International Speakers

Prof. Timothy Beatley

Department of Urban and Environmental Planning
School of Architecture
University of Virginia

Timothy Beatley is Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities, in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, where he has taught for the last twenty years. Much of Beatley's work focuses on the subject of sustainable communities, and creative strategies by which cities and towns can fundamentally reduce their ecological footprints, while at the same time becoming more livable and equitable places. His recent books include Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities, and Native to Nowhere: Sustaining Home and Community in a Global Age. His latest book is co-authored with Peter Newman, titled Green Urbanism Down Under. Beatley holds a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Prof. Robert Cervero

Department of City and Regional Planning
UC Transportation Center
University of California

Robert Cervero is a Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning, and Directors of the Institute of Urban and Regional Development and the UC Transportation Center at University of California, Berkeley. He has written extensively on sustainable transportation policy and planning and transit oriented development worldwide and in recent years has been an advisor and consultant on transport projects in China, Colombia, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines and the U.S.

Piet Van Zyl

Executive Director – Strategy & Planning
City of Cape Town

Piet van Zyl, a registered Professional Town and Regional Planner (South Africa) is the Executive Director for Strategy & Planning at the City of Cape Town in South Africa. He was the Executive Manager – Planning and Development of Victoria & Alfred Waterfront (Pty) Ltd (V&AW) in Cape Town for 17 years, until April 2007. During this period the V&A Waterfront was developed into one of the world’s foremost mixed-use waterfront projects. His management portfolio at the V&AW was to integrate the project conceptualisation, urban planning and urban conservation aspects of the V&A Waterfront Project, to obtain the statutory planning and heritage approvals from the various Government authorities and then to project manage the retail, commercial, industrial and hotel development projects in the V&A Waterfront. Between 1990 and 2007 he was responsible for a development portfolio of ZA Rand 2,5 billion (approx. US$ 350 million) of development projects. During this period he also did work as a consultant on waterfront projects in Mauritius, Portsmouth, Gabon, Nigeria, Greece, the Russian Federation and the Sultanate of Oman.

Piet has had a number of local and international professional affiliations in his career and is currently a Corporate Member of the South African Planning Institute (SAPI). He was the first President of SAPI from 1996 to 1998. He has also served as a member of the Council of Heritage Western Cape and its Appeals Committee.