This episode was recorded before the events of October 2023.  In this episode, we speak to Palestinian geographer and PhD holder, Muna Dajani. Dajani's research focuses on documenting water struggles in agricultural communities under settler colonialism, as well as working on issues of environmental justice and green energy colonialism. Our discussion explores some of her research interests, focusing on the role of urban resource management, and how power asymmetries and discriminatory practises manifest in resource management planning. Additionally, we discuss the challenges of conductin ..read more

In this episode we talk to Melissa Weihmayer, PhD candidate in Regional and Urban Planning Studies at LSE, currently researching on internally displaced people and refugees. Here, Melissa investigates the particular relationship that cities have with the notion of displacement and the different levels of policies (national, local) being mobilised in this context. In this podcast, Melissa also tells us about her experience in Ukraine and her current research on London ..read more

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Callum Ward, LSE fellow in Urban Planning and Geography. In his research, Callum uses urban political theory to help better understand contemporary economic and political processes that affect cities and citizens. In the podcast, Callum discusses his recently published article on Antwerp's planning policy in a context of neoliberal urban governance and aggressive land-financialisation ..read more

In this episode, Fizzah Sajjad, Pakistani urban planner and researcher, discusses the effects of state-led displacement within working class communities in Lahore and Colombo. Fizzah holds a masters in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a specialization in International Development Planning, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Human Geography and Urban Studies at the London School of Economics ..read more

In this episode, we chat with Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman, an American urban anthropologist, founder and director at THINK.urban. She studies heart centered cities, in which a care mentality comes first, and focuses on a more humanistic approach to the building of cities ..read more

In this episode, Ulises Moreno Tabarez, interdisciplinary geographer and Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Geography and Environment at the LSE talks about his experience living in the Costa Chica region (Mexico). He also discusses the historical links between land reform and peasant resistance in the region. In particular, his work looks at the impact of state and colonial land use and planning (through plantations, and now mining) on local populations, highlighting the importance of considering the racialised element of climate change. Finally, he tells us about the initiative Envi ..read more

In this episode, Emma Spruce, Teaching Fellow in Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights at the Department of Gender Studies (LSE) talks about their research on queer spaces in London with a focus on Brixton.  In particular, they discuss the role of sexual progress narratives and experiences of LGBTQ+ sexuality in contemporary debates on urban change and urban activism in London ..read more

Catriona Riddell is the Director of Catriona Riddell & Associates Ltd and former Director of Planning of the South East England Partnership Board. In  this episode, Catriona explores the role of strategic planning in achieving good growth moving away from standard measures. In particular, she discusses the 2011 Localism Act, its consequences for Local Governments, cooperation between local authorities and duty to cooperate, strategic planning opportunities such as the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor and Thames Estuary ..read more

Emma Spruce is a Teaching Fellow at the Department of Gender Studies, at the London School of Economics. Floriane Ortega is a manager at the Carbon Trust, an international consultancy helping businesses, governments and local authorities to reduce their carbon emissions. In this episode, Emma and Floriane explore and question the links between gender inequalities and urban resilience, discussing how gendered power relations play out in urban spaces and how they might increase in the aftermath of disaster ..read more

In our fourth podcast in the Progressing Planning series, Meera Kumar, project officer at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), explores NJEDA's response to the Covid-19 crisis and looks at ideas on how to efficiently support the economy in difficult times.  This podcast also discusses the role of NJEDA as an economic booster for Black and LatinX business owners and entrepreneurs, helping in accessing public and private capital and thinking how NJ cities can benefit from such investments ..read more