La Salle Campus Barcelona, founding member of Universitat Ramon Llull, will host the international conference Livable Cities from July 16 to 18, organized by the international academic network AMPS (Architecture, Media, Politics, Society). Under the title “Urban Experience: From Social Policy to Design”, the conference will bring together researchers, educators, and professionals from around the world to reflect on the challenges of livability in contemporary cities.
La Salle-URL has been selected as one of the two venues for this edition, along with the University Institute of Lisbon, due to its role as a university center committed to the territorial, economic, and social development of the built and inhabited environment through various research lines and knowledge transfer.
Moreover, the location of the campus is particularly relevant, as the city of Barcelona is a global reference for livable cities, while also being a paradigmatic example of current urban tensions: housing access, gentrification, tourism pressure, social inequality, or environmental impact. In this context, the campus will host a conference that proposes a transdisciplinary reflection on what it means to live in a city today and how to design more just, sustainable, and human urban environments.
AMPS Conference Keynotes
- Barcelona: Challenges and Opportunities, by Maria Buhigas (Wednesday, 16 July 2025, from 9.30 a.m. to 10.45 a.m. - Auditorium)
Cities worldwide face increasing pressure to adapt to rapidly changing climatic, demographic, and economic conditions. While the overarching goal of enhancing liveability is widely shared, the unique characteristics of each urban context demand customised approaches tailored to specific local conditions, histories, and social dynamics. Barcelona, a Mediterranean metropolis with a rich cultural heritage and a consolidated urban fabric, exemplifies these complexities. The city currently faces two interconnected and critical challenges. First, it must redefine the elements that constitute the new urban quality—rethinking public spaces, environmental performance, social inclusion, and economic vitality. Second, Barcelona needs to adapt its existing built environment to align with these redefined urban quality objectives.
Architect and urban planner, since 2023 Maria Buhigas is serving as Chief Architect at the Barcelona City Council. She holds a degree in Architecture from the School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (ETSAB-UPC) and completed a Master of Science in Urban Planning at Columbia University. She has collaborated with the UN-Habitat agency on projects in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, and Cuba. She has also worked as an associate professor in the Department of Geography at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pasqual Maragall Catalunya Europe Foundation. Previously, she was part of the Barcelona Regional team (1999–2013), where she led the Urban Strategy Department (2006–2013) and run her own practice specialised in urban strategy and planning (from 2014 -2023). She has been a member of the scientific advisory board of the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion (ESPON) (2017–2019) and served as a councillor at the Barcelona City Council (2019–2020).
- From Evidence to Action: Planning Healthier, More Sustainable Cities – Experiences from Barcelona, by Mark Nieuwenhuijsen (Thursday, 17 July 2025, from 9.30 a.m. to 10.45 a.m. - Auditorium)
Urban and transport planning practices have a significant impact on population health. Current evidence suggests that the burden of disease associated with prevailing planning approaches is substantial, highlighting a clear opportunity for improvement. This talk will summarise the latest evidence on the health impacts of urban and transport planning and present strategies for designing more liveable, healthier, and sustainable cities. Drawing on examples from Barcelona, the lecture will illustrate how integrated planning interventions—such as superblocks, green space initiatives, and active mobility policies—can lead to measurable health and environmental benefit.
Mark Nieuwenhuijsen is the Director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative at Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). Editor of 8 books, author of over 600 peer-reviewed journal articles, and co-author of 39 book chapters, he ranks among the top 1% of the most cited scientists in the world, according to Clarivate. In 2018, he received the ISEE John Goldsmith Award for his contributions to environmental epidemiology, and in 2021 he was recognised as the leading scientist in urban health. He currently chairs the biennial Urban Transitions conference and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Environment International. In 2020 and 2021, he was President of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology.
- Rethinking Dwelling: Education, Innovation, and Sustainability, by Leandro Madrazo (Friday, 18 July 2025, from 9.30 a.m. to 10.45 a.m. - Auditorium)
This lecture examines the concept of dwelling as a unifying framework for addressing contemporary challenges in housing and public space development, particularly in relation to sustainable development. It draws on insights from two recently completed European projects. A-Place (2019–2023), co-funded by the Creative Europe programme, focused on strengthening a sense of place and belonging in multicultural and interconnected societies. Through creative, community-based activities involving residents, artists, students, educators, local authorities, and cultural organizations, the project fostered cross-cultural connections in six European cities by linking local experiences and interpretations of place. RE-DWELL (2020–2024), an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie research network, aimed to advance affordable and sustainable housing in Europe. It brought together early-stage researchers, universities, and partner institutions through transdisciplinary collaboration in three interconnected areas: design, planning and construction, community participation, and policy and financing.
Leandro Madrazo is a Full Professor, School of Architecture La Salle-URL. He earned his degree in Architecture from the School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (ETSAB-UPC) and completed a Master’s in Architecture at UCLA and Harvard University as a Fulbright scholar. He obtained a PhD from ETH Zürich, where he also taught and conducted research from 1990 to 1999. Since 1999, he has been teaching and researching at La Salle School of Architecture, Universitat Ramon Llull in Barcelona. His research focuses on sustainable and affordable housing, urban regeneration, digital tools in architecture, and architectural education. He has coordinated several European projects on sustainable housing and urban development, including A-Place, RE-DWELL, TIMEPAC, OIKONET, OIKODOMOS, and SEMANCO, as well as nationally funded research such as PROHABIT and BARCODE HOUSING SYSTEM. His work has been widely published in journals, conferences and books. His most recent edited volumes include “Global dwelling: Intertwining Research, Community participation and Pedagogy” and “A-Place. Linking places through networked artistic practices”.
The School of Architecture: A meeting point for reflection and debate
Livable Cities aligns with the mission and commitment of the La Salle-URL School of Architecture (ETSALS) to rethink the city through architecture, design, and planning, always with a focus on social impact. Active participation in this conference allows the school’s research lines to connect with key topics such as climate change, migration, equity, and the transformation of public space.
Additionally, the event will serve as a platform to promote dialogue among researchers, faculty, and PhD students, fostering exchange with international experts and generating new opportunities for academic collaboration.
