team

Researchers

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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. Regina Obilie Amoako-Sakyi

Co-Investigator (CoI) and Team Leader

I am a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Coast. As a transport geographer I have been working on child and youth mobilities, the creation of safe, secure convenient and attractive environments for walking and cycling. I have addressed issues in these fields through research, teaching, and advocacy for more than a decade. I was the PI of the Volvo Research and Education Fund Project on Urban Spaces Design, Mobility and Transport Safety of Children in Nairobi and Kumasi Cities and part of the project on Transport and Mobilities: Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Population in Developing Cities. I am a member of the Ghana Geographers Association (GGA), Union of African Population Studies (UAPS), International Society of Urban Health (ISUH), American Geographers Association (AAG) and International Network for Transport and Accessibility in Low Income Communities (INTALInC).

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.

Dr Louis Kusi Frimpong

Researcher

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).

Mariajosé Nieto-Combariza

Associate Researcher

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.

Mercília Arlindo Lombe

Research Officer

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.

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.

Stephen Leonard Mensah

Associate Researcher

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.

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.

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.

Tracy Commodore

Research Assistant

I am a geographer and economist and I have a Masters degree in Geography and Resource Development from the University of Ghana, Legon. During my M.Phil. programme, I had the opportunity to learn how livelihoods have been enhanced through environmental protection in different case studies. Her research interest are in the areas of urbanization, gender and development. I have worked as a field assistant in research and I am currently a graduate assistant at the Centre for Gender Studies and advocacy (CEGENSA). Miss Commodore is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER).

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.

Carolina Moore

Communications

Amadu K. Labor

Research Officer

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).

Jim Walker

Policy advisor

As the founder of Walk21 in the year 2000 I have, for more than 20 years, championed a global network to grow sufficient evidence, knowledge and tools so that people can walk in safe, attractive and accessible environments wherever they live. I have advice 13 of the top 20 places to be independently accredited as the most liveable places in the world. My focus is increasingly on supporting women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities and those with low incomes - especially in low- and middle-income countries - so that their essential mobility is made visible and given priority.

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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.

Hawanatu Bangura

Research Officer

I have worked at SLURC for the past 4 years. Initially as a Field Researcher on the action research project ‘AT2030 - Assistive Technology for All’ funded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), through the Global Disability and Innovation Hub (GDI Hub). Now I am a Research Officer working across a variety of research projects.

During the post-Ebola Recovery Program of Sierra Leone, she worked in the Operation Clean Freetown Initiative of the President's Delivery Team to manage solid waste in the city of Freetown. At Freetown City Council, she led the coordination of four main sectors including Urban Mobility, in the development of the Transform Freetown Plan of Freetown City Council.

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