Urban Futures research group

The notion of the ‘future’ provides a conceptual, analytical and methodological lens that allows us to question what cities are and how they work. We are particularly interested in examining how visions of urban futures in planning, governance, citizenship and everyday life are being imagined, contested and lived in by people across the world, learning from the lessons of the past.

We use this approach to address some of the most important challenges facing cities today in both the Global North and the Global South. Our research focuses on issues of security, liveability, health and inequality, and considers how emerging modes of governance and planning can promote more inclusive, sustainable, vibrant and playful cities.

Members

Helen Adams

Lecturer in Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Adaptation

Majed Akhter

Lecturer in Environment and Society

Johan Andersson

Senior Lecturer in Human Geography

Robert Cowley

Lecturer in Sustainable Cities

Luke Dickens

Lecturer in Urban Futures

Katie Meehan

Senior Lecturer in Human Geography

Daanish Mustafa

Professor in Critical Geography

Srilata Sircar

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Gendering the Smart City: A subaltern curation network on gender-based violence (GBV) in India

This two-year research network, led by Dr Ayona Datta, is aimed at shapinh current smart city agendas by focussing on women’s everyday lived experience of safety. It focuses particularly on women living in low-income settlements of metropolitan cities of India. The activities include: city stakeholder workshops in India; and a symposium and exhibition in London to foster long-term international collaborations on gendering the smart city across UK and India.

Find out more about Gendering the Smart City

Smart Cities: 'Provincializing' the global urban age in India and south Africa 02 August 2017

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