I have been working for twenty years in the field of integrated urban development which to me means looking at cities from different angles including the socio-cultural one. I started my career with a degree in Urban Sociology and then developed my skills with further training in urban studies, creative thinking applied to city policies and cultural policy related to urban regeneration. I have thought students at university level on the subject of holistic planning for many years. Since 1999 I have run my own consultancy working with cities and communities helping them to implement plans for the renewal of heritage sites, public spaces, and for transforming industrial buildings into creative spaces. I have also delivered many city branding strategies based on the notion of mapping the distinctive qualities of a place. My basic philosophy is that cities are living organisms where every function is connected, so every time we undertake a planning initiative we have to take into consideration the effects each action will have on the social, economic, cultural, as well as the physical sphere. In many projects I have worked with community groups taking the lead in implementing actions that met their needs and aspirations. This to me is what being sustainable is about.

In my role of lead expert for an Urbact II project (phase one only) I engaged in drafting the baseline study for each partner, collecting and presenting case studies, running thematic workshops for local actors and partners on themes such as: creativity and youth employment and the advantages of diversity. Advising lead partners on preparing further bids for funding and for phase two Urbact. In other expertise projects I delivered presentations to partners in their respective countries and and facilitated thematic workshops, as well as helping to draft coordinated actions plans. I have conducted internal monitoring exercises and evaluation exercises (both ex-ante and ex-post) of projects through either desk research or through visits to projects.