Nico Larco, AIA, is an urban designer, architect, and professor. He leads ELEMENT/Urban Design, a design and consulting firm, and has been a Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Oregon since 2004 where he is also the Director of the Urbanism Next Center and Co-Director of the Sustainable Cities Institute. Since 2018, he has also been a Strategic Advisor and Researcher at TNO, a Dutch national think-tank.

Prof. Larco researches and teaches sustainable urban design, has developed the Sustainable Urban Design Framework, is the lead author of the Sustainable Urban Design Handbook published in 2024, and assists cities and projects on how best to apply these principles and approaches. His work around Urbanism Next is focused on how technological advances such as shared mobility, self-driving cars, e-commerce and the sharing economy are changing city form and development. Prof. Larco assists cities and projects in future-proofing to thrive amidst these advances, has run workshops and charrettes nationally and internationally on this topic, and has coordinated work in this area with various municipal and state agencies across North America and in Europe.

Prof. Larco has published in various academic and professional journals and his work has been covered by Wired, the New York Times, Fast Company, Bloomberg News, Forbes, the Financial Times of London, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. He was a Fulbright Scholar in 2012/13 in Spain at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya and at the University of Navarra, a Visiting Professor at TU Delft in 2018/19, and was a Fulbright Scholar in 2019 at the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Chile. He has testified on his research to the US Congress, has worked on research for the European Commission, and was a speaker at TEDx College Park.

Joel Mills is Senior Director of the American Institute of Architects’ Center for Communities by Design. The Center is a leading provider of pro bono technical assistance and democratic design for community success. Its programs have catalyzed billions of dollars in sustainable development across the United States, helping to create some of the most vibrant places in America today. The Center’s design assistance process has been recognized with numerous awards and has been replicated and adapted across the world. Joel’s 27-year career has been focused on strengthening civic capacity, public processes and civic institutions. This work has helped millions of people participate in democratic processes, visioning efforts, and community planning initiatives. He has delivered presentations, training content, workshops and public processes in over a dozen countries across 5 continents. In the United States, Joel has provided consultative services to hundreds of communities, leading participatory processes on the ground in over 85 communities across 35 states. His work has been featured in over 1,000 media stories. Joel has served on dozens of expert working groups, boards, juries, and panels focused on civic discourse and participation, sustainability, and democracy. He was a founding Board Member of the International Association for Public Participation’s United States Chapter. He has spoken at numerous international conferences concerning democratic urbanism and the role of democracy in urban success, including serving as the Co-Convener of the Remaking Cities Congress in 2013. Joel is an Academician of the Academy of Urbanism in London, UK. He is the author of numerous articles on the relationship between democracy, civic capacity and community.