Chong Zhuo Wen Alexandria

Nationality: Singaporean
Thesis: Locating Gentrification in the Southeast Asian City
Key Topics: Displacement, mobility, socio-spatial inequality, everyday life 

Profile:
My PhD research focuses on building a greater understanding of the heterogeneities of cities in Southeast Asia. Taking gentrification ― a “global urban force” (Schafran, 2014: 321) ― as an analytical starting point, I engage with the questions of socio-spatial inequality as well as its everyday and structural manifestations. My previous research and teaching experiences have explored the accelerating socio-economic and environmental challenges faced by Asian cities, cutting across the disciplines of architecture, urban design, planning and ecology. In particular, I looked at highly localized milieus within the city such as food markets through community-based, participatory approaches to understand how individuals negotiate development and change.

Trained as an architect-planner, I hold a MSc in Spatial Planning from the Bartlett School of Planning and a MArch from the Singapore University of Technology and Design. I enjoy street photography, cycling and reading in my spare time.

Schafran, A., 2014. Debating urban studies in 23 steps. City, 18(3), pp. 321-330.

Primary supervisor: Dr Kamna Patel
Secondary Supervisor: Dr Daniel Oviedo Hernandez