2023 Keynote Speakers

Megan Oliver, AICP, WELL AP

Megan Oliver, AICP, WELL AP, is an urban designer and independent researcher exploring the deep emotional impacts of place. Believing in the power of our surroundings to profoundly influence our mood and behavior, she is driven to design and shape spaces that foster healing and joy. Through her research-informed practice, Megan connects the science of human experience to urban design and planning strategies. She employs storytelling, public art, placekeeping, livability planning, and responsive spatial design interventions to cultivate happier, more inclusive spaces and places.

Megan shares work and insights on her website (HelloHappy.Design), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/meganoliver/), and Instagram (@hellohappy.design).

Planning isn’t neuroscience…or is it? For over a century, planning professionals have relied heavily on intuition, trial-and-error, and seminal writings from urbanists like Jacobs, Lynch, & Whyte to guide our decision-making. While our collective wisdom has served us well up until this point, recent research suggests that our brains respond to our surroundings in ways we had not previously understood. As planners, this potentially offers us unique insights into how we might design spaces that better achieve our goals.

Exploring relationships between place, thought, and behavior, neuroscientific research encourages planners to view our classical teachings through a new lens. With a greater understanding of how people experience, move through, and cultivate well-being in cities, we can revolutionize our profession and shape happier and more humane cities for the 21^st century.