Juan Luis de las Rivas Sanz is professor of Planning and Urban Design in the School of Architecture of Valladolid (Spain), is Architect (1984) and Phd (1988) for the University of Navarra. Director of the “Departamneto de Urbanismo” in the ETSAValladolid, he is the director of the Taller de Proyectos del Instituto Universitario de Urbanística (IUU). During the last years, he have been visiting professor in Politecnico di Milano (I), the University of Arizona (USA), the University of Texas at Austin (USA), ESAP at Porto (P) in the Instituto de Urbanismo of Caracas and in the Iberoamericana University of Puebla (MEX), and occasionally in other European and Latino-American universities. Invited as speaker in seminars and specialized congress, he forms part of the scientific committees of the journal “Ciudades” (Valladolid), “Bitácora” (Bogotá) and “Territorio” (Milan) and he is member of the Technical Advisory Committee, 2010 Dubai International Award –UN/Habitat Human Settlements Program.. His research is oriented to the relationship between Nature and Urban Design rooted in the architectural basis of planning. In 2002 his work “Directrices de Ordenación Territorial de Valladolid y Entorno” –urban guidelines for the metropolitan area- obtains the 4th European Urban and Regional Planning Award, from the European Council of Town Planners -ECTP. Other of his planning works –two postwar neighborhoods urban regeneration- obtains the mention in the Gubbio International Prize, 2003. Finally in 2012, he leads the PRAU (Programa Regional de Actuaciones de Urbanización) Program which received the 9th European Urban and Regional Planning Award.He uses to work for regional and local authorities as consultant in planning, leading the IUU Workshop, a research group in spatial planning and urban design, working for several cities and urban regions (as Burgos, Ponferrada and Zamora; Spanish Regions as Castilla y León, Asturias or Extremadura). He also working for Spanish Ministries and Regional Governments in projects related with innovation in sustainable urban and regional planning. Today he is the director of the new Master Plan for Valladolid and consultant for the change in local government structure in his Region.