Who we are

Director of the Urban Institute and a Professor of Urban Knowledge Governance. Beth also leads the Urban Institute’s Co-producing Urbanisms theme.

Jon is a Senior Research Fellow undertaking comparative investigations on the urbanization process with a focus on infrastructure, uneven development and urban politics.

Vanesa’s research focuses on the governance of global environmental change in the urbanization age.

Linda's research revolves around environmental politics, with a focus on urban climate governance, transformations, and justice. Her work sits within the UI Climate Urbanism theme.

Simon's expertise in constructing conceptual understanding and empirical evidence of the changing relations between socio-technical networks and urban and regional restructuring.

Urbanist working on spatial compositions and collective operations in urban regions of the Global South.

Vicky is a highly competent and qualified research manager with over 17 years’ experience managing interdisciplinary research centres and institutes in the HE sector.

Aidan’s research examines how cities and urban social life are being reimagined and redesigned in response to climate change and automation.

Erika supports the LO-ACT project team day to day and is responsible for the project’s communication activities.

Yannis Kallianos is an anthropologist employed on the project GlobalCORRIDOR, who works on issues of public space, urban infrastructure, and socio-political contestation.

Fatima Tassadiq joined the UI on the GlobalCORRIDOR project to investigate the role of infrastructure corridors in shaping urbanisation processes and inequality in a series of global regions.

Dr Shizhi Zhang joined the Urban Institute in 2023 as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate. His research interests are Chinese politics and history, and global politics from a non-Western perspective.

Zhengli Huang is a Research Associate at the Urban Institute

Human Geographer

Gentrification and displacement, cities and crime; wealth, poverty and exclusion; segregation and urban security; 'gated communities' and fortress homes.

Olivia is a social anthropologist engaged in interdisciplinary and collaborative research. Her research is concerned with society’s complex challenges such as racial inequalities, political and racial violence, and the (post)colonial city.

Everyday policing and punishment
Being and belonging in the city
The politics of crisis
Concepts of urban justice

Brendan is a Research Associate in Urban Robotics. His research examines transformations in urban life focusing on transport and mobility, everyday cultures and politics, emerging innovations and markets, and urban governance and experimentation.

Urban development and politics in the global South.

Dr Richard Goulding joined the University of Sheffield as a research associate in December 2020. He holds a PhD from Sheffield, and an MA and BA from the University of Manchester.

Institute of Global Sustainable Development (IGSD) Research Theme Lead: Cities

Ankit's work seeks to develop postcolonial approaches for climate and energy justice, conceptually drawing on the interfaces of knowledge, politics, postcolonial solidarity, development and culture.

Jenny brings experience of participatory approaches, activist methodologies, and a commitment to equality and diversity.

Madeleine researches and teaches in the areas of urban studies and planning, focused on the theory and practice of governance and collaboration at the local level.

Tanzil Shafique is an international affiliate of the Informal Urbanism Research Hub at the University of Melbourne. He co-founded and now co-directs Estudio Abierto/Open Studio, a think+do tank on architecture and urbanism.

The processes through which the public are engaged in making and implementing environmental (water) policy

Matt's research is in the politics of urban air pollution governance with Sheffield Air.

Juan is an urbanist undertaking research surrounding urban innovation from the perspective of urban socio-technical transformation.

Bei Chen is a PhD student in Urban Studies and Planning. Her research programme focuses on the socio-political dimensions of China’s AI and robotic policy visions and implementation in urban contexts.

Aïcha Diallo is an urban cultural researcher, curator, editor, and educator. Her work explores the intersections of urban spaces, art and culture, and inequality, with a particular focus on African and diasporic spatial practices. Diallo critically examines how these practices engage with global social dynamics, emphasising curatorial projects, critical writing, and public engagement. She is deeply committed to collaborative methodologies and an ongoing interrogation of institutional frameworks.

PhD Title: The politics of resettlement and occupations in Brazil.
(Supervisors: Jon Silver and Phillip Horn)

PhD student Catherine is focusing on how community food action in schools can move towards more sustainable futures...

PhD Title: Urban frictions. Prosperity turns within Nairobi’s water tinkering practices.
(Supervisors: Vanesa Castán Broto and Liz Sharp)

My project is part of the University of Sheffield Centre for Doctoral Training in Emerging Urban Inequalities.

Sri is investigating the displacement process of the riverbank settlements by flood-risk mitigation policy in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Simone is a Newton International Fellow undertaking the project ‘Reconsidering urban narratives in Brazil: Central areas in São Paulo as problems and potentialities.’

Lalli Metsola is an Academy of Finland Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki whose current project looks at social infrastructuring and everyday governance in South African cities.

Ping is a social scientist specializing in low-carbon innovation and climate governance, focusing on China and other less-developed economics.

Michele Lancione is Professor of Economic and Political Geography at the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, and Visiting Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.

David will join the UI for as a visiting fellow for 12 months from 1 September 2024, supported by Vanesa Castán Broto, with whom he has worked with on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as Coordinating Lead Author.

Gabriela is an anthropologist from São Paulo currently based in Lisbon. As a PhD Candidate in Urban Studies, she is affiliated with CICS.NOVA, at NOVA University of Lisbon.

A lecturer in sociology (Birmingham City University) and a visiting researcher at the Urban Institute (University of Sheffield).

Desiree's research revolves around the role of housing in capitalist urbanization.

Claudia is Project Researcher at the Institute for Urban Research, Malmö University, Sweden. She is a postcolonial and feminist urban scholar with expertise in Latin America.

Xinyu Hu's research mainly focuses on the spatial structure and distribution of urban public service facilities.

Andy's research continues to develop on ‘new ecologies of automation’.

Rachel's current research investigates the governance of urban transformations toward low-carbon heating and cooling systems.

Director, Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space, University of Wollongong

PhD Title: Becoming-Commons of the Public. Municipalist Counter-Planning Strategies.
(Supervisors: Doina Petrescu and Beth Perry)

Zarina's research addresses the politics and practices of achieving just and sustainable urban transitions.

PhD Title: Trade Unions and a Just Transition to Low Carbon.
(Supervisors: Beth Perry and Stephen Connelly)

Xira's research is on the role of cities as international actors and their participation in transnational municipal networks. 

Jonathan works with the Urban Institute on the controlled environments theme and urban infrastructure issues.

Papia is a political scientist and public policy expert who works on the intersectionality between gender, language, education, and urban living in culturally diverse societies.

Lili's research focuses on the Smart City, especially the relationship between the government and companies in the construction and operation of Smart City.