Urban Verticality

Urban scholars are increasingly questioning the flat and horizontal way that cities have historically tended to be represented and understood. This greater recognition of the inherent vertical dimensions of urban life has been accentuated by a recent rapid three-dimensional growth of many cities around the world through high-rise construction, new forms of vertical mobility as well as greater interest in underground sites and spaces.

This strand of Urban Lab activity recognises, in particular, how processes and patterns of urban investment, inequality and identity are increasingly shaped by the relationship between above and below.

Academic lead

Dr Andrew Harris is Co-Director of UCL Urban Laboratory, convenor of the MSc Urban Studies at UCL and an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography. Contact andrew.harris@ucl.ac.uk to propose activities or connect with our work under this Priority Area.

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Image: Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, credit Alexander Macfarlane