2011 Conference Planning Committee

Manjula Boyina, AICP, is Senior Planner at D.B. Hartt, Inc., a Planning and Development Consulting firm based in Cleveland, OH, USA. She is co-chair of the American Planning Association/International Division's International Planning Liaison Committee and she is the Founding/Immediate Past Chair of the WTPD Online Conference Planning Committee. She is on the Executive Committee of the APA-OH Cleveland Chapter and is actively involved with other local and international organizations.

Laura Buhl, AICP, is a City Planner with the Detroit City Planning Commission. She is a member of the American Planning Association/International Division's International Planning Liaison Committee and Chair of the WTPD Online Conference Planning Committee.

Julienne Chen is on the staff of the International Federation for Housing and Planning

Judith Eversley BA MSc is the International Affairs Officer at the Royal Town Planning Institute. Judith is a linguist (German and French) turned economist who has worked in European and international relations in a variety of academic institutions and non-governmental organisations for over 30 years. She has been RTPI international affairs officer since 1992, and as part of this post, was Secretary of ECTP-CEU (European Council of Spatial Planners-Conseil européen des urbanistes) from 1992-2008.

Dr. Sujata S. Govada is an award winning, qualified urban designer and certified urban planner with over twenty four years experience in Hong Kong, PRC, India and USA, working on a diverse range of projects. Dr. Govada is the Founding Managing Director of Urban Design & Planning Consultants Limited, an independent firm offering award winning planning, urban design, impact assessment and research services in Hong Kong and the region since 1994. She recently won six major urban design and planning awards for her work and is currently working on strategic, master planning, sustainable development, visual impact assessment and research projects in Hong Kong and the region. As the Part Time Assistant Professor, Dr. Govada coordinated and taught several courses and workshops in the Master of Urban Planning Program, and currently teaches and provided thesis supervision in the Master of Urban Design Program at the Dept. of Urban Planning and Design, University of Hong Kong. Dr. Govada is a recipient of several merit and honor awards/scholarships and received her Bachelor of Architecture from JNTU, India and Master of Architecture in Urban Design and PhD in Environmental Design & Planning from Va. Tech, USA. She is a member of Hong Kong Institute of Planners, the American Institute of Certified Planners and a founding member of the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design. Dr. Govada is Vice President (International Relations) Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design and the Vice Chair of Special Projects of the International Division of the American Planning Association and the Founding Co-Chair of the Urban Design Committee of the Hong Kong Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and an EXCO member of the Urban Land Institute, North Asia. She is the AIA Hong Kong representative member of Hong Kong Urban Design Alliance that promotes urban design excellence and a member of “Citizen Envisioning @ Harbour” a coalition of sixteen academic, professional and civil society organizations and CE@H Alternate Member of the ex Harbour-front Enhancement Committee.

Sonia Kirby is the Planning Institute of Australia’s (PIA) International Division President. She is an environmental planner with a passion to make the world a better place. As a principal for URBIS, she has over 12 years experience in strategic planning around Australia and internationally. Sonia has worked with throughout Australia, primarily Melbourne and Brisbane, worked on projects in the Pacific and in Vietnam. She is a graduate of the Griffith University’s Environmental Planning degree, and also completed a Masters in International Urban and Environmental Management from RMIT. For the past 6 years, she has worked on a range of projects for the public and private sector alike. Her current interests include structure planning and community visioning, with a particular bias for environmentally respectful development. She is also the PIA International Division President, and her most recent efforts have seen a number of Pacific Island planners establish the Pacific Islands Planning Association”. Sonia also tutors Strategic Planning Studio at Griffith University and Collaborative Design at Queensland University of Technology.

Martin Lewis holds a Bachelor and Master degree in Town and Regional Planning from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He currently holds the position of Chief Executive Officer of the South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN). Prior to taking up this position he was the Head of the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Johannesburg from 2006 to 2010. He also serves as a Tribunal Member on the Gauteng Development Tribunal.

Martin is a Registered Professional Planner with the South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN), a Chartered Town Planner with the Royal Town Planning Institute - UK (RTPI), and a Corporate Member of the South African Planning Institute (SAPI). Mr Lewis is also a member of a number of International bodies which include the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) and the American Planning Association (APA). He was employed at local government for approximately 15 years prior to moving to the Academia in June 2005. His last employment within local government was with the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.

Martin was part of a team that developed the “Quinary Career Development Model”. The team consisted of Dr Kristen Betts (Drexel University, USA), Mr. Lewis (University of Johannesburg, South Africa), Ms Angela Dressler (Victoria University, Australia) and Dr Lars Svensson (University West, Sweden). The model uses Learning Simulation as the link between education and training on the one hand and Work Integrated Learning and Career Placement, Advancement and Transition on the other. This model can be implemented across various disciplines (e.g. education, engineering, town planning, sport and exercise science), level of programmes (e.g. from National Diploma to Masters Level), and modes of delivery (e.g. fully online, blended and face-to-face).

Martin Lewis’ research interest stretches from Land Use Management, Spatial Planning, Strategic Planning, Urban Planning, Property Development, Sustainable Development and Transformation in Urban Planning to Work Integrated Learning (WIL) and Simulation in support of Education, Training and WIL.

Derek Martin is the Executive Director of the International Federation for Housing and Planning and he represents IFHP on the WTPD Online Conference Planning Committee. He has a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Amsterdam. From his final thesis, he has specialised in the cross-border and European dimension of spatial planning. As policy officer at the former National Physical Planning Agency in The Hague (NL), he worked in the ‘80’s on the very first international planning document, the Benelux Structure Plan, and on European planning collaboration within the framework of the Council of Europe. In 1987-88 he worked at DG Environment at the European Commission where he helped set up the CORINE Land Cover programme, now a practical tool being used by the European Environmental Agency. After working on the cross border and European dimension of the Dutch 4th National Planning Report, he spent another 3 years (1990-93) at the European Commission working on the development of the spatial dimension of EU regional economic policy Both from Brussels and back in The Hague with the Dutch government, he worked on the further elaboration of European spatial planning policy, which produced new European instruments (ESPON, INTERREG) and policy documents (ESDP). For almost 10 years, he was Head of International Spatial Policy, and then of Sustainable Spatial Development at the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. Since the end of 2007 he is General Secretary of the International Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP) in The Hague.

Beth Offenbacker is a Post-Doctoral Associate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. As a researcher and instructor at Virginia Tech in it’s Urban Affairs and Planning program and at the Center for Public Administration and Policy (both part of the university’s School of Public and International Affairs), Beth has a special interest in the international dimension of planning. Beth’s research focuses on public participation in land use, transportation/transit, the environment, health and housing. Her past research includes leading a 17-member international team on a five-year, 12-country study of public participation and deliberation in government decision-making. In addition to chairing APA’s International Division (2008-2012), her dissertation research proposed a three-part framework for public engagement that is based on inclusive management theory. She is also a co-founder of the APA Public Engagement Interest Group.

Christine Platt represents the Commonwealth Association of Planners on the WTPD Online Conference Planning Committee.

Bianca Spence is Communications Director at the Canadian Institute of Planning and she represents CIP on the WTPD Online Conference Planning Committee.

Manuela Studer is Events Coordinator at the International Federation for Housing and Planning.

Kate Terzano is the Content Manager for the International Federation for Housing and Planning.

Jan Vogelij represents the ECTP-CEU, the European Council of Spatial Planners on the WTPD Online Conference Planning Committee.

Conference Partner Organizations

Partner Organizations

* American Planning Association's International Division
* Commonwealth Association of Planners
* Canadian Institute of Planners
* The Chinese University of Hong Kong
* European Council of Spatial Planners-Conseil européen des urbanistes
* Federación Iberoamericana de Urbanistas
* Hong Kong Institute of Planners
* Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design
* International Federation for Housing and Planning
* New Zealand Planning Institute
* Planning Institute of Australia
* Royal Town Planning Institute
* South African Council for Planners

About This Conference

Welcome to the 2011 World Town Planning Day Online Conference! This is the third year we have worked together on this initiative and we have prepared an exciting program which includes speakers from every corner of the world. We look forward to having you join us!

We are a self-organized committee of international planning organizations whose members have seen value in collaborating across geography on topics of common interest to planners. We felt that an international online conference in celebration of World Town Planning Day was an appropriate way to honor the spirit of this important annual occasion while also building our knowledge of best practices and emerging issues within the planning profession.

Winner of the 2010 APA Divisions Council Award for Contribution to the Profession (Large Division)

How the Conference is Organized

All sessions are virtual (via the internet) and no travel is required to attend. Each day includes a plenary session and several panel presentations as well as a Pecha Kucha networking session.

A Pecha Kucha is a Japanese term that is loosely translated to mean “chit chat”; each presenter has a short period of time (6 minutes 40 seconds) to provide their report before we move on to the next person. This provides an opportunity to hear from multiple presenters. We’ll then have time after the Pecha Kucha presentations to talk with one another about the presentations and what they might mean for our own respective planning work.