In a session chaired by Alan Mace, Fanny Blanc, Javier Iñigo and Beatrix Emo will be discussing how density is designed and perceived in cities. 

Cities and regions across the world are experiencing pressures on the housing, governance and sustainability fronts. Challenges such as creating sustainable transport links, enhancing local democracy or tackling housing shortage push urbanists to think creatively. Founded in 1966, LSE's MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies (RUPS) programme has established its reputation as a key player in urban innovation with alumni working in public policy, architecture, think tanks and government across the world. Our new series Progressing Planning is designed to showcase LSE's impact on urban issues by bringing together academics and RUPS alumni. In so doing, we aim to show how research at LSE links to practice across the world.

This interactive session will bring together professionals, academics and the public around presentations and a general discussion.

Alan Mace is Associate Professor of Urban Planning Studies at LSE. Before joining LSE in 2010, he worked as a spatial planner in London on policy development. He also has considerable experience of community involvement in planning. He combined this with his role as senior lecturer at the University of Westminster, before which he was a research fellow at UCL.

Javier Iñigo is Principal Urban Designer at Jacobs, design leader for various masterplans in UK and in charge of developing Jacobs Cities strategy. With a MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies, he is a graduate from LSE. 

Beatrix Emo is a practising architect, director of Spatialist Arch. and researcher. She is Digital Initiative Zurich Fellow at ZHAW and Senior Assistant at ETH Zurich. Beatrix holds a PhD from the Bartlett School of Architecture, in which she explored how individuals experience urban spaces. Her interests lie in urban design, space syntax and spatial cognition. 

Fanny Blanc is a graduate of LSE with her MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies and currently works as Policy Officer at LSE London where she carries out policy-oriented analysis and public engagement in the fields of housing and urban planning. 

RUPS (Regional and Urban Planning Studies) is a strongly focused and internationally based planning programme with a long tradition in training both people seeking careers in urban and regional planning policy and mid-career professionals.

LSE London is a research centre at the LSE that focuses on the economic and social issues of the London region, as well as the problems and possibilities of other urban and metropolitan regions. The centre has a strong international reputation particularly in the fields of labour markets, social and demographic change, housing, finance, and governance, and it is the leading academic centre for analyses of city-wide developments in London.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEProgressingPlanning