By coming together to promote knowledge exchange and engage in key areas of debate, we are addressing national and international challenges facing contemporary cities across the world.
Our areas of focus include informal urbanism, urban regeneration, urban theory, transit urbanism, sustainable urbanism, and comparative urbanism. Our research is informed by researchers working on projects across multiple cities in the global South and global North.
Activities include invited guest lecture series, research seminars, funding application workshops, and impact events, among others.
Projects
Academic staff
Dr Nastaran Peimani
Reader in Urban Design
Co-Director of MA Urban Design
Leader of the Urbanism Research Group
Members
Postgraduate students
Publications
- Kaminer, T. 2024. Autonomy, criticality and the Avant-Garde. In: Lu, D. ed. The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Architectural History. London and New York: Routledge. , pp.162-172.
- Peimani, N. 2023. Healthy cities? Design for well-being by Tim Townshend, London, Lund Humphries [Book Review]. Journal of Urban Design 28 (6), pp.699-701. (10.1080/13574809.2023.2262332)
- Kamalipour, H. , Aelbrecht, P. and Peimani, N. eds. 2023. The Routledge handbook of urban design research methods. New York: Routledge. (10.4324/9781003168621)
- Kaminer, T. , Ma, L. and Runting, H. eds. 2023. Urbanizing Suburbia: Hyper-Gentrification, the Financialization of Housing and the Remaking of the Outer European City. Jovis.
- Davis, J. and Bernstock, P. 2023. From inclusive legacy promises to exclusive realities: Planning, design and displacement in post-Olympic East London. In: Kaminer, T. , Ma, L. and Runting, H. eds. Urbanizing Suburbia: Hyper-Gentrification, the Financialization of Housing and the Remaking of the Outer European City. Berlin: Jovis Verlag GmbH. , pp.212-235. (10.1515/9783868598735-015)
- Aelbrecht, W. 2023. Detroit in memoriam: urban imaginaries and the spectre of demolished by neglect in performative photo-installations. Cultural Geographies 30 (2), pp.239-258. (10.1177/14744740221102905)
- Turnbull, N. 2023. Austerity's afterlives? The case of community asset transfer in the UK. The Geographical Journal (10.1111/geoj.12513)
- Peimani, N. 2023. Exploring transit morphologies and forms of urbanity in urban design research. In: Kamalipour, H. , Lopes Simoes Aelbrecht, P. and Peimani, N. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Urban Design Research Methods. New York, NY: Routledge. , pp.160-167.
- Pezzica, C. 2023. Disasterville. Formal Methods in Emergency Urbanism. FrancoAngeli.
- Pezzica, C. et al. 2022. The making of cities after disasters: Strategic planning and the Central Italy temporary housing process. Cities 131 104053. (10.1016/j.cities.2022.104053)
- Kaminer, T. 2022. Collectivity and privacy in housing: path dependencies and limited choices. In: Bobic, N. and Haghighi, F. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Architecture, Urban Space and Politics, Volume I. Vol. 1, New York; London: Routledge. , pp.301-315.
- Peimani, N. and Kamalipour, H. 2022. Mapping the spatiality of informal street vending. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability (10.1080/17549175.2022.2150267)
- Wulff, F. and Brito, O. 2022. The multi-scalar production of intercultural urban landscapes. Inter-cultural nodes as urban and social re-activators: the case of Ballarò, Palermo. In: McVicar, M. , Kite, S. and Drożyński, C. eds. Generosity and Architecture. London: Routledge. , pp.226-237. (10.4324/9781003211815-25)
- Peimani, N. and Kamalipour, H. 2022. Informal street vending: a systematic review. Land 11 (6) 829. (10.3390/land11060829)
- Porta, S. et al., 2022. Urban morphometrics + earth observation: an integrated approach to rich/extra-large-scale taxonomies of urban form. Projections, the Journal of the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning 16
- Davis, J. 2022. The caring city: ethics of urban design. Bristol: Bristol University Press.
- Peimani, N. and Kamalipour, H. 2022. Assembling transit urban design in the global South: urban morphology in relation to forms of urbanity and informality in the public space surrounding transit stations. Urban Science 6 (1) 18. (10.3390/urbansci6010018)
- Davis, J. 2022. Epidemics, planning and the city: a special issue of planning perspectives. Planning Perspectives 37 (1), pp.1-8. (10.1080/02665433.2022.2019982)
- Inam, A. 2022. Co-designing publics: [re]producing the public realm via informal urbanisms in cities of the global south. Local Environment (10.1080/13549839.2022.2045481)
- Peimani, N. and Kamalipour, H. 2022. The future of design studio education: student experience and perception of blended learning and teaching during the global pandemic. Education Sciences 12 (2) 140. (10.3390/educsci12020140)
- Inam, A. 2022. City as flux: Interrogating the changing nature of urban change. Urban Planning 7 (1)(10.17645/up.v7i1.5189)
- Inam, A. 2022. Fits-and-starts: the changing nature of the material city. Urban Planning 7 (1), pp.56-71. (10.17645/up.v7i1.4501)
- Usubillaga Narvaez, J. 2022. Change by activism: insurgency, autonomy and political activism in Potosí-Jerusalén in Bogotá, Colombia. Urban Planning 7 (1), pp.72-81. (10.17645/up.v7i1.4431)
- Turnbull, N. 2022. Community action in austerity: The case of Community Asset Transfer. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.
- Lacy, K. and Raman, S. 2021. Network approach to understand the impact of human settlement on ecosystems in cities. In: Rahbarianyazd, R. ed. Contemporary Approaches in Urbanism and Heritage Studies. Cinius Yayınları Publication. , pp.3-10.
- Kamalipour, H. and Peimani, N. 2021. Informal urbanism in the state of uncertainty: forms of informality and urban health emergencies. Urban Design International 26 (2), pp.122-134. (10.1057/s41289-020-00145-3)
- Aelbrecht, W. 2021. Rebuilding Britain's blitzed cities: hopeful dreams, stark realities. Planning Perspectives 36 (2), pp.424-426. (10.1080/02665433.2021.1888570)
- Wulff Barreiro, F. and Brito Gonzalez, O. 2020. The production of intercultural urban landscapes, a multi‑scalar approach: the case of Ballarò, Palermo. URBAN DESIGN International 25 (3), pp.250-265. (10.1057/s41289-020-00126-6)
Schools
Next steps
Research that matters
Our research makes a difference to people’s lives as we work across disciplines to tackle major challenges facing society, the economy and our environment.
Postgraduate research
Our research degrees give the opportunity to investigate a specific topic in depth among field-leading researchers.
Our research impact
Our research case studies highlight some of the areas where we deliver positive research impact.