I am an urban planner, an architect and a political scientist. I’m fascinated by the connections between the social and built environments. Since the beginning of 2019, I have been the Van Eesteren Fellow at TU Delft’s Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Department of Urbanism.
Explorer. Educator. Researcher.
My professional and academic interests centre on design’s social and political aspects, especially in Europe and the South.
I’ve researched (informal) housing and participatory upgrading, postcolonial architecture and planning dynamics, and the methodological and pedagogical complexities of a designerly approach to knowledge production.
My experience and research show that I am strongly dedicated to promoting positive transformation and empowering young people with the skills and resources they need to contribute to this.
In several countries around the world, I have worked with groups and organisations to address the issues they have faced during periods of change.
I believe that academic work should be a direct connection between interdisciplinary scholarly research and social engagement, thereby actually contributing to a more social and environmentally just society.
I’ve taught courses on participatory methods, architecture, urban planning, socio-spatial planning, sociological principles for spatial planning, and design studios on building and urban design in Europe and the South.
I am currently organising a lecture series on engaged spatial planning and design as part of the Van Eesteren Fellowship (https://vaneesterenfellowship.org)
I am a member of the Journal of Housing and the Built Environment editorial board and a socio-spatial planning specialist in the GECORO (urban planning advisory committee) of the city of Mechelen in Belgium.
Interests & Expertise
- Spatial Justice
- Designing for the Just City
- Just Transitions
- Inclusive Planning and Design
- Critical Urban Theory
- Participatory Design
- Critical Spatial Design and Practice
- Power and Inequality
- (Informal) Housing
Experience
Associate Professor, chair of Spatial Planning and Strategy, TU Delft
(2019 – present)
I teach in the R and D Studio: Spatial Strategies for the Global Metropolis and in the course on Social Inequality the City, Diversity and Design. I am involved in the Graduation Studio ‘Planning Complex Cities‘ and more specifically in the sub-studio ‘Planning as Critical Engaged Practice‘. I mentor graduation students that work on topics that are closely related to my interests, such as just transitions, inclusive planning, spatial justice, critical spatial practice and citizen’s engagement. Examples: Rescaling Climate Induced Migration, City-regions for Cultural Nomads, Geographies of Conflict, Loiter City: Spatial Strategies to redefine a woman’s place in a public realm and Reclaiming (Semi)Public Space.
I am a member of the Steering Committee of the 1 Million Homes Initiative and member of the Global Urban Lab.
Van Eesteren Fellow, TU Delft
(2019-2024)
The Van Eesteren Fellowship is an initiative of the EFL Foundation and the Urbanism Department at TU Delft. The fellowship focuses on design-based research at different scales and the contribution of design power to investigate metropolitan issues and translate them into new and future-proof concepts. The ambition of the five year fellowship is to put an engaged and inclusive approach to planning on the agenda, whereby spatial justice is a leverage and design research an enabler. A lecture series has been organised to start the discussion.
Visiting Professor in Critical Urban Theory and Urban Design , faculty of Architecture KU Leuven
(2014 – present)
As a Visiting Professor I teach Critical Theory and Design in the Master of Spatial Planning and in the International Master in Architecture. I am associated with the research groups Alt_Shift* (Altering Practices for Urban Inclusion) and P.PUL and involved in PhD mentoring.
Lecturer MSc Building and Urban Design in Development, The Development Planning Unit, The Bartlett, UCL London
(2012 – 2014)
As a lecturer in the MSc Building and Urban Design in Development I was teaching a course on participatory processes, a critical urbanism studio and the practice module. Furthermore I was a member of the Director’s Advisory Group and the Urban Transformations and the unit’s diversity officer.
For a full overview of my previous appointments, please download my full CV.
Caroline Newton 