Dr Crystal Filep lives in New Zealand, where she works as Team Leader Urban Design with Dunedin City Council. She also launched and serves as Chapter Chair of INTBAU NZ. Her practical experience is extensive across the public and private sectors, and spans numerous international contexts. She has a PhD from the University of Otago and is widely published on the subjects of urban design, urbanism, architecture and qualitative research. She has a Master of Architecture (MArch) and a Master of Architectural Design and Urbanism (MADU) from the University of Notre Dame, and a Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEnvd) from the University of Colorado. Her research challenges placemaking efforts to better support and express multiple, overlapping or even conflicting notions of what constitutes meaningful coexistence and thereby contribute to healthier, more resilient and essential patterns of development.