Biographical note

Dr. Zaheer Allam holds a PhD in Humanities, a Master of Arts (Res), an MBA, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Architectural Science from universities in Australia and the United Kingdom. Based in Mauritius, he is the Chairperson of the National Youth Environment Council (NYEC) and a board member of the Mauritius Renewable Energy Agency (MARENA) and works on several projects on the thematic of Smart Cities and on strategies dwelling in the increasing role of technology in Culture and the Society. Zaheer is also the African Representative of the International Society of Biourbanism (ISB), member of the Advisory Circle of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), and a member of several other international bodies. He holds several awards and commendations and is the author of over 125 peer reviewed publications and author of 8 books about Smart, Sustainable and Future Cities.

Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University. Peter has written 23 books and over 400 papers on sustainable cities and decarbonization policy and is one of the most highly cited authors in sustainable urban planning. He created the term automobile dependence in the 1980’s which is now standard terminology in urban planning and his book with Jeff Kenworthy has been called ‘one of the most influential planning books of all time’. Peter has worked to deliver his ideas in all levels of government having been an elected councillor, seconded to advise three Premiers in Western Australia (1986, 1989, 2001-3) and on the Board of Infrastructure Australia 2008-14. He has been involved in IPCC for ten years and is presently the Co-ordinating Lead Author for the IPCC on Transport. In 2014 he was awarded an Order of Australia for his contributions to urban design and sustainable transport. In 2018/19 he was the Western Australian Scientist of the Year. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sustainable Earth Reviews.