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Our City, Our Space
Second Edition. November 16th-19th, 2021.
Towards sustainable living modes
Second edition of the International Forum Our City, Our Space – “Towards sustainable living modes”, from the 16-19th November, 2021.
Sponsored by the Chevening Alumni Programme Fund, and with the partnership of PlacemakingX and the UK Embassy in Havana, we invite you to join us to discuss and create resilient and inclusive paths towards the sustainable development of Cuban communities.
Sessions
This edition we had face-to-face and online sessions. You can watch the entire event on our YouTube channel.
Together we can create a more sustainable future.
Program
The program for this year’s event addressed the following topics: Local development, Sustainable mobility, Recycling and Alimentary and nutritional safety.
Day 1
Local development
Day 2
Sustainable mobility
Day 3
Recycling
Day 4
Alimentary and nutritional safety
Local development
Lucía Nogales
Peru
Lucia Nogales (Madrid 1988) holds a Master's degree in Architecture from the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid. She has specialized in the development of processes of analysis, production, occupation and evaluation of public space, as well as teaching. She is currently the general coordinator of Ocupa Tu Calle and a lecturer at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica.
Ana Rivas
Mexico
Ana Rivas studied architecture in Mexico and received a master's degree in graphic design while focusing on reactivating and recovering temporarily underused public spaces with graphic interventions and temporary materials. Later on, she completed a diploma in "Mobility in sustainable cities".
José Gómez
Chile
Jose Gomez, Co-Founder & Executive Director of NGO Espacio Lúdico. He has developed his career in the field of "Urban Citizen Innovation", with a broad specialty related to Urban Design, Interventions, Planning and Applied Research in matters of Networked Urbanism, Hybrid Public Spaces and Playmaking.
Fred Kent
United States
Fred Kent, founder and former president of Project for Public Spaces, speaks widely on public spaces and placemaking, and is working on two initiatives: The Social Life Project and PlacemakingX.
Renán Rodríguez
Cuba
Architect and urban designer. 1st Prize for Historical Sugar Heritage Cuba 2011, with the project "Railway Landscape: Culture and development in the Havana territory" and ERASMUS MUNDUS PhD Scholarship Universidade do Minho, Portugal, 2010-2011. Coordinator of the AI & P_arte cultural, project industry and landscape.
Ophelie Droualt
Argentina
Ophelie works in the organization's climate change unit of the regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean at the UN Environment as an ecosystem-based adaptation analyst. Through projects of urban sustainability and microfinance for adaptation, she studies the use of nature-based solutions to increase the resilience of vulnerable populations.
Mirlena Rojas
United States
Sociologist by training, general coordinator of projects at the Félix Varela Center and researcher at the Center for Psychological and Sociological Research. She works on issues of social equity, citizen participation and employment.
Mariela Alfonzo
United States
Dr. Mariela Alfonzo is an internationally-renowned thought-leader and speaker, with 20+ years of experience on the nexus between urban design, behavior, and the quadruple-bottom line. Founder and CEO of State of Place, an AI-driven, urban design data and predictive analytics software that helps citymakers create more just, thriving communities more effectively, cost-efficiently, and inclusively.
Luciana Renner
Mexico
Director of the Placemaking Mexico Foundation, producer and broadcaster of the podcast "Narrativas Urbanas", teacher at the Universidad Centro in Mexico City and enjoys sharing her experiences and knowledge in conferences and lectures with architecture students in different universities.
Guillermo Bernal
Mexico
Executive Director of the Placemaking Mexico Foundation, Senior Fellow of Project for Public Spaces, Director of the global network PlacemakingX and is a researcher at the Urban Policy Laboratory of Mexico. Guillermo is committed to participatory urbanism, and from that perspective he has completed more than 100 projects.
Dr Christoph Lueder
United Kingdom
Associate Professor Architecture and Urbanism, Kingston School of Art. Christoph researches on historical and contemporary praxis in architecture and urban design through two complementary foci: firstly, the pervasive role of diagrammatic representation as analytical, generative, narrative, and critical device; secondly, participatory, and collaborative practices.
Boopsie Maran
New Zeland
Boopsie is the founder and director of Places for Good, a collaborative of community advocates, planners, landscape architects, and artists, applying resilience and grit to projects across New Zealand. Her approach to community activation and tactical urbanism places a significant priority on action-oriented partnerships with schools, urban precincts, and citizen-experts.
Sustainable mobility
Jimena Rivero
Colombia
Urban cyclist. She has been an Advisor for the Promotion of Sustainable Mobility and Road Safety in the Secretariat of Mobility of Villavicencio. She is a member of the organizing team of the 4th World Bicycle Forum and the National Bicycle Forum Villavicencio 2017. She is also part of the Latin American Placemaking Network.
Chris Bruntlett
Netherlands
Chris Bruntlett is Marketing and Communication Manager at the Dutch Cycling Embassy. As a long-time campaigner in Vancouver, he fell in love with Dutch bike culture in 2016, inspiring him to co-author the book, “Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality”
Yasser González
Cuba
Bicycle Entrepreneur and founder of Havana Critical Mass, Yasser started his own bicycle-tour business Citykleta in 2017. He is currently working to transform Citykleta into a non-profit project with a strong social mission, bringing together bicycle tours and events with urban cycling education and repair workshops, accessible to all.
Alberto Marín
Mexico
Civil Engineer specializing in transportation and territory. Alberto has 18 years of professional experience where he has been director of mobility for IDOM in Mexico and Central America and he is the director of Red Planners. He has been director and specialist in the planning of public transport corridors in Guatemala, Costa Rica y Mexico.
Nayvis Díaz
Cuba
Industrial engineer with 22 years of experience and lover of cycling since always. Director/Founder of the company Vélo Cuba S.R.L.U, a project for the rescue of cycling in the city. She manages since 2018 the first public bicycle project in Cuba, Ha'bici.
Ana Castán
Spain / Netherlands
Entrepreneur and Cycling Advocate. She runs her own bicycle tours company. Currently, she is doing her best to make the mobility change happen all over the Spanish speaking world. She collaborates with Unraveling the Cycling City as a mentor for their online courses, write in media and her own blog and organize “Cities R-Evolution" Zoom sessions, a space to share best practices in sustainable mobility.
Jan Gehl
Denmark
Architect, professor and consultant on urban design, has focused his career on improving the quality of urban life, by reorienting the design of the city towards the people in the cities: public life, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Guillermo (Gil) Penalosa
Colombia-Canadá
Gil Penalosa is passionate about cities for all people. He advises decision makers and communities worldwide on how to create vibrant cities and healthy communities for all.
Adriana Akers
United States
Urban Planner with ten years of experience helping cities become better places to live. Driven by a fascination for global perspectives, she has lived in New York, Boston, Beijing, and Mexico City and has worked on urban projects all over ten countries. Her work at Gehl focuses on creating places that are equitable, exciting, comfortable, and great for walking, biking, and spending time in public spaces.
Mariana Alegre Escoriza
Peru
Since 2010, Mariana is the Executive Director of Lima Como vamos, citizen observatory whose mission is to evaluate quality of life of limeños and chalacos. On December 2014 and with the support of AVINA Foundation, she founded Ocupa tu Calle a strategy that seeks to develop more and better public spaces through participatory processes and promoting Citizens Urbanism.
Recycling
Cristina López Litvinovich
Cuba
Fifth year student at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of Havana (CUJAE). Culmination Exercise of studies on recycling in the Community of Los Pocitos. Collaborator with the Akokán Community Project.
Roberto Pérez Rivero
Cuba
Environmentalist, sustainability activist and popular educator. He has been part of the Cuban Permaculture Movement, Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental work in general since 1993. For 25 years he has been part of the Antonio Nuñez Jimenez Foundation of Nature and Man, where since 2001 he coordinates its Environment Education Program and Conservation of Biodiversity.
David Chico Rodríguez
Cuba
Fourth year student at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of Havana (CUJAE). Collaborator with the Akokán Community Project based in Los Pocitos.
Adriana Ricardo
Cuba
Master in Sociology. She is the director of the community project Arte-Corte and founder of the Community Actions Network that supports the development of social programs in the communities of the city of Havana. Bicycle enthusiast.
Dr. Steffen Lehmann
USA
Lehmann has been appointed as a full Chair Professor of Sustainable Architecture in 2002. Previously, he was Founding Director of 4 interdisciplinary research centres. In 2008, he was appointed by UNESCO as the inaugural chair holder of the UNESCO Chair for Sustainable Urban Development in the Asia-Pacific. He received the Award for Teaching Excellence and the Top 100 Global Leader.
La Mina
Cuba
It is a plastic collection and shredding venture with an established policy of corporate social responsibility. It also functions as a line for economic self-sustainability, which aims to support some socio-cultural projects that are part of the platform organized by the Rebirth / Tercer Paraiso Cuba.
Maurice Haedo
Cuba
Designer, maker, repairman and common builder. Graduated in Indusrial Design from the Higher Institute of Design of Havana. He won the design award and the quality award at the 2018. He is a coordinator in several transdisciplinar y experimentation groups. One of these groups is Precious Plastic La Habana.
Pablo Navarrete
Chile
Assistant Professor at Universidad de Chile, Research Associate at Politecnico di Milano and Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE) Latin America and Caribbean Centre.
Ambreen Waheed
Pakistan
Chevening Alumni, Globally Recognized for innovative pioneering work on Responsible Business Policies and Practices, Sustainability Risk Management, Ethical Environment, Equity analysis and Responsible Investments.
Alimentary and nutritional safety
Michael Sánchez Torres
Cuba
Degree in management and preser vation of cultural historical heritage. General Coordinator and founder of the community project Akokàn in los Pocitos. Entrepreneur and dad of two beautiful girls.
Amanda Jiménez Cruz
Cuba
Graduated in 2020 in agronomic engineering at UNAH with scientific merit, a current MINAG worker in the direction of seeds and plant genetic resources. She has completed postgraduate degrees in research and growth and development methodology in plants, both in Faculty of Biology with the rating of excellent.
Madelaine Vázquez Gázvez
Cuba
Engineer in Technology and Organization of Social Food, Donetsk Institute of Commerce and Master in Technical Sciences, Ukraine, 1983. Master in Higher Education Sciences, University of Havana, 2010. Slow Food International Councilor (2012-2021). Vice President of Solarcuba. Director of the magazine Energia y Tu.
Oliesky Fabre del Castillo
Cuba
Architect and Landscaper Co-founder of ENPARALELO Produciones Agro-Urbanas. Coordinator of the Cultural Projet, Art, Industr y and Landscape. Vice-National Coordinator of the Cuban Environmental Youth Network. Specialist in engineering center works and high technology projects for the Biopharmaceutical industry. Professor at the Faculty of Architecture.
Ethan Kent
United States
Ethan Kent works to support public space organizations, projects, and leadership around the world to build a global placemaking movement. Ethan has travelled to more than 1000 cities and 60 countries to advance the cause of leading urban development with inclusive public spaces and placemaking. In 2019 he co-founded PlacemakingX network.
Larisa Castillo Rodríguez
Cuba
Architect. Graduated in 2004. Assistant Professor at the Department of Design, Faculty of Architecture, CUJAE. She teaches Graphic Expression and Landscape Architecture. Since 2020, she has been Director of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at the National Botanical Garden.
Andre Viljoen
United Kingdom
Andre Viljoen is Professor of Architecture at the University of Brighton. Since the 1990ies he has been researching the role that urban agriculture can play in shaping cities to be more sustainable and resilient.