Mateus Lira da Matta Machado

Mateus is a Brazilian urbanist whose interests revolve around housing and environmental issues in cities, particularly focussed on grassroots perspectives. He holds a Bachelor in Architecture and Urban Planning from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil). He also obtained an Erasmus+ double Masters degree in International Cooperation and Urban Development from TU Darmstadt (Germany) and UIC Barcelona (Spain).

Prior to starting the 1+3 PhD at the University of Sheffield, Mateus has been combining urban research and practice in a wide range of contexts and places. In Belo Horizonte (Brazil), he co-founded the collective Micropolis, which approaches urbanism through arts and pedagogy. In the same city, he investigated urban informality with research group MOM and supported government-citizen dialogues in urban peripheries while at NGO Architects Without Borders. He also developed anti-gentrification counter-cartographies in Istanbul (Turkey) with the Centre for Spatial Justice. While in Barcelona (Spain), Mateus was a scholar-activist exploring and supporting ‘learning’ in local housing movements. Also in Barcelona, he investigated green gentrification with the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (UAB) and researched collaborative housing with TURBA Lab (UOC). Mateus also worked for one year at UN-Habitat, where he collaborated in different projects and research outputs focussing on urban planning, social inclusion and human rights.