About

PLANNING2050 is a multi-system evaluation of current planning practices, purposefully searching for solutions that are based on data-analytics and systems thinking.

Through the generation of commitments, and the monitoring of these through time, we aim to better understand the interconnectedness of systems, and the unintended consequences of current planning practices.

PLANNING2050 is an initiative that -in the long term- aims to transform and evolve planning practice, through the creation of a database of actionable and meaningful transformational strategies. We aim to create this DATABASE OF ACTIONS for positive impact with issues related to Social Equity, Climate Change and Resiliency.

Mission Statement

Make a difference in planning practice through the understanding of multiple systems -and their rapid evolution- in our complex world.

GOALS

To accelerate the understanding and exploration of interrelated urban systems with a data-driven approach; overlapping geospatial data analytics and urban design in planning practice.

To align actionable strategies in Urban and Community Planning with UN SDGs, generating assessments and commitments that will allow governmental entities to track their actions.

To create a database of replicable and scalable actions that benefit communities in their progress towards their more pressing issues / problems.

Through a systems planning approach, and data analytics, PLANNING 2050 aims to transform planning practice by reporting, creating and maintaining a database of actionable strategies that will be successful, scalable and/or replicable.

Learn about the 3 key aspects of PLANNING2050: ASSESSMENTS, COMMITMENTS, DATABASE.

ADVISORY BOARD 2024 – 2025

Leadership guiding the evolution and success of Planning2050 for the last 2 years of its foundational period:

ANTHONY KANE

President & CEO of ISI (Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure).

Anthony oversees the ISI’s overall operations and leads the development of the Envision framework for sustainable infrastructure. Formerly a research director at the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, a research associate with the Materials, Processes, and Systems Group at Harvard University, and an instructor at the Boston Architectural College. He holds a bachelor’s in architecture, summa cum laude, from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in design studies from Harvard University.  Anthony is a co-author of Ceramic Material Systems in Architecture and Interior Design and a contributing author of Infrastructure Sustainability and Design.

CARLTON HART

Carlton Hart has over 20 years of public sector experience working for planning agencies in Massachusetts, Virginia and the federal government. He worked as an urban planner for the National Capital Planning Commission, a federal government agency located in Washington, DC.

During his time at NCPC, he has reviewed major, high profile, capital development projects in the Metro DC area. He served as Vice-Chair on the District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment and he is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute. Mr. Hart has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology where he majored in architecture and has a Master’s degree in regional planning from the LARP at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He has served on the LARP Alumni Board for the past few years.

KARLA EBENBACH

President, Ebenbach Consulting, LLC. Coral Gables, Florida, USA.

Karla is a skillful and experienced Urban Planner, dedicated to supporting communities and clients seeking pathways to a resilient future.

Karla brings leadership to policy development in support of community resilience, promotes collaborative problem-solving, and offers expertise on an array of urban planning topics. She has maintained AICP certification for over 20 years and holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She is a certified LEED Green Associate.

She is an active member of APA (American Planning Association). and currently acting as Chair of the APA SCD (Sustainable Communities Division).

VATSAL BHATT

Dr. Vatsal Bhatt works with U.S. Green Building Council as the Vice President for LEED for Communities, where he helped conceptualize and make operational the LEED for Cities and Communities rating system in 2016. For 23+ years, he has worked as an urban planner and energy economist. At the Brookhaven National Laboratory for 17 years, Dr. Bhatt worked on low-carbon and net-zero planning and policies for U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, including U.S. Department of Energy’s U.S.-India-China EcoCities Partnership and US Department of State’s US-China EcoPartnerships.

HEYDEN WALKER

Heyden Black Walker (CNU-A) is Director of Planning for Black +Motal Architecture and Urban Design.

Together with Sinclair Black, she co-founded Reconnect Austin, a community-based call to lower the main lanes of I-35 through Austin’s urban core, creating a vision of a reconnected city fabric which provides access to housing, jobs, medical facilities, education, and transit.

Heyden also leads advocacy efforts in the Congress for the New Urbanism, the City of Austin Pedestrian Advisory Council, Cap Metro’s Project Connect, Austin Outside, America Walks, and Safe Streets Austin. She is a 2016 fellow and current mentor for the National Walking College.

JULIO CARRILLO

Julio Carrillo, AICP, LEED Fellow, is a Senior Planner at Parkhill.

Julio co-founded Peru’s Green Building Council and has chaired various committees, including Austin’s AIA Urban Design Committee (2022) and the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Urban Land Institute of Austin – Texas (2022). Recognized for his urban design practice, Julio was selected as an International Expert in 2021, leading a research team for future city planning in Asia.

He is directing the efforts of the PLANNING 2050 initiative for positive impacts in Equity, Climate Change, and Resiliency.

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY GROUP

ELISABETH BELPAIRE

President ISOCARP (2024-2027).

Elisabeth Belpaire is an engineer architect, an urban and spatial planner with over 25 years of experience. She has worked in diverse projects ranging from: architecture, urban planning, design and governance in Belgium, France, Switzerland, and other countries in the world. Her talks in Chicago, London, New -Zealand and at TEDx Geneva, bring attention to the health and well-being of our young, and how cities can enable them to thrive, especially since too often they fall through the cracks of city planning and management.

Elisabeth holds a M.Sc. in Engineering Architecture from Gent University and an Advanced M.Sc. in Urban and Regional Planning from Leuven University in Belgium.

BRUNO MARQUES

President IFLA (International Federation of Landscape Architects).

Dr Bruno Marques is a registered landscape architect and educator. He completed his Landscape Architecture studies at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and Berlin Technical University (Germany), followed by his PhD studies at the University of Otago (New Zealand). Bruno has practiced in Germany, Estonia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, having an extensive portfolio of built projects. During the past ten years at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, he has developed a comprehensive research agenda to embrace the formulation of frameworks on landscape rehabilitation, cultural landscapes, place-making and Indigenous community health and wellbeing. He is currently the Associate Dean for the Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation and the President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).

ELEANOR MOHAMMED

Eleanor Mohammed, RPP, MCIP, EP, MTCP is the immediate Past President of the Commonwealth Association of Planners (2023), Co-Chair of the UN-Habitat Professionals Forum, and the Founder/Principal of Strategic and Resilient Together.

She is an executive leader with over 17 years of public, private, and not-for-profit sector experience. As a passionate professional who regularly speaks and presents at international events on city building, Eleanor is a champion for the planning profession, climate action, equity and inclusion, healthy communities, technology adaptation, and sustainability.

She holds a Masters with Distinction in Town and Country Planning from the University of the West of England, Bristol, U.K. and has an Honors Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto with a specialization in Environmental Management.

PIETRO ELISEI

Pietro has worked, as a consultant, with ministries, cities and countries throughout Europe, holding important positions in international organizations dedicated to urban planning (PLANUM SG, ISOCARP VP). He is an international expert in urban regeneration policies, integrated planning for small and medium-sized cities, smart cities and strategic planning. He collaborates with European Universities and Research Centers, works as an expert with international institutions (European Commission: URBACT and UIA Secretariats, UN-Habitat, UNECE) in the field of research/urban and territorial planning.

WAFA AL-DAILY

Wafa is current (2024) Global President of the International Metropolitan Fellowship (IMF).

Dr. Wafa Al-Daily is a senior urban planner and an international development expert with a demonstrated working history in academia, government agencies, NGOs, INGOs, and the private sector. Dr. Al-Daily is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of EHAAR International. She is involved with various organizations including the Center for Cooperative Problem Solving (CCPS) and Institute for Policy and Governance (IPG) at Virginia Tech University, International Metropolitan Fellowship (IMF), American Planning Association (APA), International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA), and NAFSA Academy (Academy for International Education, Class 19).

FOUNDING ADVISORY BOARD 2022-2023

Anthony Kane

President & CEO of ISI (Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure).

Carlton Hart

National Capital Planning Commission, Washington, DC.

Merrill St leger Demain

Principal, Urban Design and Planning at SmithGroup. Washington, DC.

Vatsal Bhatt

U.S. Green Building Council – Vice President for LEED for Communities

Rick Cole

Chief Deputy Controller — City of Los Angeles, CA.

Julio Carrillo

Julio Carrillo, AICP, LEED AP ND, — Senior Planner at Parkhill.

OUR PARTNERS

This initiative is transformational beyond planning practice and has encountered vital partners supporting this effort to understand the interrelatedness of systems and our actions in our complex world. Learn about the entities and early supporters for this effort.

| ASSESSMENTS

Foundational piece of planning practice that will help discover and generate LISAs and LIRAs.
Planners and Professionals of the built environment generate these baseline assessments.
If you are you a professional in planning practice, YOUR WORK will contribute to this initiative. Connect with us

| | COMMITMENTS

Governmental entities will voluntarily create, sign, and monitor their actionable strategies = commitments.
These commitments are aimed to align with global measures and goals such as UN SDGs.

| | | DATABASE

Our final goal is to create, maintain, and monitor a database of LISAs and LIRAs.