The seventh edition of the International Conference on “Urban Planning and Architectural Design for Sustainable Development” was held in collaboration with the University of Florence in Italy, and took place physically and virtually from the 13th to the 15th of September, in an effort to include attendees from all corners of the world.

The conference discussed contemporary methods in sustainable urban planning and architectural development techniques, highlighting modern research by a diverse set of authors around the globe. The conference successfully highlighted the importance of the inclusion of greenery in modern construction, the implementation of reliable public transit systems, and enhancing overall livability in cities.

The conference covered a wide array of topics that pertain to the sustainable development of cities and architectural constructs. Some of the main topics that were discussed include:

1- City Planning: Urbanization and Development

2- Past and Future: City's Image and Preservation

3- Compact Cities Context at Low and High Densities

4- Evolving Architecture and Rethinking Cities

5- Art and Defining the City

Day 1:

Welcoming Session:

The Opening Ceremony started with online registration and welcoming speeches from the Conference Chair, Prof. Francesco Alberti, and IEREK’s founder, Dr. Mourad Amer.

Short welcoming speeches were given by the conference chair Professor Francesco Alberti, Professor at the Department of Architecture, Professor Marco Pierini, the Pro-rector for Technology Transfer, Cultural Activities, and Social Impact, as well as Prof. Giuseppe De Luca, the Director of the Department of Architecture, all from the University of Florence, Italy.

Following the speeches, a brief presentation was given that introduced IEREK as a company and its activities to the audience.

Plenary session:

A plenary session followed introducing the first keynote speaker Professor Laura Aelenei, Senior researcher and Scientific Coordinator of the Research Area Energy in Built Environment, at the National Laboratory of Energy and Geology | LNEG, whose speech was entitled: “Positive Energy Districts for Urban Energy Transitions.”

 The second keynote speaker was Professor Gianfranco Franz, full Professor of Policies for Sustainability and Local Development at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Prevention Department of Economics and Management for the University of Ferrara, whose speech was entitled: “Planning in Transition. The challenges of sustainability and circularity to address the climate crisis.”

After the keynote speeches was the First Session of the conference titled “City Planning: Urbanization and Development”. The session was moderated by Professor Sara D’Addario, From the University of

Ferrara, Italy, and Professor Francesco Alberti, Professor at the Department of Architecture, University of Florence, Italy.

The first session went on, where multiple authors presented their research physically at the conference venue, taking questions from the live audience, and answering as best they could. Following the first session, attendees took a short lunch break, in preparation for the second session.

The Second Session, where authors presented online, began shortly after the lunch break, entitled “Past and Future: City’s Image and Preservation” and was moderated by Professor Ilaria Dibattista, From the University of Ferrara, Italy, and Dr. Giulio Hasanaj, from the University of Florence.

A discussion and a Questions and Answers session followed, and the first conference day was concluded by a Panel session where final remarks and feedback were discussed.

Day 2:

Physical Session:

The 2nd day of the conference started at 8:30 am on the 14th of September ’22 with a short welcoming session. The first session of the day was held online, titled “City Planning: Urbanization & Development” and moderated by Prof. Paola Gallo, and Dr. Eleni Tracada. A diverse set of authors from around the world presented their research online and took questions from both, live, and online attendees. Following the online session, a short lunch break was issued, and the final session was set to begin soon after.

Online Session:

The final session for the UPADSD conference, titled “Past and Future: City’s Image and Preservation” hosted physical authors and was moderated by Jacopo Ammendola, from the University of Florence, and Prof. Daniel Aelenei, from “Universidade Nova” of Lisbon, Portugal.

Prior to the final session, Prof. Pedro B. Ortiz, professor of Milano Politecnico, and previous founder and director of the Master’s program of Town Planning of the University of King Juan Carlos of Madrid, gave a riveting keynote speech titled “A New Scale for Architecture Design: Metroploitan 1/50.000”

Following the speech, an informative discourse was raised about urban planning and architecture, and a Q&A session was held following the authors’ presentations.

Wrapping up, final remarks, and a closing ceremony were held, and the conference was concluded after feedback was discussed in a panel session.