 Dr Kevin JohnsonManaging Director, Geografia Pty Ltd | Melbourne-based Dr Kevin Johnson is an economic geographer who works at the intersection of urban economics, data and AI. Early roles in government (covering creative-industries development and labour-market forecasting) honed his quantitative analysis and modelling. He later taught urban economics at the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, helping emerging planners apply economic thinking to real metropolitan and regional decisions. Since 2012, Kevin has led Geografia, a multi-award-winning urban analytics firm that uses large, high-frequency spatial datasets to explain economic, population, and social change, and, more importantly, to translate evidence into government policy or private investment decisions. In 2017, he designed an app for Australian local governments that measures local economic activity from real bank-card transaction datasets. His teams now build and operate decision tools that combine this data with mobile-device pings, satellite imagery, internet job ads and property data to map trends, diagnose failure points and shape investable development options for public and private clients. Geografia's toolchain uses AI across the workflow (classification, anomaly detection and natural-language guidance). This enables officials to interrogate the data and choose practical interventions for their cities, or guide investment decisions. Working hands-on with product interfaces has given Kevin a pragmatic view of what AI can and cannot do in city analytics and city development, as well as how to move city leaders from concept to policy to outcomes for their citizens. Since 2020, Kevin has also advised UN-Habitat on urban monitoring. He first designed the Global Urban Monitoring Framework before advising on the Shanghai Index. More recently, he led the technical team that developed and deployed the Quality of Life Index as part of the Quality of Life Initiative. |
Dr Sukaina Al-Nasrawi leads the sustainable urban development portfolio at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA). She advances policy and practice on urban resilience, the localization of global development agendas, urban transformation, and the transition to smart and inclusive cities that prioritize quality of life in the Arab region. With over 20 years of experience in socio-economic development, gender equality, statistics, technology, and planning, Dr Al-Nasrawi has pioneered initiatives that connect global agendas with local realities. She introduced smart cities into regional policy debates, led the first Voluntary Local Reviews in the Arab region, and launched the Arab Mayors Academy to empower city leaders in tackling urban challenges. She has also served on international juries, including the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. Her distinguished record of publications spans topics such as smart sustainable cities, the multidimensionality of urban smartness, technology for development, the fourth industrial revolution, and gender equality. Her contributions to research and development have been recognized with multiple international awards. Dr. Al-Nasrawi holds a PhD in Information Technology with a focus on smart sustainable cities. She is the author of one of the earliest global books on the sustainable smartness of cities, where she champions a people-centered approach to digital urban transformation. |
Dr Sukaina Al-Nasrawi Lead of Sustainable Urban Development Portfolio, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) |
Mark Tewdwr-Jones is Bartlett Professor of Cities and Regions at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London. He is one of the leading planners globally. His expertise covers urban and regional planning, strategic spatial planning, planning consultation, and digital planning. Over 30 years, he has produced 21 books, including Urban and Regional Planning (with Sir Peter Hall), Decent Homes for All, The Planning Polity, Spatial Planning and Governance, Digital Participatory Planning (with Alexander Wilson), and Urban Futures (with Tim Dixon). He has worked in government (UK Government Office for Science, and with MHCLG and DEFRA as a ministerial advisor), given evidence to select committees, and advised cities globally along with OECD, World Bank, and Lloyd's of London. Mark has been a visiting professor at Berkeley, Nijmegen, Hong Kong, Western Sydney, New South Wales, Guadalajara, Pretoria, Dublin, and Malta and has served on the research boards of RTPI, TCPA, London Development Agency, Connected Places Catapult, and Digital Planning Task Force. He was Chair of the Regional Studies Association 2017-20. |
Mark Tewdwr-Jones Bartlett Professor of Cities and Regions, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London |
