Past Postgraduates

Belinda Aulia

'Metropolitan Growth Management: Understanding the Challenge of Controlling and Directing Urban Growth within Metropolitan Areas'
Supervisors: Dr Sebastian Dembski, Prof. David Shaw, Prof. John Sturzaker (University of Hertfordshire)
Description: The context of my study is managing urban growth within metropolitan areas through multi-level governance in a recently decentralised planning system. Metropolitan areas with various local institutional frameworks (in managing development) require a prescription for fulfilling regional planning aims to preserve agricultural land in suburban areas without jeopardising the spirit of decentralisation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to figure out why local institutional frameworks are failing to prevent urban sprawl and to propose an intergovernmental framework for managing metropolitan growth by understanding the difficulties in driving collective action. - Email Belinda

Charlie Cullen

'De-Naturalising Failure: a Foucauldian Archaeology of the Southgate Estate'
ESRC Studentship
Supervisors: Dr Gareth Abrahams and Dr Olivier Sykes
Description: Completed in 1978 at the heart of Runcorn New Town, the Southgate estate was built to provide improved living conditions for people from across Merseyside. The estate’s demolition began just 12 years later in 1990, prompting questions over what ‘went wrong’ with this architecturally and socially ambitious project. In order to problematise the dominant narrative of this estate’s demolition as inevitable and its failure absolute, this research utilises a methodology inspired by Michel Foucault’s archaeological works, which were based on the ontological principle that the ways in which we think and behave are largely defined by contingent factors that are specific to a given time and place. In action, this means unearthing the extensive body of archival material that survives Southgate, to reveal how shifts in knowledge and practice allowed this housing scheme to be thought up, realised and razed in such an acute time period. - Email Charlie

Dipita Hossain

'Exploring the role of existing Environmental impact Assessment (EIA) system in delivering environmental sustainability within the textile industry of Bangladesh.'
Supervisors: Dr. Urmila Jha-Thakur, Prof. Thomas Fischer
Description: Textile and apparel industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world where Bangladesh is one of the top suppliers of apparel in global market. Textile units can cause serious environmental impacts through emissions to environment, disposal of toxic waste and consumption of resources like water, energy, and harmful chemicals. Such pollution affects human health, aquatic life and bio-diversity degrading standard environmental parameters. Especially in developing countries with lack of stringent environmental rules and less access to resource, capacity or technology this industry is contributing towards major environmental problems, This research intends to explore if existing EIA system in Bangladesh is adequate to deliver sustainability for this industry. - Email Dipita

Juwo Lwesya-Sibale

'A comparative analysis of the effective public participation in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in the decision-making process between rural and urban areas in Malawi '
Supervisors: Prof Thomas Fischer and Dr Urmila Jha Thakur
Description: Many countries across the globe are characterised by a population living in rural and urban areas. The public from these differing areas have different demographic, social and economic characteristics. In terms of general characteristics, rural areas are traditionally considered to be inhabited by homogeneous population who are mostly illiterate but have a strong sense of group solidarity while urban areas are inhabited by heterogeneous populations but who are mostly literate and also well -off households. Despite the variation in characteristics between these locations, no known study has examined its impact on contribution of public participation towards decision making in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process. My PhD research therefore aimed to assess the extent at which public participation between rural and urban ESIA projects contribute towards decision-making in the ESIA process in Malawi. Email Juwo

Malachy Buck

''Exploring the application of behavioural insights in analysing the integration of environmental objectives in urban planning.'
Supervisors: Prof. Alex Lord, Dr Richard Dunning
Description: My research applies a range of behavioural theories and insights drawn from behavioural economics and psychology, using these insights to explore interaction between environmental objectives and other key spatial priorities, identifying barriers and opportunities to ‘mainstreaming’ environment objectives within spatial planning in the UK. I have published and presented a range of research projects at international conferences and journals as well as contributed towards several policy papers examining climate change resilience, social housing, land value capture and urban cycling. Email Malachy

Mashal Hamed Alammar

'Adopting Urban Green Infrastructure in Arid Urban Cities, Case of Dammam Metropolitan Area, Saudi Arabia'
Supervisors: Prof. David Shaw
Description: As the population of most urban cities in arid zones and around the world have rapidly increased, most of existing and planned urban green assets (public open spaces, parks, gardens, seafronts, eco parks, street trees, etc.,) became abandoned, fragmented, and treated as leftover spaces. Therefore, this research has investigated the potential of urban green infrastructure (GI) planning in arid urban cities to tackle quality of life and liveability challanges. GI defined by many orgnizations and scholars as (an interconnected networks of natural and man-managed open spaces that provide multi-functional uses for human, fauna, and flora). This thesis has adopted a planning framework for Dammam Metropolitan Area, Saudi Arabia. The thesis were designed to fill a knowledge gaps of planning public open spaces within the boundary of the case study. Three local governances were investigated (Eastern Province Municipality; Sharqiyah Development Authority; Saudi Oil Company). This thesis followed governmental documents analysis and semi-structured interviews that draw a holistic understanding of planning, design, management, and maintenance of POS at DMA through the lens of Arid-Green Infrastructure. This research is funded by the Saudi Cultural Bureau in London. Email Mashal

Salah Butti

'Towards A Participatory Urban Planning Process for Arab Cites'
Supervisors: Prof. David Shaw, Prof. Alex Lord, Dr Abdelkhalek Ibrahim (local supervisor)
Description: Planning process in the Arab countries miss the efficient stakeholder process. The main purpose for the research arise from two major problems. Firstly, the problems of the urban planning approach currently adopted in Arab cities, in general, and the specific case study, Sharjah city, in particular. Secondly, the acknowledgement of a knowledge gap regarding the elements of the stakeholder participation process (methodology, steps, analytical tools, evaluation tools, and urban strategic plan outputs), which has led to poor outcomes from the participation process. Therefore, there is a need to propose a framework for adapting an efficient participatory approach in the strategic urban planning process. Email Salah

Yizhi Song

'Working title of your thesis: Smart City Governance in China: with examples taken from Datong, Yinchuan and Zhuhai'
Supervisors: Dr Alex Nurse and Prof. David Shaw
Description: The aim of this research is to explore smart city initiatives through the lens of urban governance in China so as to fill the research gap in the study of smart city governance especially in relation to the Chinese context. In doing so, the research identifies three representative cities/governance models as case studies through a qualitative and indicative research strategy. This research highlights the diverse interpretations of three modes of smart city governance based on observations of the governance process, structure, content and the role of government at the local level under an authoritarian state. This research contributes to the international debates of smart city practice and the emerging China’ transformation of city governance. Email Yizhi