Dario Costi , Arch. PhD, is Full Professor in Architectural and Urban Design in the Department of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Parma. He is the Director of the interdisciplinary teaching and research project "Smart City 4.0 Sustainable LAB", which is promoted by the University of Parma in cooperation with the Emilia-Romagna regional government and the public digital infrastructure Lepida, and involves the Universities of Ferrara, Bologna, Modena and Reggio-Emila, Piacenza as well as local Authorities and stakeholders. He is member of the PhD Program in Civil Engineering and Architecture at the University of Parma and at the Faculties of Architecture of the University of Palermo and Sapienza University of Rome. He is active both as a professional and as a researcher in the architectural and urban design field. He is the co-owner of the MC2 Architecture Studio in Parma. Since 2007 he is serving as President of Parma Urban Center, of which he is also the co-founder.

Involved in numerous national projects for fostering education in architecture and urban design, Professor Costi is the author of many Italian publications, and Editor of two Italian book series published by MUP Editore, Parma. Since 2020, he is the editor of the international book series "The City Project - Strategies for Smart and Wise Sustainable Urban Design", published by Springer. He is also serving as a lecturer for the Program Master Housing at Roma Tre University, in Rome, and for other Master Programs at the University of Parma, Trani, Lecce and Matera. Since 2018 he is serving as Scientific Director of the Higher Education Courses in Urban Strategic Design at the LUM School of Management in Bari. Since 2021, as part of this collaboration, he has been developing the guidelines for the urban regeneration of Italian cities for the SNA - National School of Administration. Giovanni Leoni is Full Professor in History of Architecture at the University of Bologna where he directed the Department of Architecture, the Doctorate in Architecture and Design Cultures and was a member of the Board of Directors. His research focuses on the theory and practice of design between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with particular attention to models of creativity, the relationship between Personality and Anonymity and the role of architectural design in social and political processes. He edits the journals Histories of Postwar Architecture and European Journal of Creative Practices in Cities and Landscapes (with Carole Hein, TU Delft).

He coordinated, for the University of Bologna, the H2020 project ROCK Regeneration and Optimisation of Cultural heritage in creative and Knowledge cities and is part of the Bologna unit of the PNRR project CHANGES Cultural Heritage Active Innovation for Sustainable Society, Spoke 7, theme: The historic Italian city as a model for sustainable urban development. He has published extensively on the themes of architecture and the city in Emilia-Romagna in the second half of the 20th century.