Rethink the City: New approaches to Global and Local Urban Challenges

Anja is an interdisciplinary urban researcher and communicator, holding an MSc in architecture from TU Delft. Her focus is sustainable urban development across contexts of the Global South, with a particular interest in climate justice and the potential of the circular economy in creating inclusive and resilient communities. Her work combines strategy, research and the development of digital educational materials. In addition to moderating the self-paced Rethink the City course, she is an independent consultant, working for international organizations such the Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter (TCIS), the Urban Development Technical Facility (UDTF) at Directorate General of International Partnerships (DG INTPA - European Commission) and the International Centre for Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM).

Luz María is an Associate Professor at Facultad de Arquitectura, Arte y Diseño, Universidad Diego Portales. She is an architect and holds a MSc in Architecture from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She obtained a PhD in housing management from Delft University of Technology, where she also developed and coordinated the Rethink the City MOOC, among other initiatives in blended education. Luz María´s research interests are related to housing challenges in the Global South with special attention to the role of civil society organisations in the context of social vulnerability. She is interested in understanding how societal requirements can be incorporated into housing and urban design processes and management through participatory and collaborative methods.

Igor is an Assistant Professor in Local Governance of the Public Administration section in the Faculty of Behavioural, Management & Social Sciences at the University of Twente. He obtained my PhD from the Delft University of Technology, where I became a Comenius Teaching Fellow and had the opportunity to develop innovative educational approaches related to online and hybrid education. Prior to starting at the University of Twente, he worked as a research coordinator in the Centre for Urban Studies of the University of Amsterdam.

Caroline is an urban planner, an architect, and a political scientist. Her work and research focus on the social and political dimensions of design.  Caroline’s research interests encompass the complexity of architecture and planning in post-colonial contexts, intersectionality in/for design and planning, participatory planning and designerly approaches to knowledge production. Caroline advocates for revitalized urban professional participation and the reintroduction of advocacy to the forefront of planning and spatial practices. She advances a critical and involved approach to strategic planning, presenting planning techniques as acts of resistance, as enablers of alternative spatial possibilities and imaginations.