonstrates that the design and integration of public spaces profoundly influence children’s capacity to engage creatively and independently with urban environments. Through comparative case studies in Venice and Auckland, the research revealed stark contrasts in the diversity and frequency of children’s unstructured activities – termed temporary appropriation.
