The City That Sees Everyone: Designing for (Neuro)diversity, Safety, and Belonging

Cities are often built for the “average” citizen—a person who doesn’t exist. In this provocative keynote, Dr. Elizabeth Nelson challenges that cookie-cutter mindset and shows how urban spaces can either overload, exclude, or liberate the people who live in them. Blending neuroscience, design, and social insight, she explores what it really takes to build cities that see every mind and body: safer, smarter, more humane environments where difference isn’t just accommodated—it becomes the engine of progress.