Our research centres on understanding how to deliver sustainable transformations within urban systems.
Shared Aims
- To develop an inter-disciplinary, complex approach to understanding, framing, delivering and monitoring sustainable transformations in urban systems;
- To develop methods, policies and tools which can assist in the transformation process;
- To critically evaluate and advance the theories and methods in the field.
Core Focus
The research group focuses on delivering sustainable transformations within urban systems exploring the role of institutions, policy instruments, spatial planning, urban design and infrastructures in shaping and governing these processes. We seek to create resource efficient, low carbon, resilient, regenerative, socially-just, smart, economically sustainable, nature-inspired urban systems. We investigate how infrastructural changes transform economies, lifestyles and social practices drawing upon international examples, and investigating the translation of best practice. Our work spans these key themes:
- Cities – sustainable, circular, smart, low carbon, resilient and shrinking cities
- Resources – energy, land, water, materials
- Infrastructure and Transport – transport, energy, social (schools, hospitals, community housing e.t.c), green, water, telecommunications, ports, major infrastructure projects
- Measurement – indicators, appraisal & evaluation methodologies, monitoring
- Governance – transformation, transitions, translation, scenarios
Staff
- Staff
Dr Lauren Andres
Associate Professor in Urban Planning
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Send Lauren an emailDr Jonas De Vos
Lecturer in Transport Planning
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Send Jonas an emailDr Marco Dean
Lecturer in Infrastructure Planning
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Send Marco an emailProfessor Harry Dimitriou
Bartlett Professor of Planning Studies
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Send Harry an emailDr Dan Durrant
Lecturer in Infrastructure Planning
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Send Dan an emailDr Iqbal Hamiduddin
Director of Housing and City Planning
Lecturer
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Send Iqbal an emailDr Robin Hickman
Reader in Transport and City Planning
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Send Robin an emailDr Lucy Natarajan
Associate Professor
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Send Lucy an emailProfessor Yvonne Rydin
Chair of Planning, Environment and Public Policy
Director for MPhil/PhD Programme
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Send Yvonne an emailDr Tse-Hui Teh
Lecturer
Careers Tutor
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Send Tse-Hui an emailDr Catalina Turcu
Associate Professor Development and Planning
Programme Director for MSc Sustainable Urbanism
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Send Catalina an emailDr John Ward
Lecturer in Infrastructure PlanningProgramme
Director for MSc Infrastructure Planning, Appraisal and Delivery
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Send John an emailProfessor Jo Williams
Professor
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View Jo's personal websiteDr Fangzhu Zhang
Associate Professor
Joint Coordinator of the China Planning Research Group
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Send Fangzhu an email- PhD Researchers
Vafa Dianati
Vafa is an architect and urban researcher. His research interests include Sustainable Development, Political Economy of Urban Transformation, Space and Place Scholarship, Critical Urban Theory, Urban Politics, and Social Housing Policies.
View Vafa's ProfileDongho Han
View Dongho's ProfileLisa Juangbhanich
View Lisa's ProfileJu Eun Kim
View Ju Eun's ProfileMarjan Marjanovic
View Marjan's ProfileJorge Martin Sainz De Los Terreros
View Jorge's ProfileRuth Sepulveda Marquez
View Ruth's ProfileRuth's interests lie in the discourses and governance networks developed by urban agriculture projects under neoliberalism, including perspectives around community participation, social capital, the circulation of knowledge, environmental awareness and perception of the territory.
Yuerong Zhang
View Yuerong's ProfileYuerong's research focuses on working towards better understanding of metro system resilience from joint perspectives: an intra-urban study of Greater London.
- Recent Publications
January 2023
Hook, H., De Vos, J., Van Acker, V., Witlox, F. (2023). A comparative analysis of determinants, characteristics, and experiences of four daily trip types. Travel Behaviour and Society 30, 335-343
November 2022
Andres, L., Bryson, J., Mehanna, H., & Moawad, P. (2022). Learning from COVID-19 and planning post-pandemic cities to reduce pathogen transmission pathways. Town Planning Review
Denoon-Stevens, S., Andres, L., Nel, V. Jones, P. (2022) Unpacking planners' views of the success and failure of planning in post-apartheid South Africa. Cities
He, D., Sun, G., De Vos, J., Webster, C. (2022). The effects of metro interventions on physical activity and walking among older adults: A natural experiment in Hong Kong. Health and Place 78, 102939
Liu, L., Dennett, A. & Hickman, R. (2022). Social equity impacts of rail transit investments using community perceptions: evidence from Chongqing. Transportation Planning and Technology
Hickman, R. (2022). Gridlock nation - and the neoliberal solution. Town & Country Planning
October 2022
Andres, L., Bryson, J.R., Bakare, H. & Pope, F. (2022). Institutional logics and regional policy failure: Air pollution as a wicked problem in East African cities. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
Camilleri, R., Attard, M. & Hickman, R. (2022). Understanding barriers to modal shift in Malta: A practice-theoretical perspective of everyday mobility. Journal of Transport Geography
September 2022
Andres, L., Bryston, J.R., Graves, W. & Warf, B. (2022). Urban value chains and re-framing agglomeration-centric conceptions of urban theory Urban Geography
Moawad, P., Andres, L. (2022) Refugees in Abject Spaces, Protracted ‘Waiting’ and Spatialities of Abjection during the COVID-19 pandemic, Social and Cultural Geography
August 2022
Andres, L., Denoon-Stevens, S., Bryson, J. R., Bakare, H., & Melgaço, L. (2023). Planning for sustainable urban livelihoods in Africa. In Fiona Nunan, Clare Barnes, Sukanya Krishnamurthy, The Routledge handbook on livelihoods in the Global South
Cheng, L., Wang, K., De Vos, J., Huang, J., Witlox, F. (2022). Exploring non-linear built environment effects on the integration of free-floating bike-share and urban rail transport: A quantile regression approach. Transportation Research Part A 162, 175-187
July 2022
De Vos, J., Lättman, K., van der Vlugt, A-L., Welsch, J., Otsuka, N. (2022). Determinants and effects of perceived walkability: a literature review, conceptual model and research agenda. Transport Reviews
Williams, J. (2022). Challenges to implementing circular development – lessons from London. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, Volume: 14, Issue: 01, pages 287 - 303.
March 2022
Zhang, Y., Cao, M., Cheng, L., Gao, X., De Vos, J., (2022). Exploring the temporal variations in accessibility to health services for older adults: A case study in Greater London. Journal of Transport & Health 24, 101334.
February 2022
Hickman, R. & Huaylla Sallo, k. (2022) The political economy of streetspace reallocation projects: Aldgate Square and Bank Junction, London, Journal of Urban Design
January 2022
Camilleri, R., Attard, M. & Hickman, R. (2022). Future low-carbon transport scenarios: practice theory-based visioning for backcasting studies. Sustainability, 14, 74.
December 2021
De Vos, J., Shi, K., Cheng, L., Yang, Y., Witlox, F., (2021) 'The influence of the built environment on online purchases of intangible services: Examining the mediating role of online purchase attitudes.' Transport Policy 114, 116-126
November 2021
De Vos, J., Mouratidis, K., Cheng, L., Kamruzzaman, M., (2021) 'Does a residential relocation enable satisfying travel?' Transportation Research Part A 153, 188-201
October 2021
De Vos, J., Hook, H., Van Acker, V., Witlox, F., (2021) 'On undirected trips, satisfaction, and well-being: Evidence from Flanders (Belgium)' Transportation Research Part D 99, 103018
September 2021
De Vos, J., Yang, Y., Cao, M., Cheng, L., Zhai, K., Zhao, X., (2021) 'Exploring the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in travel behaviour: A qualitative study.' Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11, 100450
August 2021
De Vos, J., Humagain, P., Singleton, P.A., (2021) 'Analyzing travel captivity by measuring the gap in travel satisfaction between chosen and alternative commute modes.' Transportation Research Part D 97, 102965
July 2021
De Vos, J., Singleton, P.A., Gärling, T., (2021) 'From attitude to satisfaction: introducing the travel mode choice cycle.' Transport Reviews
De Vos, J., Waygood, E.O.D., Letarte, L., Cao, M., (2021) 'Do frequent satisfying trips by public transport impact its intended use in later life?' Transportation
June 2021
Rydin, Y. (2021). Theory in Planning Research. Palgrave Macmillan
Zhang, Y. (2021). Understanding the roles of rail stations: Insights from network approaches in the London metropolitan area. Journal of Transport
Zhang, Y., Marshall, S., Cao, M., Manley, E. & Chen, H. (2021). Discovering the evolution of urban transit movement structure using smart card data: The case of London.CitiesMay 2021
Williams, J. (2021). Circular Cities: What are the Benefits of Circular Development. Sustainability
April 2021
Andres, L., Bryson, J. & Moawad, P. (2021). Temporary urbanisms as policy alternatives to enhance health and well-being in the post-pandemic city. Journal Current Environmental Health Reports.
Williams, J. (2021). Circular Cities: A Revolution in Urban Sustainability. Routledge
March 2021
Andres, L., Bryson, J.R., Denoon-Stevens, S. P. (2021). Calling for responsible inclusive planning and healthy cities in Africa. Town Planning Review 92 (2).
February 2021
De Vos, J., Cheng, L., Kamruzzaman, M., Witlox, F. (2021). The indirect effect of the built environment on travel mode choice: A focus on recent movers. Journal of Transport Geography,91.
January 2021
Andres, L. & Kraftl, L. (2021). New directions in the theorisation of temporary urbanisms: adaptability, activation and trajectory. Progress in Human Geography
Hickman, R., Garcia, M. M, Arnd, M. & Peixoto, L. F.G. (2021). Euston station redevelopment: Regeneration or gentrification? Journal of Transport Geography, 90
Turcu, C., Crane, M., Lloyd, S., Haines, A., Ding, D., Hutchinson, E., Belesova, K., Davies, M., Osrin, D., Zimmerman, N., Capon, A., Wilkins, P. (2021). Transforming cities for sustainability: A health perspective. Environment International, 147
Williams, J. ( 2020). Towards circular urban development post-Covid. Barcelona Centre for International Affairs: Building back better: Post-pandemic city governance
December 2020
Andres, L. & Zhang, Y. (2020). Transforming Cities Through Temporary Urbanism - A Comparative Overview. Springer
Andres, L. (2020). The importance of temporary urbanism in deconstructing cities and shaping the post-pandemic city research agenda. TOPUZOVSKI, T., Horizons: selected lectures at museum of contemporary art skopje 2018-2019, Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje, pp. 83-92
Durrant, D. (2020). London, its infrastructure and the logics of growth. Critical Dialogues of Urban Governance, Development and Activism. UCL Press
Moawad, P. & Andres, L. (2020). Tackling COVID-19 in informal tented settlements (Lebanon): an assessment of preparedness and response plans and their impact on the health vulnerabilities of Syrian refugees. Journal of Migration and Health
October 2020
Clifford, B., Andres, L., Carmona, M., De Mangalhaes, C., Durrant, D., Edwards, M., Ferm, J., Freire Trigo, S., Gabrieli, T., Gallent, N., Hamiduddin, I., Karampour, K., Moore, S., Morphet, J., Natarajan, L., Rydin, Y., Sendra,. P, Short, M. & Turcu,. L (2020). Planning for the Future White Paper: Consultation response from academics based at the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL
Chen, C. -. L., & Hickman, R. (2020) Impacts of High-Speed Rail: Hubs, Linkages, and Development. Built Environment, 46 (3), 337-341
Gallent, N. & Hamiduddin, I. (2020) COVID-19, second homes and the challenge for rural amenity areas. Town Planning Review
Hickman, R., & Chen, C. -. L. (2020) Impacts of HSR in China: A Photo Essay. Built Environment, 46 (3), 398-421
Low, W. - Y., Cao, M., De Vos, J., & Hickman, R. (2020). The journey experience of visually impaired people on public transport in London. Transport Policy, 97, 137-148
July 2020
Bryson, J., Andres, L. & Davies, A. (2020). Covid-19, Virtual Church Services and a new Temporary Geography of Home. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 111(3), pp. 360-372
Moawad, P. & Andres, L. (2020). Decoding Syrian Refugees’ Covid-19 Vulnerability in Informal Tented Settlements: a Community/Refugee-Led Approach to Mitigate a Pandemic Outbreak, 2020. Town Planning Review
Williams, J, (2020) The role of spatial planning in transitioning to circular urban development. Urban Geography 41 (6), 915-919
June 2020
Andres, L., Bryson, J., Denoon-Stevens, S., Bakare, H., Du Toit, K.& Melgaco, L. (2020). Calling for Responsible Inclusive Planning and Healthy Cities in Africa. Town Planning Review
January 2020
Adelfio, M., Hamiduddin, I. & Miedema, E. (2020) London's King's Cross redevelopment: a compact, resource efficient and 'liveable' global city model for an era of climate emergency?. Urban Research & Practice
92, (2), 195–201.March 2019
Raco, M., Livingston,e N. & Durrant, D. (2019) Seeing Like an Investor: Urban Development Planning, Financialisation, and Investors’ Perceptions of London as an Investment Space. European Planning Studies