As Twin2Expand enters its final and most decisive phase, we are pleased to introduce the project’s External Advisory Board (EAB) composed of internationally recognized experts in Evidence-Based Design and Planning (EBDP).

The EAB brings together a multidisciplinary team of scholars and practitioners in urban morphology, transport planning, digital architecture, and spatial analysis including project partners and external experts, all committed to advancing EBDP approaches in real-world contexts. Their expertise supports the project in delivering impactful, actionable, and scientifically grounded outputs for cities facing complex urban challenges, with particular emphasis on supporting urban development in data-scarce environments.

The Role of the EAB in Strengthening EBDP

The External Advisory Board is instrumental in ensuring that Twin2Expand’s methodologies, tools, and outputs reflect the core principles of EBDP: rigorous analysis, stakeholder consultation and interaction, and actionable insight. Their contributions will focus on:

1. Refining Final Outputs and Recommendations
   1. Offer critical feedback on final reports, publications, and policy briefs to ensure alignment with best practices in evidence-based design and planning (EBDP).
   2. Assist in translating research outcomes into clear, actionable insights for academic, professional, and policymaking audiences.
2. Validating and Strengthening Research Findings
   1. Review methodologies, case studies, and data interpretations to ensure scientific rigor, reliability, and relevance.
   2. Provide benchmarking insights by comparing project outcomes with international standards and emerging global trends in the EBDP field.
3. Enhancing Practical Application and Real-World Impact
   1. Advise on how to effectively translate research into practice, ensuring that findings are relevant and usable by urban planners, architects, and decision-makers.
   2. Recommend strategies for embedding EBDP principles into regulatory frameworks, professional guidelines, and academic curricula.
4. Supporting Dissemination and Outreach
   1. Guide dissemination strategies to ensure research findings reach a broad and diverse audience, including policymakers, educators, and practitioners.
   2. Identify key conferences, journals, and professional networks for impactful publication and presentation.
   3. Facilitate connections with stakeholders who can support the implementation and scaling of project outcomes.
5. Ensuring Long-Term Sustainability
   1. Contribute to the development of a sustainability roadmap for maintaining and expanding project impact beyond its funding horizon.
   2. Identify opportunities for follow-up research, strategic partnerships, and new funding streams.
   3. Advice on embedding project findings into ongoing professional development, public initiatives, and institutional programs.
6. Strategic Evaluation and Lessons Learned
   1. Support the comprehensive evaluation of the project’s overall performance, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and opportunities for growth.
   2. Contribute to the creation of a lesson-learned report to inform future initiatives in the field of evidence-based urban planning and design.

The Twin2Expand External Advisory Board brings together a distinguished group of international experts whose work is deeply rooted in the principles of evidence-based design and planning (EBDP).

Prof. Abeer Elshater: Professor of Urban Morphology, Ain Shams University, Cairo. Specialist in urban form, participatory planning, and sustainable city development in the MENA region.

Dr. Alexandra Paio: Associate Professor, ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon. Expert in digital architecture, computational design, and participatory urban processes. She has led multiple international housing and urban innovation projects.

Andreas Markides: Chairman, Markides Associates, UK. Past President of the CIHT and current Chair of the Academy of Urbanism. Expert in urban mobility, infrastructure design, and transport strategy.

Anna Caramondani: Urban and Regional Planner, Cyprus. A highly experienced planner with 50 years of work across the public and private sectors, specializing in regional development, sustainable mobility, and environmental planning.

Prof. Kayvan Karimi: Professor of Urban Morphology and Urban Development, The Bartlett, UCL. Director of the Space Syntax Laboratory at The Bartlett. A world leader in spatial network analysis, urban morphology, and applying spatial data to urban decision-making.

Prof. Meta Berghauser Pont: Professor of Urban Morphology and Urban Design, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. Head of the SMoG research group. Known for her contributions to spatial morphology, urban density, and decision-support tools such as Urban Calculator and PST Smart Density.

Ed Parham: Architect and Director of Innovation and Design at Space Syntax. His role combines the development of tools to analyze cities with their application to real-world projects. He has lead multi-disciplinary design teams to masterplan capital cities and shaped the development of digital tools to support evidence-informed decisions.

Dr. Nadia Charalambous: Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, University of Cyprus. Head of the Society and Urban Form research group (SURF). Focuses on socio-spatial analysis to advance human-centric, evidence-based urban design, grounded in a strong commitment to societal impact, engaging closely with communities, stakeholders, and policymakers.

Prof. Marco Trisciuoglio: architect, is Full Professor in Architectural and Urban Design at Politecnico di Torino, Department of Architecture and Design DAD, where he is Head of the PhD Program ARCHITECTURE. HISTORY AND PROJECT.

The Twin2Expand project is firmly grounded in the belief that urban planning and design decisions must be based on rigorous evidence. With the guidance of the External Advisory Board, we are confident in the quality, relevance, and impact of the tools, models, and policy insights we will deliver in our final phase.