Milad Malekzadeh, Lecturer in Sustainable Urban Development at Tampere University and member of the Urban Physics Lab, delivered a keynote at the International Symposium on Urban Analytics and City Sciences, held on 29–30 October 2026 at the University of Calgary, Canada.
In his keynote, “Where Would You Want to Live? Measuring What Makes Compact Cities Work for Their Citizens,” Milad discussed why urban densification must go beyond increasing density to consider the quality of urban environments and residents’ well-being. Drawing on his recent research, he demonstrated how geospatial data, artificial intelligence, and human mobility analysis can help measure how people perceive and experience cities.
Beyond the academic symposium, Milad also participated in a community engagement event, organized in collaboration with More Neighbours Calgary, where researchers and local residents discussed urban densification, housing, and the challenges of creating more liveable neighbourhoods.
The symposium brought together international researchers, urban planners, industry professionals, and community representatives to explore evidence-based approaches to sustainable urban development.