Prof. Branko Cavrić is a chartered town and land use planner (with the Royal Town Planning Institute – RTPI, UK), GIS/LIS and environmental specialist, with experience in academia, research, government, consultanices, business, diplomacy, international ccoparation and partnerships. He has a total of 40 years of post-graduate experience in all types spatial and land use planning and design, applied geography, GIS, land, natural resources and environmental studies. He possesses  the following degrees: (1) B.Sc. degree in geography (1979), (2) B.Sc. degree in urban and regional planning (1981), (3) M.Sc. degree in geography with majors in geography and planning, and (4)Ph.D. degree in geography with major in GIS/LIS for planning. His multidisciplinary expertise and wealth of experience in conceptualizing GIS support for land use planning and design is a great asset in executing any planning project successfully and liaising with the clients and interested stakeholders.

Prof. Cavric has worked as senior planner for the Department of Town and Regional Planning (1993-1996), and for the Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering and Technoly at the University of Botswana (1997-2021) as a full professor. He has also held the portfolio of Director for International Education and Partnership of the University of Botswana. He was involved in academic and professional training of 20 generations of Botswana physical planners and 2 generations of Serbian planners and geographers. 

His professional and academic record consists of 70 (plans, design and GIS projects), 43 journal articles, 42 conference papers, 13 book chapters and 11 monographs, 18 applied research projects. His focus areas are preparation of all kinds of spatial (physical) and environmental plans and designs, followed by applications of geospatial technologies, thematic mapping and environmental/spatial and management studies. Before starting working in Botswana in 1993, he served on the Board of Directors of the Yugoslav Institute of Town Planning and Housing (YUGINUS). He has also worked as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Geography and Faculty of Architecture, and as managing director of GISDATA Belgrade (ESRI representative for Serbia). From 1997-2005 he was visiting research fellow at the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of Serbia (IAUS). He was also a member of the Steering Committee of Association of African Planning Schools (AAPS) and most recently he is engaged as the Director of International Office and South African Chapter of the African Planning Institute (API).

A summary of his Botswana’s planning and GIS experience includes: Gaborone CBD Master Plan, ten (10) development land use plans for Botswana’s major villages, Western Region Master Plan, Central District Land Use Plan, Tsabong and Tlokweng Development Plans and Botswana Physical Planning Manual. His most recent technical reports include GIS data base and mapping for Molepolole and Selebi Phikwe development plans, and preparation of Management Plans for Maun Educational Park, NG25 Concession Area, Dikgatlhong Dam Tourism Master Plan, Chobe Land Use Management Plan (CH1) and Tlokweng Development Plan.

From 2002-2004 he took part in the international project “Designing, Implementing and Measuring Sustainable Urban Development” (DIMSUD) backed by Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS), as one of the principal researchers from Africa. The DIMSUD culminated in the book “From Understanding to Action – Sustainable Urban development in Medium-Sized Cities in Africa and Latin America” edited by Dr. Keiner from ETH Zurich and published by Springer. He was leading co-author in one of the chapters in: “The Post-Socialist City: Urban Form and Space Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe after Socialism”, edited by Kiril Stanilov from University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Most recently he authored two book chapters in Mattias Legner and Sven Lilja eds. (2010) “Living Cities – An Anthology in Urban Environmental History”, Formas, Stockholm, Sweden and in Sirgy, M. Joseph; Phillips, Rhonda; Rahtz, D. (Eds.) (2011) “Community Quality of Life Indicators” – Case Studies V, 1st Edition, Springer, Netherland, which emanated from research during his sabbatical stay with the University of Zadar in 2008 on: “Developing the System of Indicators for Sustainable Urban Development in selected coastal cities of Croatia.” He also authored and co-authored four chapters on planning in Botswana, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro for ”International Manual of Planning Practice”, 2015 (ISOCARP), Edited by Judith Ryser and Teresa Franchini.  In 2019 and 2020 he contributed to “Compendium of case studies for the implementation of the guiding principles of urban-rural linkages and framework for action”, and to the “Rural Linkages: Guiding Principles Framework for Action to Advance Integrated Territorial Development”, published by UN HABITAT, Nairobi, Kenya.

Dr. Cavrić holds many academic, professional and personal links with colleagues from Africa (University of Witwatersrand, University of Cape Town, University of Pretoria, UN HABITAT, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and Makarere University, Uganda); Europe (University of Belgrade, ETH Zurich, Ghazi University, University of Zadar, University of Ljubljana, University of Zagreb, University of Split, GISDATA, University of Darmstadt, KTH, Chalmers University, University College of Dublin, IAUS, YUGINUS); Latin America (Catholic University of Santiago De Chile); USA (University of Illinois Chicago, Purdue University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT, University of Cincinnati, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Texas, Penn State University); and New Zealand (Unitec Institute of Technology). 

PROFESSIONAL AFILIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

• Chartered Town Planner with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI, UK) No. 47592 – 2005 
• Chartered Town Planner with Pula Institute of Town Planners (PITP, BW), No. No. 002/2014 – 2014
• Member of American Planning Association (APA, US) – 2005
• Member of International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) – 2020
• Member of the Steering Committee of Association of African Planning Schools (AAPS), African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town – 2018
• African Planning Institute (API) founding and member of API Secretariat – 2021