Theresa SUBBAN qualified as an Urban and Environmental Planner from the then University of Natal and currently works as a Senior Policy Analyst for the eThewini Municipality - City of Durban. Her interest lies in areas of: sustainable integrated development planning, policymaking,integrating local knowledge into planning processes, integrated spatial and land use planning, community-based environmental management and planning, sustainable local economic development,sustainable budgetting and strategic city planning. She is part of a core team, leading the Integrated Development Planning process and the Long Term Planning Framework for the city of Durban in a challenging transformational and restructuring process, building towards a more democratic, equitable and sustainable city. She works in the office of the City Manager and her work area covers policymaking, strategic long term city planning, undertaking research projects, development facilitation and networking /liaison with key develoment partners. Her primary role is to initiate and guide research projects, to monitor changes to the City's short term Integrated Development Plan and the Long Term Development Framework and their implications for development planning over time. This information feeds into the City's key decisionmaking processes.In project planning she is engaged in ensuring that collective action is directed towards areas of greatest development need in the once apartheid segregated city that marginalised majority of its people in enjoying city life. She is committed in strengthening civil society organisations and local government partnerships for jointly creating and promoting a just, equitable and sustainabe city for current and future generations to enjoy a better quality of life.