The British Academy announces funding for nine interdisciplinary research projects exploring what makes a good city

The British Academy today announces the latest successful applicants to its Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research funding programme.

Funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the nine new research projects supported under this programme bring together novel, interdisciplinary ideas from across the humanities and social sciences in collaboration with the natural, medical and engineering sciences to propose solutions to international challenges past, present and future.

From infrastructures of climate repair in Karachi and Nairobi to the importance of social-cultural urban infrastructure in the Global South, this cohort of international projects will seek to strengthen understanding of challenges and opportunities for cities of the future. They will also engage with questions concerning the relationship between expertise, public understanding and policy delivery internationally.

The 2022 award-holders are:

• Dr Nausheen Anwar, Institute of Development Studies – Building Infrastructures of Climate Repair in the 24-Hour Risk City: Learning from Karachi and Nairobi
• Professor Virginia Bond, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine – Good Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Service Delivery for and with Adolescents and Young People in sub-Saharan African cities to Build Better Futures and Nurture Hope
• Professor Lindsay Bremner, University of Westminster – Reimagining the Good City from Ennore Creek, Chennai
• Professor Alexandra Hughes, Newcastle University – The Role of Traditional Food Systems in Rapid Urbanization
• Dr Tania Lisboa, Royal College of Music – What is a Good City in the Context of the Global South: The Role of the Arts in Social-cultural Urban Infrastructure
• Dr Leslie Mabon, Open University - Urban Nature for Heat-resilient Green Neighbourhoods
• Professor Roy Maconachie, University of Bath – Sowing the Seeds of the 'Good City': Urban Agriculture, Sustainable Livelihoods and Wellbeing in Freetown, Sierra Leone
• Dr Lakshmi Rajendran, University College London – Transgressing ‘Good’ Cities: Decolonising City Narratives for Just Urban Futures
• Dr Edmundo Werna, London South Bank University – Urban Migration for Good – From Forced Displacement to a Good City. The Case of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

Professor Simon Goldhill, Foreign Secretary & Vice-President of the British Academy, said:

“We are thrilled to be announcing such a rich cohort of interdisciplinary research tackling globally urgent questions. This group of award holders emphasises the value of interdisciplinary work traversing communities of research, practice and policy. I look forward to following the development of these projects.”

For more information about this programme, visit the Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research page on the British Academy’s website.