Dr Matluba Khan

(she/her)

Publication

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Research

My research interests lie in the intersection of Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, Education and Public Health. I am interested in the interaction that takes place between the built environment and human beings, particularly the design of built environment and landscape and children’s behaviour, their learning, health and well-being. My research experience includes studies on participatory design and planning, co-design, implementation and evaluation of urban open spaces and outdoor learning environment of children at primary schools and urban residential areas in both global South and global North contexts. I have also investigated displaced children's experience of places in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Current Projects:

Co-designing climate-resilient playgrounds in Wales with children (2026-2027, Future Generations Engagement Fund), Principal Investigator -The project aims at developing recommendations for planning and design of climate-resilient playgrounds, in collaboration with local authority and community organisation.

Public Map (2023-2027, funded by AHRC), Co-Investigator - A shared digital platform of open data maps co-created with local communities to reveal local need, support evidence-based action, and shape better futures. I co-lead social mapping and teaching resources.

Grow Your School (2024- 2026, funded by ESRC, Future Generation Engagement Fund and Civic Mission Fund), Co-Investigator - in collaboration with Grow Cardiff, the project enables schools and teachers grow and integrate growing in curricula.

Building Child- and Youth-friendly Neighbourhoods (2022- 2027): Principal Investigator- I led a series of co-led a series of projects investigating children’s everyday experiences and spatial practices in their neighbourhoods and their future imaginaries through directly engaging them in co-design process across global North and global South contexts. 

•        Engaging with children and youth in Kulalampur, Malaysia (2026-2027, CU funded): The project explores children’s everyday experiences in Kualamapur, Malaysis and their preferences for future improvements.
•           Building child-friendly neighbourhoods in Dhaka (2024-2026, Medr/HEFCW funded): Principal Investigator- I led co design and development of children and young people's plans for neighbourhoods in marginalised communities in Dhaka, examined the use of public spaces and development of safe street interventions.
•           Social innovation for co-creating child-friendly city, Brazil (2024-2025, Cardiff University and UNICAMP collaboration fund). Principal Investigator. Children and young people investigated their local environments and suggested ideas for development.
•           Children’s place attachment in Poznan, Poland (2025-2026, AMU funded), Principal Investigator, I led co-design workshops in Poznan, Poland to investigate children’s place attachment and sense of belonging in their local area.

Previous Research:

Co-creating neighbourhoods, parks and urban spaces with children and young people in Wales (ESRC/Cardiff Council/HEFCW funded): I led and co-led a series of co-design projects engaging children and young people in co-design of their neighbourhood plans and local parks across Cardiff. Projects include

1. A Grangetown to Grow Up In - children and young people in Grangetown co-created a child- and youth- friendly plan for their neighbourhood in the aftermath of the pandemic. Principal Investigator
2. Llanishen to Grow Up In - children and young people in Llanishen co-produced neighbourhood plans. Co-Investigator
3. HerParks Cardiff - teenage girls and young women co-assessed their neighbourhood parks in Cardiff and co-designed gender inclusive parks. Co-Investigator

CircuPLAY – a CIRcular CommUnity PLAYful platform (2022-2023, HEFCW funded). Children and. young people co-designed ideas for a community platform to drive sustainable behaviour patterns. Co-Investigator

A Blended Learning Framework for Bangladesh (ESRC funded)Principal Investigator- the project aimed to influence policy, practice and global debates (including and especially in the UK and Bangladesh) around blended learning and (1) shape National Government policy in Bangladesh; (2) influence school practice through engagement with teachers and children in schools  and (3) contribute to the global debate and education sector in the UK and Wales. 

Children’s perspectives on activity and resilience during Covid-19 restrictions, Co-Principal Investigator- this study aims to find out what kinds of activities children and young people have been doing during the pandemic and how they have adjusted to the huge changes brought on by the lockdown. 

Crisis-led approaches to teaching and learning in Bangladesh: New frameworks for outdoor, blended learning in low-income country contexts. (HEFCW funded)- Principal Investigator- this project examines crisis-led approaches to teaching and learning in Bangladesh in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and explores the potential for outdoor, blended learning approaches for future years in a low-income country context.

Displaced children's experience of places. With Professor Alexi Marmot from University College London and Mr Sheik Rana, an independent creative writer and lyricist, this research study investigates displaced children’s experience of places supported by a UCL Grand Challenged Small Grant 2019-2020 and a UCL Global Engagement Fund 2019-2020. The research study focused on exploring displaced Rohingya children’s likes and dislikes in their built environment and their preferences for transformation in their temporary settlements in refugee camps near CoxsBazar-Teknaf-Ukhia area in Bangladesh. A working paper reporting the findings from a workshop with stakeholders working in multiple sectors related to Rohingya children’s learning, health and well-being is available here.

INHERIT:INHERIT is an EU horizon 2020 funded project, for which I developed with my colleagues at UCL the framework for evaluation of nine interventions/case studies across Europe using mixed methods/quantitative research design. The intervention included development of neighbourhood open spaces in deprived residential areas of Sweden and Netherlands, creating access to green spaces for communities in Bilbao and development of a 3 kilometer long pathway in Malvik, Norway. I have also developed, implemented and evaluated a school-based gardening intervention in London for improving children’s health behaviour - their physical activity and attitudes to healthy eating.

Co-designing schoolyards for pedagogy and play: As part of my PhD dissertation in landscape architecture at the University of Edinburgh I co-designed and developed a schoolyard in a Government primary school in Bangladesh with children, teachers and the community. I also evaluated the designed landscape for play and pedagogy. This was developed based on my M.Arch project as part of which I designed and developed an outdoor amphitheatre in another primary school in Bangladesh. I developed co-creation approaches with children and evaluation framework for children’s environments that I implemented in Bangladesh, England and Scotland, the co-creation approaches have also been replicated with adults.

Teaching

I currently teach on the postgraduate MA Urban Design, MSc Sustainable Planning and Development and MSc International Planning and Urban Design. I supervise both undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation students and act as a personal tutor to students across these levels.

I have over fifteen years’ teaching experience in the Faculty of Architecture and Planning, BUET, Dhaka; Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) and University College London (UCL). My widening research experiences in the intersection of architecture, planning and urban design and in national and international contexts inform my teaching approaches.

I am a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.

Current Postgraduate Modules:

• MAUD Autumn Studio
• MAUD Spring Studio
• Designing Cities
• Urban Design Dissertation

Administrative Roles:

• Co-Course Co-ordinator: MA Urban Design

Biography

Education

• PhD in Landscape Architecture, University of Edinburgh (2013-2017) (Funded by Principal Career Development Scholarship and Global Research Scholarship)
• Master of Architecture (1st class 1st, Gold Medalist), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) (2009-2012) (Funded by the Committee for Advanced Studies and Research, BUET)
• Bachelor of Architecture (1st class 1st, Gold Medalist), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) (2003-2009)

Professional Experience

• Architecture Consultant and Researcher, Consultant Architects Forum at Bureau of Research, Testing and Consultation (CAF-BRTC), BUET (2009-2013)
• Associate Architect, Dwm4 Architects (2009-2011)

Voluntary Sector

• Trustee, Play Wales (2022 - present)
• Advisor, Bangladeshi Women's Association Wales (2023 - present)
• Co-founder and Chair, A Place in Childhood, SCIO (2020 - 2021)
• Co-founder and Vice-Chair, A Place in Childhood, SCIO (2018 - 2020)

Honours and awards

2023   Inspire Future Generations Award- one-off youth (finalist): A Grangetown to Grow Up In 

2023   Inspire Future Generations Award- HE/FE (finalist): Cities and Childfen (Summer School) 

2023   RTPI Sir Peter Hall Award for Research and Engagement (finalist): A Grangetown to Grow Up In 

2023   Celebrating Excellence Award (finalist) for civic mission, Cardiff University

2022   Celebrating Excellence Award (finalist)- Rising Star Early Career Academic, Cardiff University

2017   Global Health Day Poster Competition, Winner, Consortium of Universities in London

2017  ASLA Honor Award by American Society of Landscape Architects- Community Services category: Outdoor   Learning Environment with and for a Primary School Community 

2016   Environment Design Research Association Great Places Award, Winner in Place Design category: Outdoor     Learning Environment with and for a Primary School Community, 

2016   Scottish Education Research Association Three Minute thesis competition, Winner

2016   Doctoral Researcher Award, 1^st Runner Up, Association of British Turkish Academics UK

2016   Best Community Event Award, Innovation Learning Week, University of Edinburgh: Play+Design=Learn, 

2016   First Thinker in Residence at Deveron Arts, Aberdeenshire, Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities

Professional memberships

• Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• Affiliate Member, Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB), Associate Member ID: AK 121
• Member of the International Play Association, Wales chapter (2024 - Present)
• Member, Environment Design Research Association

Academic positions

• Lecturer in Urban Design, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, UK (2019 - 2023)
• Research Fellow, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London (2017 - 2019)
• Tutor in Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh (2015 - 2017)
• Assistant Professor in Architecture, Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh (2012-2013)
• Lecturer in Architecture, Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh (2009-2012)

Speaking engagements

2026. Invited Lecture: Re-conceptualising Child-Centred Urbanism Across Diverse Global Contexts: University of Toronto Knowledge Media Design Institute and John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design

2026. Invited Lecture: Children as Co-designers: Beyond the School Gates: Reconceptualising Learning Environments across Global Contexts:  Community Engagement, Design and Research Centre CEDaR, University of Colorado Boulder

2025. Invited Lecture: Co-Designing Child-Friendly Neighbourhoods: Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology

2025. Lightning Talk: Child-centred Urbanism: Learning from Children's Everyday Lives in Diverse Urban Contexts: BRAC University

2025: Invited Lecture: Alaap: Co-creating Child-friendly Spaces: lessons from near and far: Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

2025: Invited Lecture: SAFE SING: Co-creating Safe Communities with Children and Young people: Cardiff Metropolitan University

2025: Panelist: Co-creating children and young people's plan for their neighbourhoods: Sheffield Youth Voices Conference

2025: Panelist: Play Sufficiency Webinar: Play Sufficiency at Neighbourhood Level

2025: Key speaker: INSPIRE Webinar Series: Co-creating Spaces for Play in Refugee Camps: Swansea University and BRAC Institute for Education and Development

2025: Invited presentation: Reframing Child-friendly Urban Design: Reflective Cities, Creative Mindsets: organised by Thornton Education Trust, Cardiff University, Architecture for Kids 

Committees and reviewing

• Ordinary Committee Member of the Royal Geographic Society's Children, Youth and Families Research Group (2023 - 2026)
• Member of the Executive Committee, International School Ground Alliance Leadership Council (2020 - 2025)
• Member of the Cities Research Centre, Cardiff University (2019 - Present)
• Member of the SPACE Research Group at the School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University (2019 - Present)
• Journal Reviewer, Landscape and Urban Planning, Cities and Health, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Children's Geographies, Urban Design International, Landscape Research
• Member of the Scientific Committee for International Conference on 'Towards the Child Friendly City' Conference in Bristol in 2019

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising PhD students who work on the intersection of architecture, urban design and human geography and who have an interest in the following areas -

• Child-friendly city
• Green spaces and health
• Place, Pedagogy and Play
• Participatory design and research
• School ground design, outdoor learning and environmental education
• Action research
• Evaluation research

Current supervision

Wenjie Li

Nirushan Sudarsan

Aysenur Bas

Rosie Havers

Xinyao Chu

Past projects

Xiang Duan (2022-2026): The Performative Exercise of ICTs-Mediated Power: On A Contemporary Micro-Scale Urban Renewal Project in Beijing, China

News articles

Research project piloted in Cardiff expands to community in Bangladesh capital

04 June 2025

Young people in Rayer Bazar have a say in their neighbourhood

Young people say what they want for the place where they live

14 February 2023

Hopes to create a neighbourhood which is inclusive for all

A Grangetown to grow up in

03 August 2022

Young people give their vision for a child-friendly community after COVID-19

Children’s views to drive a better future for their community

16 March 2022

Project explores the impact of urban planning on the youngest members of society