- Place and Experience
About me
I am a Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design at the University of Westminster's School of Architecture and Cities, where I lead the MA Urban and Regional Planning programme.
I hold a PhD in Urban Planning from Columbia University, New York. Having studied and worked in Germany, Italy, and the United States, and having taught, lectured, and given invited talks at institutions in different countries, I bring an international profile and a comparative sensibility to my work on cities, planning, urban tourism and contemporary urban transformations more generally.
Alongside my academic work, I engage with broader publics through non-academic writing and through consultancy and advisory work for public, private, and non-profit organisations active in urban and tourism development, planning, and policy. I am a member of the Curatorial Board of the Internationale Bauausstellung Stuttgart-Region 2027 (IBA27) and of the expert group for the European Commission's New European Bauhaus Facility.
Teaching
I act as Course Leader of the MA Urban and Regional Planning at Westminster, leading and teaching across numerous modules, including Planning Theory and Practice I and II, Dissertation/Colloquium, and the MA Urban and Regional Planning Fieldtrip module.
My approach centres on developing reflective practitioners equipped to navigate the contested, often political terrain of spatial planning. Teaching emphasises problem-based learning, critical thinking, and engagement with practitioners, ensuring students grasp both theoretical frameworks and real-world application.
Research
My work as a researcher spans urban and planning theory, urban (development) politics, tourism and leisure, and broader questions of how cities are shaped, contested, and imagined in practice and policy.My recent publications include Tourism and the Metropolis: Exploring Conceptual and Geographical Frontiers (University of Westminster Press, 2026), an edited volume co-produced with Maria Gravari-Barbas, Sébastien Jacquot, and Maja Jović; and Right-wing Populism and Urban Planning (Journal of Urban Affairs, 2023, with S. Fainstein).
Publications
For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.