Maria Vassilakou is an experienced, inspiring urban leader, devoted to open, inclusive and green cities, passionate on urban transformation processes leading to sustainable system change.

She served as Viennas Vice Mayor responsible for Urban Planning, Traffic & Transport, Climate Protection, Energy and Public Participation from November 2010 to July 2019.

Maria Vassilakou envisages cities as open, green, affordable, family friendly and diverse places for life. In her 9 years serving as Vice Mayor she implemented successfully a vast transformation agenda comprising numerous innovative projects, contributing substantially to Viennas Nr1 position in all major international livability rankings within the last decade.

Maria Vassilakou now works worldwide as an independent advisor on urban transformation. After leaving office, she founded Vienna Solutions, a network of experienced Viennese urban experts and practitioners, with whom she cooperates building flexible teams to deliver complex urban projects. She shares her experience and know-how from Vienna – the worlds most livable city – with cities, NGOs, organizations and corporations developing strategies, agendas and solutions, organizing transition management and capacity building for livable, sustainable and inclusive cities.

Since 2019 Maria is also a member of the EU Horizon Mission experts board on Climate neutral smart Cities.