Team
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Dr Daniel Oviedo - Hernández
Principal Investigator (PI) and Team Leader
I am an Assistant Professor at the Development Planning Unit of UCL. A civil engineer and urban development planner with over 10 years of experience on urban transport in global south cities. My research focuses on accessibility, inequality, social exclusion, informal transport and sustainability. I lead INTALInC in Latin America.
Prof Michihiro Kita
Principal Investigator (PI) and Team Leader
I am a full professor of urban planning and design at the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University. I am the deputy director of the Social Solutions Initiative (SSI) and the program coordinator of the Cross-Boundary Innovation Program (CBI), both at Osaka University. I have researched extensively on architectural planning, design, and community-based management in Central European, Asian, and African cities in the area of contextual planning and design, spatial structure and local management.
Dr Miwa Sugita
Research Administrator
I am a professional business management expert, a holder of an MBA and a PhD in Engineering with special expertise in community-based business organization management. Previous research has looked at local business management system of shopping streets and local revitalisation from earthquake disasters. I am currently a research fellow at the Social Solutions Initiative, assistant professor at the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, and national representative of Montessori Care Association of Japan.
Braima Koroma
Project Coordinator, UMM
I am the Director of research and training at the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC) and a lecturer at the Institute of Geography and Development Studies, Njala University. I have over 16 years of experience in research, teaching and consultancy with institutions such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, G12 and the National Government. My research has explored issues of sustainable urban mobility and transport, disaster risk reduction, informality, development planning and urban sustainability. I am one of the founding members of SLURC.
Mariajosé Nieto-Combariza
Research Assistant
I am an economist with an MSc in Development from the National University of Colombia and an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics. My experience and research have focused on urban sustainable development, working closely with local and national governments in Latin America, the Caribbean and China as well as with international institutions such as the UN.
Currently, my PhD research focuses on mobility in two and three-wheelers in the context of mass public transport reforms, through a critical southern lens.
Dr Seth Asare Okyere
Researcher and Project Coordinator
I am a trained development planner and currently an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University. I hold a PhD in Engineering with emphasis on Urban Development Planning. I have worked as a researcher and project coordinator in Africa, Asia and Europe. My experience and research focus on urban and development planning with an emphasis on socio-spatial and environmental transformations in cities to foster integrated approaches for building sustainable and resilient communities in cities of the global south.
Yasmina Yusuf
Research Assistant
I hold an MSc from the Bartlett Development Planning Unit. My main interest is in strengthening links between policy and research in the transport sector with a focus on accessibility and sustainable mobility. As a UCL Fellow at the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC), I worked on a range of topics including the walking environment and practices in informal settlements. Currently, I am a researcher and project manager on the Transitioning to Sustainable Urban Mobility project. Prior to this, I worked in the Office of the Chief Economist at Oxford Policy Management.
Yirah Oryanks Conteh
Research Assistant
I am Chairman of FEDURP-SL, a community development worker for over 18 years and an electrician for over 27 years. Currently, I am pursuing a BSc in community development studies at the Theological College Freetown. I have worked with various NGOs, INGOs and MDAs in slum projects that look at disaster management, savings and community mobilization. I am also a member of the board and council of Slum Dwellers International (SDI), a board member of the Center of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviation and a member of the UN Habitat's committee in Sierra Leone.
Carolina Moore
Communications
I am a PhD candidate in Development Planning from University College London (UCL). I hold a BA in architecture from Universidad Católica de Chile (2009) and an MSc in Urban Development Planning from UCL (2017).
I have over 10 years of experience as an urban practitioner and researcher in cities of the global south. My research focuses on the relationship between urban policies, housing and inequalities. I am a member of Ciudad Común and Ciudad Constituyente.
Tracy Commodore
Research Assistant
Dr Louis Kusi Frimpong
Research Assistant
I hold a PhD in Geography and Resource Development from the University of Ghana. My research interests include improving urban safety and security through effective urban design and planning, informality, lived experiences of informal settlement dwellers, grass root mobilization for community (re)vitalization and community development. I am a recipient of many awards including the University of Ghana College of Humanities Provost Publications award (Doctoral category, 2018) and Konosuke Matsushita Foundation Research Grant Award (2020).
Amadu K. Labor
Research Assistant
I am a Research Officer at the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC). I hold a BA in Development Studies from the University of Makeni and a BSC in Agricultural Education from the Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology. Over the past years, I have been working regularly with SLURC as a data collector, research assistant and as an intern on the ESD Learning Exchange with DPU-UCL. I have also worked as a malaria faith champion and as a case investigator during the Ebola outbreak. I am an active member of the Federation of Urban and Rural Poor (FEDURP).
Suzanna Massingue
Associate Researcher
I am a Senior Consultant in WSP’s Future Mobility team, with a keen interest in human-centered design as a means of ensuring equitable access to mobility. I hold a BSc in Geography with Business Management at Queen Mary, University of London, and an MSc in Transport and City Planning at University College London. My master’s dissertation explored issues of transport (in)equality in Maputo. This research became the basis of my recently published paper, Walkability and the Right to the city: A snapshot critique of pedestrian space in Maputo, Mozambique, which I co-authored with Daniel Oviedo.
Qingya Cheng
Fellowship student
I am an MSc Student on Urban and Economic Development at the DPU - UCL, based in China. I hold a BSc with a focus on quantitative analysis and a BM with a focus on land economics and spatial analysis. My main interest relies on the inequality faced by informal communities, the future of cities, and the use of quantitative and visual research methods.
Yuto Miwa
Fellowship student
I am an MSc student in Social Development Practice at Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL). I hold a BSc in Human Sciences (specialized in international development) from Osaka University (2020). My interest is in public infrastructures and socioeconomic dynamics in informal settlements in urban cities. I am currently working on my MSc dissertation, “Walkability and Informal Economic Activities: Relationships between walking environment and street vending in an informal settlement in Accra”.
Mercília Arlindo Lombe
Research Assistant
I am an architect and Urban Planner from the Faculty of Architecture and Physical Planning at Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. I am an Architect and Urban Planner Assistant at Architects Without Borders (Arquitectos sem Fronteiras) working on neighbourhood development. I am a Teacher Assistant at the Faculty of Architecture and Physical Planning from Eduardo Mondlane University.
Stephen Leonard Mensah
Research Assistant
I am an urban geographer and currently completing a Master of Philosophy in Geography and Resource Development at the University of Ghana. My research interest lies in urban and community sustainable development from multidimensional perspectives including digitalisation, housing, urban informality, residents' experiences and policy responses to inequities in local environments.