Edward J. Blakely is Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, and previously a Commissioner for the Greater Sydney Commission, Australia. He is an US National Science Foundation Professor and Fellow of the US National Academy of Public Administration. Dr Blakely is one of the leading scholar-practitioners in economic development in the world. He advised the OECD on Economic Revitalisation and was appointed Executive Director of Recovery for New Orleans by Mayor C. Ray Nagin in 2007. Richard Hu is a Professor of Urban Planning and Design at University of Canberra, Australia. He is a professorial fellow of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and associate editor of International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development. Based in the Globalisation and Cities Research Program headed by him, his research cuts across urban design, urban science, and urban policy to investigate important contemporary issues about design excellence, global cities, urban competitiveness and sustainability, and place-based innovation in an environment of increasing uncertainty and change.
