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Hesam Kamalipour

Dr Hesam Kamalipour

Co-Founding Director of Public Space Observatory Research Centre
Co-Director of MA Urban Design

School of Geography and Planning

Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

Hesam Kamalipour is the Co-Founding Director of the Public Space Observatory Research Centre and the Co-Director of the MA Urban Design programme at Cardiff University. He is also the Founding Director of the Informal Urban Design Research Lab and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Advance HE.

His work lies at the intersections of urban design, informal urbanism, public space, urban morphology, and comparative urbanism. His research has primarily focused on the challenge of understanding the dynamics of informal urbanism in relation to urban design and the ways in which different forms of informality work in a global context. His contributions have been internationally recognised, with a sustained track record of extensive publications, many of which have been widely and highly cited. Google Scholar lists over 1,930 citations to his publications, with an h-index of 22 and an i10-index of 36.

He has led a major co-edited handbook project titled The Routledge Handbook of Urban Design Research Methods. The handbook represents the culmination of several years of work and features chapters from 80 international contributors from over 20 countries worldwide. He is currently engaged in a number of contracted book projects, including leading the development of a monograph on urban design education (Edward Elgar), contributing to another on the spatiality of street vending (Routledge), and authoring a research monograph on informal urban design (Routledge). 

He is an Associate Editor of Frontiers in Sustainable Cities - Cities in the Global South and an editorial team member of Habitat International (Editorial Board), Urban Design and Planning (Editorial Board), The Journal of Public Space (Scientific Board), Discover Cities (Editorial Board), International Journal of Architectural Research (Review Board), and Urban Planning (Editorial Board). He is also a Topical Advisory Panel member of Sustainability - Sustainable Urban and Rural Development, Land - Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions, and Urban Science.

He has been frequently invited to review articles for more than 40 international peer-reviewed journals, including Cities, Habitat International, Urban Studies, Urban Geography, Urban Design International, Geoforum, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Environment and Planning B, Sustainability, Urban Design and Planning, Journal of Urban Management, Heliyon, The Journal of Public Space, Urban, Planning and Transport Research, Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management, Education Sciences, Area, Frontiers of Urban and Rural Planning, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, International Planning Studies, Sustainable Cities and Society, Journal of Urban Affairs, Area Development and Policy, Urban Planning, Sage Open, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Journal of Urban Mobility, Planning Theory & Practice, Urban Education, Geography Compass, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, The International Journal of Housing Policy, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Planning Practice & Research, Applied Geography, Journal of Urbanism, and Land Use Policy, among others. The Web of Science lists over 105 verified peer reviews on his profile.

He serves as a Scientific Committee member for the International Seminar on Urban Form 2024 and is an invited book reviewer for international publishers, including Routledge, Springer, Bloomsbury, and De Gruyter. He also served as a Panel Chair, Reviewer, and Convenor for the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2024.

He is a member of the Urban Design Group, the Academy of Urbanism, the Architectural Humanities Research Association, the AESOP Public Spaces and Urban Cultures, the UReM - Urban Evolution Morphology, the AESOP Planning and Complexity, the GUDesign Network - Genealogy of Urban Design, and a trustee member of the Dewi-Prys Thomas Trust. He is also a member of the Informality Research Observatory and the Research Excellence Framework committee at the School of Geography and Planning, as well as a Senate member at Cardiff University. He also serves as a member of the Strategic Equality Plan Programme Shadow Board at Cardiff University 

He has explored a wide range of international case studies from different countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

He has supervised a total of 30 postgraduate/undergraduate students, supervised 8 research assistants, and has been invited to serve as both an internal and external PhD examiner.

His article, Shaping Public Space in Informal Settlements, was recognised as Editor’s Choice in Sustainability (2023). Another co-authored work, Online Education and the COVID-19 Outbreak, was awarded the Best Paper Award by Education Sciences in 2021. In 2022, his co-authored article, Informal Street Vending, was featured as a Feature Paper in Land. He also received the prestigious Spaces and Flows International Award for Excellence (2018) for his article, Mapping Urban Interfaces, at Heidelberg University.

He has been nominated in multiple categories for the Enriching Student Life Awards at Cardiff University: Most Outstanding Learning Experience (2024), Learning and Teaching Collaboration of the Year (2024), Most Impactful and Outstanding Use of Assessment as Learning (2024), Personal Tutor of the Year (2024), Most Uplifting Member of Staff (2020), and Most Innovative Member of Staff (2019).

He has delivered invited presentations at international institutions across a variety of locations, including Australia, the UK, Turkey, and Japan. His recent international presentations include a seminar on informal urban design at the University of Melbourne, book discussions at the University of Westminster and Cardiff University, and earlier lectures on urban informality at Istanbul Technical University and the Centre for Spatial Justice in Turkey, as well as a presentation on mapping urbanities at the University of Tokyo.

His current research interests include informal urbanism, forms of urban informality and adaptation, typology, urban morphology and morphogenesis, tactical and temporary urbanism, public space and streetlife, place identity and urban mapping.

News

The Routledge Handbook of Urban Design Research Methods 

A major co-edited handbook project that he led on urban design research methods has recently been published. Links to the publisher's web pages for the book: Routledge | Taylor & Francis

 

As an evolving and contested field, urban design has been made, unmade, and remade at the intersections of multiple disciplines and professions. It is now a decisive moment for urban design to reflect on its rigour and relevance. This handbook is an attempt to seize this moment for urban design to further develop its theoretical and methodological knowledge base and engage with the question of "what urban design can be" with a primary focus on its research. 

This handbook includes contributions from both established and emerging scholars across the global North and global South to provide a more field-specific entry point by introducing a range of topics and lines of inquiry and discussing how they can be explored with a focus on the related research designs and methods. The specific aim, scope, and structure of this handbook are appealing to a range of audiences interested and/or involved in shaping places and public spaces.

What makes this book quite distinctive from conventional handbooks on research methods is the way it has been structured in relation to some key research topics and questions in the field of urban design regarding the issues of agency, affordance, place, informality, and performance. In addition to the introduction chapter, this handbook includes 80 contributors and 52 chapters organised into five parts. The commissioned chapters showcase a wide range of topics, research designs, and methods with references to relevant scholarly works on the related topics and methods.

 

The book has been reviewed in the journals of Urban Studies, Urban Design, Urban Planning, Urban Design International, and Urban Research & Practice.

 

 

Invisible/Visible Urbanities: Framing Public Space in a Global Context

 

 

An urban photography exhibition has been on display in the foyer and central corridor of the Glamorgan Building at Cardiff University. The exhibition presents a visual exploration of how places and public spaces are being made, unmade, and remade in a global context. It features a curated collection of black and white photographs taken by him as part of his storytelling urban photography project, which explores forms of urbanity across cities in the global North and South.

 

A recently published visual essay reflecting upon the exhibition: Framing Urbanities

 

Publication

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Articles

Book sections

Books

Conferences

Research

My current research interest lies at the intersections of:

  • Informal Urbanism, Forms of Urban Informality and Adaptation
  • Typology, Urban Morphology and Morphogenesis
  • Public Space, Streetlife and Urban Mapping
  • Place Identity, Visibility and Image

I am interested in exploring the dynamics of informal urbanism in a global context with a particular focus on mapping the morphologies and incremental transformations of informal settlements as well as the relations between informal and formal across different scales and multiple case studies. Investigating the processes of morphogenesis in relation to the dynamics of place identity is then a key part of my research to explore the space of possibilities for harnessing the productive capacities of urban informality in the processes of upgrading and formalisation.

PROJECTS

Graffiti in Transforming Urban Places

This project is primarily an empirical case study research, which aims to explore the spatiality and visibility of different forms of graffiti in the selected urban places in Cardiff. The findings of this research project can inform the development of more sophisticated planning and design interventions in relation to graffiti for future cities. Related Funding: On-campus Internships Scheme

Co-Producing Place Narratives

This project aims to advance an impact agenda through the collaborative production of knowledge, fostering engaged learning and reflection, cultivating practical skills, raising awareness, and promoting collaboration. Building upon the team's existing research, our scalable initiative empowers the communities, particularly the young people, to share their place-based narratives through participatory storytelling urban photography. In collaboration with: Dr Nastaran Peimani. Related funding: UKRI Harmonised Impact Acceleration Account

Informal Urban Design Research Lab

The Informal Urban Design Research Lab explores the intersections of urban design, informal urbanism, public space, urban morphology, and comparative urbanism. The lab aims to advance research on the dynamics of informal urbanism in a global context, with a particular focus on mapping forms of informality and the relationships between informal and formal across various scales and case studies. In collaboration with: Dr Nastaran Peimani

Morphogenesis of Urban Villages

Cities of the Global South have been experiencing processes of rapid urbanisation through which many village settlements have become villages-in-the-city. This project explores the morphogenesis of urban villages by mapping their incremental transformations. The findings of this study inform how the built environment professions can effectively engage with the upgrading of villages-in-the-city. In collaboration with: Dr Ngo Kien Thinh

Forms of Informality in Public Space

This project engages with the ways in which forms of informality work in relation to streetlife and gender mix in public space with a focus on the spatial and temporal appropriations of space. Drawing on multiple case studies, this project aims to provide a better understanding of how different forms of informality negotiate space and visibility within the public realm. In collaboration with: Dr Nastaran Peimani

Mapping Incremental Urbanism

This project adopts urban mapping as a key method to unravel how the processes of morphogenesis work in emerging settlements. With a few exceptions, most informal settlements can be upgraded incrementally without displacement. Engaging with such processes of upgrading relies on a sophisticated understanding of the ways in which adaptive processes work in emerging settlements. In collaboration with: Dr Aminreza Iranmanesh

Public Life in Changing Urban Spaces

This project aims to explore public life in changing urban environments, specifically in proximity to the Cardiff Central railway station area. It focuses on examining how various public open spaces are being used by diverse groups of people. The project seeks to reveal the complex interactions between people and place, offering insights into the social, cultural, and functional dynamics of public space. In collaboration with: Dr Nastaran Peimani. Related Funding: On-campus Internships Scheme

Framing Urbanity in a Global Context

This project incorporates a visual exploration of how places and public spaces are being made, unmade, and remade in a global context. It includes storytelling urban photography as a primary method, exploring forms of urbanity across cities in the global North and global South. An exhibition of this project was supported by the GEOPL Community Fund 2022-23.

Forms of Informal Settlement

This project focuses on how urban morphology, adaptive processes, and visibility work in informal settlements to inform the ways in which the built environment professions can most effectively engage with the complexity of upgrading processes. Drawing on multiple case studies from the cities of the Global South, this project aims to explore how different forms of informal settlement work. In collaboration with: Professor Kim Dovey. Related funding: RTP, IPRS and APA Scholarships

Urban Life and Public Space Design

This project is part of a post-occupancy evaluation research, which aims to explore public life in changing urban spaces by investigating the ways in which certain public open spaces in Cardiff are being used, appropriated, and managed by different groups of people. In collaboration with: Dr Nastaran Peimani. Related Funding: On-campus Internships Scheme

Negotiating Livelihoods and Rights in Contested Urban Space

This research project addresses the challenge of informal urbanism with a particular focus on the ways in which forms of street trading work in relation to gender, politics, and types in public space. It engages with the dynamics of street trading and explores the synergies and contradictions among multiple agents in public space. In collaboration with: Dr Nastaran Peimani and Dr Debdulal Saha. Related funding: GCRF Small Projects

Public Space Observatory Research Centre

The Public Space Observatory Research Centre has been co-founded as a knowledge exchange platform in public space research, practice and policy. The mission is to bring together local, national and international academics, practitioners and policymakers engaged with the provision, design, management and use of public space. In collaboration with: Dr Patricia Aelbrecht and Dr Nastaran Peimani

My/Your Cardiff Public Space Campaign

The My/Your Cardiff Public Space Campaign has been co-founded with the aim of raising public awareness on the social, cultural, economic and environmental values and benefits of well-designed, used and managed public spaces. In collaboration with: Dr Patricia Aelbrecht, Dr Nastaran Peimani and Dr Wesley Aelbrecht. Contribution to the project until November 2021. Related Funding: ESRC Impact Acceleration Account

Public Space Toolkit for Wales

This project aims to introduce a public space toolkit for Wales to support the work of Local Authorities. The toolkit can become a steppingstone towards innovative practices around placemaking for the public realm in Wales. In collaboration with: Dr Patricia Aelbrecht, Dr Francesca Sartorio, Dr Wesley Aelbrecht, Dr Richard Gale and Dr Nastaran Peimani. Contribution to the project until December 2021. Related Funding: Innovation Project Grant

Teaching

Course Co-Director

The MA Urban Design programme at Cardiff University is one of the largest programmes of its kind and is jointly delivered by the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Geography and Planning. Design studio teaching in the programme focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism.

Module Leader / Co-Leader

  • Urban Design Thinkers 2024/2025 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2024/2025 (Postgraduate)
  • Autumn Studio 2024/2025 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2023/2024 (Postgraduate)
  • Autumn Studio 2023/2024 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2022/2023 (Postgraduate)
  • Autumn Studio 2022/2023 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2021/2022 (Postgraduate)
  • Autumn Studio 2021/2022 (Postgraduate)
  • Spring Studio 2021/2022 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2020/2021 (Postgraduate)
  • Research Based Design Project 2020/2021 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2019/2020 (Postgraduate)
  • Space and Place 2019/2020 (Postgraduate)
  • Planning Theory and Practice 2019/2020 (Undergraduate)
  • Space and Place 2018/2019 (Postgraduate)
  • Planning Theory and Practice 2018/2019 (Undergraduate)

Module Contribution / Supervision

  • Urban Design Thinkers 2024/2025 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2024/2025 (Postgraduate)
  • Autumn Studio 2024/2025 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Dissertation 2024/2025 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Research Methods 2024/2025 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2023/2024 (Postgraduate)
  • Autumn Studio 2023/2024 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Guidance in Planning Practice 2023/2024 (Undergraduate)
  • Research Project 2023/2024 (Undergraduate)
  • Urban Design Research Methods 2023/2024 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Dissertation 2023/2024 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2022/2023 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Research Methods 2022/2023 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Dissertation 2022/2023 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2021/2022 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Research Methods 2021/2022 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Dissertation 2021/2022 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2020/2021 (Postgraduate)
  • Autumn Studio 2020/2021 (Postgraduate)
  • Research Methods and Techniques 2020/2021 (Postgraduate)
  • Research Based Design Project 2020/2021 (Postgraduate)
  • Urban Design Foundation 2019/2020 (Postgraduate)
  • Space and Place 2019/2020 (Postgraduate)
  • Planning Theory and Practice 2019/2020 (Undergraduate)
  • Autumn Studio 2019/2020 (Postgraduate)
  • Research Methods and Techniques 2019/2020 (Postgraduate)
  • Research Based Design Project 2019/2020 (Postgraduate)
  • Space and Place 2018/2019 (Postgraduate)
  • Planning Theory and Practice 2018/2019 (Undergraduate)
  • Spring Studio 2018/2019 (Postgraduate)
  • Development Management 2018/2019 (Postgraduate)
  • Research Project 2018/2019 (Undergraduate)
  • Research Dissertation 2018/2019 (Undergraduate)
  • Dissertation 2018/2019 (Postgraduate)
  • Research Methods and Techniques 2018/2019 (Postgraduate)
  • Research Based Design Project 2018/2019 (Postgraduate)

Biography

I have previously served as Research Fellow at Monash University, Research Assistant and Guest Lecturer in Urban Design at the University of Melbourne and Doctoral Academy member at the Melbourne Social Equity Institute. I have a background in Architecture and hold a PhD in Urban Design from the University of Melbourne as well as the Melbourne Teaching Certificate from the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education.

Research and Teaching Experiences

  • Senior Lecturer in Urban Design, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, UK
  • Co-Founding Director of the Public Space Observatory Research Centre, Cardiff University, UK
  • Co-Director of the MA Urban Design programme, Cardiff University, UK
  • Lecturer in Urban Design, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, UK
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Monash Art, Design and Architecture, Monash University, Australia
  • Research Assistant in Urban Design, Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, Australia
  • Guest Lecturer in Urban Design, Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, Australia
  • Academic Tutor in Urban Design, Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, Australia

Professional Development and Memberships

  • Member of the Urban Design Group
  • Member of the Academy of Urbanism
  • Member of the Architectural Humanities Research Association
  • Trustee Member of the Dewi-Prys Thomas Trust
  • Member of the Public Spaces and Urban Cultures Group, Association of European Schools of Planning
  • Member of the UReM - Urban Evolution Morphology
  • Member of the Planning and Complexity Group, Association of European Schools of Planning
  • Member of the GUDesign Network - Genealogy of Urban Design
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Advance HE
  • Member of the Senate, Cardiff University
  • Member of the Research Excellence Framework committee at the School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University
  • Member of the Informality Research Observatory, Cardiff University
  • Member of the Cities Research Centre, Cardiff University
  • Member of the SPACE Research Group at the School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University
  • Doctoral Academy Member at the Melbourne Social Equity Institute, University of Melbourne (2016)
  • Member of the University of Melbourne Delegation in the Habitat III Conference in Quito (2016)

External Committees and Reviewing Engagements

  • Article reviewer for more than 40 international peer-reviewed journals, including Cities, Habitat International, Urban Studies, Urban Geography, Urban Design International, Geoforum, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Environment and Planning B, Sustainability, Urban Design and Planning, Journal of Urban Management, Heliyon, The Journal of Public Space, Urban, Planning and Transport Research, Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management, Education Sciences, Area, Frontiers of Urban and Rural Planning, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, International Planning Studies, Sustainable Cities and Society, Journal of Urban Affairs, Area Development and Policy, Urban Planning, Sage Open, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Journal of Urban Mobility, Planning Theory & Practice, Urban Education, Geography Compass, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, The International Journal of Housing Policy, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Planning Practice & Research, Applied Geography, Journal of Urbanism, and Land Use Policy, among others
  • Scientific Committee member of International Seminar on Urban Form 2024
  • Book reviewer for international publishers, including Routledge, Springer, Bloomsbury, and De Gruyter
  • Panel Chair, Reviewer, and Convenor for RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2024
  • Associate Editor of Frontiers in Sustainable Cities - Cities in the Global South
  • Editorial Board member of Habitat International
  • Editorial Panel member of Urban Design and Planning
  • Topical Advisory Panel member of Sustainability - Sustainable Urban and Rural Development
  • Scientific Board member of The Journal of Public Space
  • Editorial Board member of Discover Cities
  • Topical Advisory Panel member of Land - Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions
  • Review Board member of International Journal of Architectural Research
  • Topical Advisory Panel member of Urban Science
  • Editorial Board member of Urban Planning

Supervisions

My supervision interest lies at the intersections of:

  • Informal Urbanism, Forms of Urban Informality and Adaptation
  • Typology, Urban Morphology and Morphogenesis
  • Public Space, Streetlife and Urban Mapping
  • Place Identity, Visibility and Image

I have supervised a total of 30 postgraduate/undergraduate students, supervised 8 research assistants, and have been invited to serve as both an internal and external PhD examiner.

I have supervised postgraduate/undergraduate students on the following topics, exploring national/international case studies:

 

  • Street vendors and public spaces (China)
  • Place attachment in the revitalisation of small public urban spaces (China)
  • Public/private interfaces and streetlife vitality (UK)
  • Informal functional mix in urbanising villages (China)
  • Permeability and crime in urban morphology (UK)
  • Shared streets and residential vitality (UK)
  • Public space and streetlife near transit nodes (UK)
  • Public space vitality in historic areas (China)
  • Urban morphology and streetlife in urban villages (China)
  • Age-friendly public space and urban design (UK)
  • Spatial characteristics of public open spaces in urban villages (China)
  • Street vending and public/private interfaces (China)
  • Pedestrian flow and spatial appropriation in sidewalk markets (UK)
  • Spatial characteristics and play activities in public squares (UK)
  • Public/private interfaces and pedestrian activity in culturally diverse neighbourhoods (UK)
  • Street activity at railway interfaces (UK)
  • Accessibility of public green spaces in peripheral communities (China)
  • Ethnic place-identity in urban spaces (Australia)
  • Urban green infrastructure and heat island mitigation (UK)
  • Public/private interfaces and social interactions in streetlife (UK)
  • Exploring the participation of older adults in public open spaces (UK)
  • Shaping public spaces and streets in transit-oriented developments (UK)
  • Graffiti in urban environments (UK)
  • Daily life changes in young adults with digital technology (UK)
  • Impact of business improvement districts on public space (US)
  • Social perceptions of urban wildlife management (UK)
  • Urban morphology and tourism perception (UK)
  • Urban morphology and public life in Welsh cities (UK)
  • Growth of co-operatives and community land trusts in Wales (UK)
  • Impact of south Wales metro on future transportation choices (UK)

Contact Details

Email KamalipourH@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone +44 29208 74463
Campuses Glamorgan Building, Room 2.98, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Urban design
  • Informal urbanism
  • Public space
  • Urban morphology
  • Comparative urbanism

External profiles