We at the Urban Studies Foundation (USF) are delighted to reveal the recipients of our 2025 Seminar Series Awards! This year, we are celebrating a diverse and innovative cohort of projects poised to make significant advances in urban scholarship. These awards highlight the USF’s commitment to fostering critical dialogue, supporting groundbreaking and collaborative research, and addressing the urgent and complex challenges facing cities worldwide.
The 2025 Seminar Series Awards encompass a remarkable geographical breadth, with initiatives spanning across Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, South Asia, West Asia, and beyond. This global reach reflects USF’s mission to nurture urban scholarship that is both locally grounded and globally connected, promoting cross-regional learning and inclusive knowledge exchange. Aligned with USF strategic goals, the grant activities also prioritise early-career scholars, champion experimental and interdisciplinary approaches, and build transnational networks that can enable sustained collaboration. Central to this is a focus on epistemic justice—recognising and addressing imbalances in whose knowledge counts in urban research and policy.
This round of the Seminar Series Awards will support a wide range of topics around the world. Event programmes address a variety of themes in urban studies—from understanding the everyday environmental adaptations of youth in South Asia, to exploring the responsible integration of AI in urban governance, and examining the nuanced politics of state-building across Africa and Eastern Europe. Other grantholders will also investigate policy learning in Southeast Asian cities, champion alternative urban futures through experimental approaches, and re-envisage healthy and sustainable transitions in post-industrial landscapes. Crucially, these projects do not shy away from difficult realities. They confront the profound impact of spatial violence and urbicide in places such as Gaza and Ukraine, while simultaneously working to decentre urban knowledge by amplifying the voices of emerging scholars and marginalised groups.
Through these diverse initiatives and activities, the 2025 USF Seminar Series Awards aim to generate fresh insights, stimulate lasting collaboration, and support more inclusive and reflective urban research communities.
Here’s a closer look at the new Seminar Series Awards grants:
Mapping opportunities for healthy and sustainable urban transitions in post-industrial cities
This seminar series seeks to reframe the common portrayal of post-industrial cities—often seen as toxic, declining, and marginalised—by exploring their potential as foundations for healthy, inclusive, and sustainable urban futures. Through a focus on themes such as human mobility, healthy ageing, and place attachment, the series will critically interrogate what (post-)industrialisation means today and what a just urban transition entails across varied global contexts. By bringing together experiences and perspectives from both the Global South and Global North, the series aims to develop a collective, multidirectional vision for transforming industrial legacies into opportunities for equitable and resilient urban transformation.
Partner organisations: University of the West of Scotland (United Kingdom); Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (India); Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou (China)
Events: seminar one and inauguration event (September 2025, Paisley, United Kingdom and virtual), seminar two (December 2025, Roorkee, India, and online), seminar three (April 2026, Guangzhou, China, and Online), training session one (May 2026 and online), training session two (December 2026 and online), community mapping workshop (April 2027, Pasiley and Glasgow, United Kingdom).
Lead organisers: Dr Joseph Hongsheng Zhao (Division of Engineering, University of the West of Scotland, Scotland), Dr Aviral Marwal (Department of Humanities and Social Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India), Dr Qiumeng Li (Urban Governance and Design, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou, China)
Urban politics and negotiated stateness: comparative perspectives across Africa and eastern Europe
This seminar series is bringing together scholars from Africa and Eastern Europe to explore how state actors and political dynamics shape cities. The programme will provide a chance to rethink our understanding of state power, governance, and urban change by comparing experiences of urban development across these two often-overlooked regions. The series will develop innovative comparative methodologies and explore the fluid and negotiated nature of statehood across both regions, and how it shapes outcomes in urban development and governance.
Partner organisations: University College London (London, United Kingdom), Tallinn University (Tallinn, Estonia), and Civic Academy for Africa’s Future, (Cotonou, Benin)
Events: September 2025 in Tallinn (Estonia), February 2026 in Cotonou (Benin), and June 2026 in London (United Kingdom)
Lead organisers: Prof Jennifer Robinson (University College London, United Kingdom), Ms Varvara Karipidou (University College London, United Kingdom), Mr Emmanuel Awohouedji (London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom) and Mr Wilfred Jana (University College London, United Kingdom)
Coproducing a research agenda for responsible and transparent AI-capabilities for decision support in urban governance
This seminar series aims to spark an important conversation and transdisciplinary academic debate with both academics and urban governance practitioners. The goal of the series is to co-produce a research agenda for responsible and transparent AI capabilities that can genuinely help with decision-making in urban governance. It’s a crucial response to the rapid rise of big data, machine learning, and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and all the implications these technologies have for how we plan and manage our cities.
Partner organisations: University of Manchester (United Kingdom), University of Brasília (Brazil), and Suffolk University (United States)
Events: November 2025 in Boston (United States), April 2026 in Brasília (Brazil), and July 2026 in Manchester (United Kingdom)
Lead organisers: Dr Nuno Pinto (University of Manchester, United Kingdom), Prof Doriana Daroit (University of Brasília, Brazil), and Prof Carlos Rufín (Suffolk University, United States)
Tensions in policy learning: grounding learning practices in urban Southeast Asia
This seminar series is taking a close look at how urban policy learning actually happens in Southeast Asia. This practice has become increasingly common as cities compete, geopolitics shift, societies become more polarised, and climate challenges grow. The series will explore how cities in Southeast Asia adapt foreign frameworks to their own unique socio-political conditions.
Partner organisations: Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Urban & Regional Planning (Thailand) and Indonesian International Islamic University, Faculty of Social Sciences (Indonesia)
Events: virtual webinar (November 2025), and events in Depok (Indonesia, June 2026) and Bangkok (Thailand, December 2026)
Lead organisers: Dr Napong Tao Rugkhapan (Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand), Dr Tan Wenn Er (Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore), and Dr Priza Marendraputra (Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore)
Co-producing alternative urban futures through experimental urbanism
This seminar series aims to bring together researchers, activists, and practitioners from around the globe who are involved in experimental, collaborative, and future-oriented urban projects. The main goal here is to really unpack, document, analyse, and organise the various forms of “experimental urbanism” that have emerged as a response to, and a challenge against, mainstream planning and urban governance.
Partner organisations: Newcastle University, School of Architecture, Building and Planning, Newcastle upon Tyne (United Kingdom), Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne (United Kingdom), Vrije University Brussels, The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies (Belgium), and University of Pretoria, Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (South Africa)
Events: Newcastle, United Kingdom (September 2025), Brussels, Belgium (January 2026), Pretoria, South Africa (April 2026) and online (June 2026)
Lead organisers: Dr Georgiana Varna (Newcastle University, United Kingdom), Dr Michael Crilly (Northumbria University, United Kingdom), and Dr Karina Landman (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
Urbicide in Gaza: spatial violence, reconstruction, and resistance
This seminar series examines the destruction of Gaza through the lens of urbicide, which is the targeted erasure of cities and communities used as a tool of domination. While spatial control has long been part of the Israeli regime’s approach to Palestinian life, the intentional targeting of homes, infrastructure, and public spaces in Gaza since October 2023 signifies a severe escalation in a much longer history of fragmentation and displacement. The series looks at how this violence is not only physical but also structural, operating through planning policies, legal frameworks, and reconstruction efforts that marginalise Palestinian voices and weaken community life. Bringing together scholars, planners, and activists, the project asks how Gaza can recover in ways that support justice, memory, and liberation.
Partner organisations: Mada al-Carmel – The Arab Center for Applied Social Research (Haifa) and the Israeli Studies Department at Birzeit University.
Events: January 2026 (Haifa and hybrid), February 2026 (Ramallah and hybrid), March 2026 (Haifa and hybrid), April 2026 (Ramallah and hybrid), May 2026 (Haifa and hybrid), June 2026 (Haifa, Ramallah, and hybrid)
Lead organisers: Dr. Himmat Zoubi, Mada al-Carmel – The Arab Center for Applied Social Research (Haifa) and Dr. Areen Hawari, Mada al-Carmel – The Arab Center for Applied Social Research (Haifa)
Epistemes of non-dominant inhabitation: a seminar series for early-career and under-represented scholars to decentre urban knowledge
This seminar series highlights the incredible contributions of early-career and underrepresented scholars who explore diverse forms of urban inhabitation, moving beyond what we typically consider “normal” ways of dwelling. By delving deeply into the everyday lives of urban residents, the series aims to demonstrate how people living in cities are questioning and challenging mainstream ideas about how we should inhabit our urban spaces.
Partner organisations: University College London (Bartlett Development Planning Unit) (United Kingdom), TU Dortmund University (Department of Spatial Planning – International Planning Studies) (Germany), and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali (India)
Events: January 2026 (London, United Kingdom), April 2026 (Mohali, India), and October 2026 (Dortmund, Germany)
Lead organisers: Dr Paroj Banerjee (Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London, United Kingdom), Dr Ishita Chatterjee (O. P. Jindal Global University, India), and Dr Raffael Beier (TU Dortmund University, Germany)
Ordinary ecologies of repair: youth, urbanity and environmental change in South Asia
This seminar series explores how young people in South Asian cities navigate environmental change in their daily lives. It’s about looking at their real-world experiences, rather than just top-down policies. The project will investigate how youth act as repairers, mediators, and even knowledge producers, shaping urban environments through their own ingenuity, care, and sheer will to survive.
Partner organisations: Interdisciplinary Centre for Study of Global Change, University of Minnesota (United States), International Institute for Environment and Development (United Kingdom and worldwide), Karachi Urban Lab (Pakistan), Indian Institute of Technology (India), Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Bangladesh)
Events: five online master classes (Oct 2025 to March 2026), city round tables and field visits in Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Karachi and Dhaka (February 2026 to April 2026), online writing workshop (June 2026), and online release of knowledge products (November 2026)
Lead organisers: Anant Maringanti (Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Study of Global Change at the University of Minnesota, United States), Nausheen Anwar (urban climate resilience lead and principal researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development), and Aalok Khandekar (Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, India)
Feminist and queer autonomous urban spaces under authoritarian neoliberalism: sharing knowledge and practices between the Mediterranean region and Latin America
This project aims to establish a truly international network of activist scholars deeply engaged with feminist and queer autonomous urban spaces in Latin America and the Mediterranean region. Through a series of events, participants will share their knowledge and practices, learning together how to navigate increasing violence, imagine new ways of being, and support one another. A key focus will be on mentoring PhD students and early career researchers in these vital areas.
Partner organisations: Dipartimento di Metodi e Modelli per l’Economia, il Territorio e la Finanza (MEMOTEF), Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy), National University of Tres de Febrero (Argentina), and Dipartimento di Culture e Società, Università di Palermo (Italy)
Events: multi-location hybrid research symposium (two days, November 2025), workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina (4 days, February 2026), summer school in Palermo, Italy (six days, September 2026), conference in Rome, Italy (four days, February 2027)
Lead organisers: Cesare Di Feliciantonio (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy), Magdalena Moreno (National University of Tres de Febrero, Argentina), and Gabriella Palermo (Università di Palermo, Italy)
Land commodification and housing affordability under capitalist urbanisation. Global dynamics and local resistance in Peru, the United Kingdom and the United States
This seminar series examines how intensified financial capitalism and speculative real estate dynamics—often linked to illicit practices—are deepening housing precarity across global cities. At the same time, it explores how communities, social movements, and individuals resist and adapt to these conditions. By comparing cases from the U.S., U.K., and Peru, the series seeks to develop a conceptual framework that connects local resistance with global urban development dynamics. The goal is to challenge dominant models of property ownership and highlight collective territorial rights.
Partner organisations: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru PUCP (Peru), Centro de Investigación en Teoría Urbana y Territorial URBES-LAB (Peru), Columbia University (United States), and University of Manchester (United Kingdom).
Events: research workshop (October 2025, Lima and hybrid), part one methods school (March 2026, Lima and hybrid), part two methods school (October 2026, Lima, in-person), hybrid colloquium (October 2026, Lima), and international research conference (October 2026, Lima and hybrid).
Lead organisers: Dr Manuel Dammert-Guardia (Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru PUCP, Peru), Prof Cecilia Wong (University of Manchester, United Kingdom), Dr Hugo Sarmiento (Columbia University, United States), and Dr Jessica Pineda-Zumarán (Peru)
Urban geographies of carcerality: from Latin America to the Middle East
This seminar series is all about exploring the fascinating and often unsettling connections between geographies of carcerality in Latin America and the Middle East—two regions that are unfortunately seeing increasing urban violence, surveillance, and incarceration. The goal is to shed light on how global forces like capitalist accumulation and (post)colonial violence play out in our urban spaces.
Partner organisations: Ibrahim Abu Lughod Institute of International Studies, Birzeit University (Palestine), the International Center for Arab and Islamic Studies of the Federal University of Sergipe (CEAI-UFS) (Brazil), and La Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (Colombia)
Events: November 2025 (Sergipe, Brazil), December 2025 (Bogotá and Cúcuta, Colombia), March 2026 (Palestine)
Lead organisers: Dr Basil Farraj (Birzeit University, Palestine), Ms Mai Al-Battat (Birzeit University, Palestine), and Dr Hashem Abushama (University of Oxford, United Kingdom)
Walls speak. Are you listening? A research agenda for urban surfaces
This seminar series examines how urban surfaces—such as walls, signs, and façades—serve as spaces of communication, governance, and political struggle. Bringing together the international Urban Surfaces Research Network, it unites scholars across disciplines to examine issues such as graffiti removal, street art, public signage, and advertising. Through workshops in Melbourne, Nicosia, and Uppsala, the project aims to establish a shared research agenda and highlight the significance of surfaces in shaping urban experiences, justice, and public expression.
Partner organisations: Melbourne Centre for Cities, University of Melbourne (Australia), Department of Architecture, University of Cyprus; (Cyprus), and Department of Human Geography, Uppsala University (Sweden)
Events: November 2025 in Melbourne, Australia; May 2026 in Nicosia, Cyprus; and August 2026 in Uppsala, Sweden
Lead organisers: Dr Sabina Andron (University of Melbourne, Australia), Dr Konstantinos Avramidis (University of Cyprus, Cyprus) and Mr Tom Ward (Uppsala University, Sweden)
Cities and urban research(ers) at war
This fourteen-week online lecture series will bring together scholars from war-affected cities to explore how armed conflict shapes urban life and space. Unlike studies that conflate urban militarisation with cities enduring active conflict, this series will focus on the physical destruction, ruination, and everyday survival strategies within cities at war. It will examine how planning, reconstruction, displacement, and commodification are formed by the continuum of times of war and times of peace. This includes aspects such as the erasure of knowledge, heritage, and memory, both through material destruction and the ideological rewriting of cities in post-conflict nation-building. The lecture series documented in an open-access publication, aiming to deepen our understanding of war on urban space from the perspective of scholars with lived experience of this subject.
Partner organisations: Off University (Germany), The Beirut Urban Lab at the American University of Beirut (Lebanon), HU Berlin, Department of Social Sciences (Germany), University of Rojava (Syria), and Diyarbakır Association for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets (Turkey)
Events: online public seminar series “Cities at War” from October 2025 to February 2026
Lead organisers: Dr Julia Strutz (Off University, Germany), Dr Oksana Zaporozhets (Humboldt University Berlin, Germany), and Prof Mona Fawaz (Beirut Urban Lab at AUB, Lebanon)
Phoenix-Nomenon of Kharkiv
The PHOENIX-NOMENON of Kharkiv roundtable series explores the de-urbanisation of Kharkiv, Ukraine, and examines how the city might revive its scientific, cultural, and architectural significance. With courage and determination in a context of ongoing warfare, the series aims to focus on three scenarios—decline, relocation, and split—using iconic institutions as case studies.
Partner organisations: School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University (Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom), Private Clinic Doktor Aleks (Kharkiv, Ukraine), Your Baby/ Your Family (Kharkiv, Ukraine), Kharkiv Choreography School (Kharkiv, Ukraine), Oleg Drozdov Kharkiv School of Architecture (Kharkiv, Ukraine), V.A. Afanasiev Kharkiv Puppet Theatre (Kharkiv, Ukraine), and Theatre P.S. by Stepan Pasichnyk (Kharkiv, Ukraine)
Events: roundtable one (October 2025, Newcastle University), roundtable two (November 2025, Newcastle University), roundtable three (December 2025, Newcastle University)
Lead organisers: Dr Dmytro Legeyda (Newcastle University, United Kingdom), Professor Ben Bridgens, (Newcastle University, United Kingdom), and Dr Alina Legeyda (Newcastle University, United Kingdom)