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Biography

I graduated from the Politecnico of Torino (Italy) in 1999 with a MA in Architecture and in 2000 with a MSc in Environmental Engineering. I then completed a PhD at the Politecnico of Milan on the topic of sustainable regeneration in the UK followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University on urban communities and social diversity in Baltimore and Chicago.

Before taking up a lectureship at Kingston University in 2007, I worked as research assistant at the Politecnico of Torino (2001), as lecturer in Urban Regeneration at the Politecnico of Milano (2005-6) and as visiting researcher at King's College London (2007).

Related links

• Kingston University - Researcher Insights
• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kingston University, Interdisciplinary perspective on the London riots

Research expertise

My main research aim is to challenge concepts such as 'sustainable communities' come to be fixed and elaborate how more fluid conceptualizations of social processes have specific implications for sustainable urban development. This involves the complementary aims of first thinking about how urban social processes can act as drivers for sustainable environmental development. Second, using interstitial spaces - both spatial and discursive - that tend to emerge in the classifications and categorizations of current urban sustainable development policies and practices to think through the dis/continuities of social processes and their consequences for sustainable urban development.

My current research projects are focused on different aspects of this agenda. A research project funded by the British Council focuses on the role of grassroots movements like Transition Towns in the UK and Italy in changing people's everyday behaviour to more sustainably driven life-styles in post-oil city scenarios. Most recently, I have embarked on a project provisionally entitled 'handmade spaces' that explores the experience of community and place in a former squatter community in South London. This research explores the practices through which community is negotiated in everyday life, as well as the relationship between physical spaces, the experience of sociability and feelings of belonging.

Teaching areas & responsibilities

Over the past few years, I have supervised a large number of dissertations on the topic of planning and sustainability, urban regeneration and local retail at undergraduate and postgraduate level and many masterplans and area action plans at postgraduate level.

I currently coordinate the MA in Sustainable Placemaking and Urban Design where I lead the module on Sustainable and Placemaking and teach in the MA in Planning and Sustainability where I lead the modules on Regeneration, Social Sustainability and Masters Project and I joint teach across different modules.

Professional activity

• 2010Conference Chair of the Urban & Rural Regeneration Sessions at the UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference (Andlia Ruskin University)
• 2009ESRC standard grant peer reviewer
• 2009External member in the panel for the validation of the Diploma in Urban Design & Place Shaping at the Anglia Ruskin University

Educational and professional qualifications

• 2006Post-doc Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore USA Institute for Policy Studies
• 2005PhD School of Urban & Environmental Planning (Dept of Architecture & Planning, Politecnico of Milan)
• 2000European MSc in Environmental Engineering Dept of Engineering, Politecnico of Turin
• 1999Degree in Architecture Politecnico of Turin

Conferences & events

a. conferences, workshop and seminars organised
2009-10 Twin Cities research seminars series with City Network, Kingston University.
2008-09 Places with People research seminars series, Kingston University.
2008 International Workshop: The case study of Portello in Milan, joint project between the MA students in Planning and Sustainability of Kingston University and students in planning of the Politecnico of Milano (Milano, 21-23 April)
2007-08 Planning and Sustainability research seminar series, Kingston University.

b. Recent international guest lectures
2008 Business Improvement Districts in London (Politecnico of Milano, 19 March)
2008 Mixed communities. Recent housing policies in the UK and US (Politecnico of Milano, 30 May) 2008 Exclusion, polarization and (sustainable) mixed communities in the UK and US (Politecnico of Milano, 27 November)

c. invitation to workshops
(7 December 2011) Mobile workshop on: Performing the city: mobility, space and subjectivity (University of East London's Sustainable Mobilities Research Group)

(16-18 May 2012) Workshop on: grassroots movement and social innovation (University of East Anglia and University of Sussex)

Grants, funding and awards

• 2012European Cooperation in the field of Scientific & Technical Research - COST
• 2009British Council Research Grant and CRUI, British-Italian Partnership
• 2009Travel Grant Award by Regional Studies Association (RSA)
• 2009Bursary awarded by the Centre for Education in the Built Environment (CEBE)
• 2009Funds awarded by Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, Kingston University for research seminars, 'Places with People'

Research groups & programmes

• Real Estate Research Centre

Research supervision

• Zahra Eftekhari Rad

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Publications