Who we are
Urban Institute academics undertake critical interdisciplinary research to analyse the socio-technical, political, cultural and ecological dynamics of contemporary urban life.
Find out more about our team of researchers
Urban Institute staff
Dr Fatima Tassadiq
Postdoctoral Research AssociateFaculty of Social Sciences
Fatima Tassadiq joined the UI on the GlobalCORRIDOR project to investigate the role of infrastructure corridors in shaping urbanisation processes and inequality in a series of global regions.
- Email address
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f.tassadiq@sheffield.ac.uk
![Shizhi Zhang - Post-Doctoral Research Associate for the Urban Institute](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2023-09/Image_SHIZHI.jpg?h=25dbf643&itok=ssjXnpcI)
![Profile picture of Shizhi Zhang - Post-Doctoral Research Associate for the Urban Institute](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2023-09/Image_SHIZHI.jpg?h=25dbf643&itok=fYzcUsn4)
Dr. Shizhi Zhang
Postdoctoral Research AssociateFaculty of Social Sciences
Dr Shizhi Zhang joined the Urban Institute in 2023 as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate. His research interests are Chinese politics and history, and global politics from a non-Western perspective.
- Email address
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shizhi.zhang@sheffield.ac.uk
Associates
![Rowland Atkinson profile photo](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2023-06/Rowland%20Atkinson.jpg?h=49e99c44&itok=rppmWJU8)
![Profile picture of Rowland Atkinson profile photo](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2023-06/Rowland%20Atkinson.jpg?h=49e99c44&itok=FVoRl4wb)
Professor Rowland Atkinson
Research Chair in Inclusive SocietiesDepartment of Urban Studies and Planning
Gentrification and displacement, cities and crime; wealth, poverty and exclusion; segregation and urban security; 'gated communities' and fortress homes.
- Email address
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rowland.atkinson@sheffield.ac.uk
![A profile picture of Tanzil Shafique](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2021-11/Carnival%20%28124%29.jpg?h=033fc05b&itok=JO2Z2Q32)
![Profile picture of A profile picture of Tanzil Shafique](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2021-11/Carnival%20%28124%29.jpg?h=033fc05b&itok=fqG--0py)
Dr Tanzil Shafique
Director of Postgraduate (Taught) ProgrammesSchool of Architecture
Tanzil Shafique is an international affiliate of the Informal Urbanism Research Hub at the University of Melbourne. He co-founded and now co-directs Estudio Abierto/Open Studio, a think+do tank on architecture and urbanism.
- Email address
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t.i.shafique@sheffield.ac.uk
![Portrait of Ankit Kumar](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2022-05/TUe_IS_A_Kumar_9755_B_0.jpg?h=9e0f17ed&itok=7sSxaPDX)
![Profile picture of Portrait of Ankit Kumar](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2022-05/TUe_IS_A_Kumar_9755_B_0.jpg?h=9e0f17ed&itok=pJ0QZsiD)
Dr Ankit Kumar
Lecturer in Development and EnvironmentDepartment of Geography
Ankit's work seeks to develop postcolonial approaches for climate and energy justice, conceptually drawing on the interfaces of knowledge, politics, postcolonial solidarity, development and culture.
- Email address
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ankit.kumar@sheffield.ac.uk
- Telephone
- +44 114 222 7937
![Olivia Casagrande](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2023-06/UI_pic_Olivia_2.jpg?h=ffe2bbf3&itok=HJ54cVvs)
![Profile picture of Olivia Casagrande](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2023-06/UI_pic_Olivia_2.jpg?h=ffe2bbf3&itok=91Z8Jh_P)
Dr. Olivia Casagrande
LecturerFaculty of Social Sciences
Olivia is a social anthropologist engaged in interdisciplinary and collaborative research. Her research is concerned with society’s complex challenges such as racial inequalities, political and racial violence, and the (post)colonial city.
- Email address
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o.casagrande@sheffield.ac.uk
PhD Students
![Bei Chen](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2024-01/Photo-Bei.jpg?h=d117f541&itok=39DNOwzZ)
![Profile picture of Bei Chen](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2024-01/Photo-Bei.jpg?h=d117f541&itok=rV8zvm0h)
Bei Chen
PhD StudentDepartment of Urban Studies and Planning
Bei Chen is a PhD student in Urban Studies and Planning. Her research programme focuses on the socio-political dimensions of China’s AI and robotic policy visions and implementation in urban contexts.
- Email address
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bchen28@sheffield.ac.uk
Current Visitors
![Lalli Metsoli](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2022-12/IMG_20200423_151319.jpg?h=9d8079ce&itok=nOwr5CtE)
![Profile picture of Lalli Metsoli](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2022-12/IMG_20200423_151319.jpg?h=9d8079ce&itok=-tQRoask)
Dr Lalli Metsola
Urban Institute Visiting Fellow, Helsinki, FinlandFaculty of Social Sciences
Lalli Metsola is an Academy of Finland Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki whose current project looks at social infrastructuring and everyday governance in South African cities.
- Email address
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lalli.metsola@helsinki.fi
![Michele Lancione](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2022-12/MLancione_Portrait_Badge.jpg?h=c1bcbaac&itok=Rzux8dNn)
![Profile picture of Michele Lancione](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2022-12/MLancione_Portrait_Badge.jpg?h=c1bcbaac&itok=3RZT1qJq)
Professor Michele Lancione
Urban Institute Visiting Fellow, Turin, ItalyFaculty of Social Sciences
Michele Lancione is Professor of Economic and Political Geography at the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, and Visiting Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.
- Email address
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michele.lancione@polito.it
Previous Visitors
![UI - Visiting Fellow, Papia Sengupta](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2023-07/IMG-5800%20crop%20.jpg?h=2ccc9cdf&itok=TdOom_89)
![Profile picture of UI - Visiting Fellow, Papia Sengupta](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2023-07/IMG-5800%20crop%20.jpg?h=2ccc9cdf&itok=pCp7Af9z)
Dr. Papia Sengupta
Urban Institute Visiting Fellow, Delhi, IndiaFaculty of Social Sciences
Papia is a political scientist and public policy expert who works on the intersectionality between gender, language, education, and urban living in culturally diverse societies.
- Email address
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papiasg@jnu.ac.in
![UI Visiting Fellow - Claudia Fonseca](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_square_lg_1x/public/2023-02/Claudia%20Fonseca%20Alfaro.jpg?h=0c4cc8cd&itok=zELaag1z)
![Profile picture of UI Visiting Fellow - Claudia Fonseca](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/profile_modal/public/2023-02/Claudia%20Fonseca%20Alfaro.jpg?h=0c4cc8cd&itok=lEjGzKcs)
Dr. Claudia Fonseca Alfaro
Urban Institute Visiting Fellow, Malmö, SwedenFaculty of Social Sciences
Claudia is Project Researcher at the Institute for Urban Research, Malmö University, Sweden. She is a postcolonial and feminist urban scholar with expertise in Latin America.
- Email address
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C.FonsecaAlfaro@sheffield.ac.uk
- Email address
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sophie.king@class-uk.com
- Telephone
- +447816752525