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Staff Profile

Dr Natalia Villamizar Duarte

Lectureship in Urban Design & Degree Programme Director, MA Urban Design

  • Telephone: 0191 208 6006
  • Address: School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape
    Newcastle University, Henry Daysh Building, Room 7.20
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU, UK
Background

I am an urban planner and designer interested in people’s experiences of their cities, particularly in the policies that shape those experiences. I have over 20 years of experience in urban design, urban planning, and policymaking in both academic and professional settings where I have interacted with diverse stakeholders. I have a personal interest in the diverse forms of knowledge and spatial practices of the global south and in their potential to inform urban design repertoire to advance more sustainable cities and urban communities.


Qualifications

  • PhD in Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago (2019) Negotiating Ideology and Regulation: planning and governing public space in Bogota 1988-2018
  • MSc. in Development and Planning: Building and Urban Design in Development at University College London (2007)
  • Specialisation Degree in Urban Design at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá (2004)
  • Graduate degree in Architecture at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá (2001)


Affiliations

International Network for Transport and Accessibility in Low Income Communities – Latin American chapter INTALInC LAC

Latin American Studies Association LASA


Languages

Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian (basic) 

 

Office Hours

Wednesday 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. In my office or email me for an online meeting

Teaching

My interest in teaching comes from my commitment to using creative approaches to make cities more inclusive and equitable. I seek to challenge students to think critically about the role they play in the construction of just and sustainable cities and urban communities. I engage in critical pedagogical approaches that bridge theory and practice while challenging students to reflect on the relationships between power and knowledge that exist in policymaking, urban design and planning practices. 

 

Postgraduate Teaching

  • ARC8115 Design Studio [MA Urban Design]
  • ARC8069 Housing Alternatives [MA Urban Design] (2022/23)
  • ARC8117 Design Thesis [MA Urban Design]


Contributor:

  • TCP8090 Principles and Practice of Urban Design
  • TCP8920 Globalisation and Social Justice Project
  • TCP8921 Globalisation and Social Justice
  • TCP8025 Linked Research Project (2022/23)









Research

My research examines how urban models, ideas, political processes, and regulations that shape urban space intersect into policymaking, urban planning, urban design, and community practices. I look at the intersections in four broader areas:


  • urban mobility, accessibility & social equity 
  • use, design & governance of public spaces
  • informal urbanisation & neighbourhood upgrading 
  • participatory urban design & co-production


Current funded projects

Co-Investigator, On the way to and from school (OWS): active mobility interventions for the promotion of physical activity and mental well-being in adolescents in Bogotá, Colombia and Maputo, Mozambique, Funded by the Global Alliance for Non-Communicable Diseases. More information: https://www.onthewaytoschoolproject.org


Recent funded projects

Co-Investigator, ‘Archivo Vivo [Living archive]: weaving gendered (hi)stories of urban reclamation in Moravia’, funded by Imagining Futures through Un/Archived Pasts. Phase 2 Commission Projects. More information: https://archivovivomoravia.org/

 

Principal Investigator, ‘Usage and perception of e-scooters in Newcastle’, funded by The Global Urban Research Unit, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University 


Co-Investigator, ‘Counter mapping diaspora and queer communities’ living heritage in Sheffield’, funded by The Centre for Critical Heritage Studies Small Grant Scheme. More information: https://sheffieldotherwise.wordpress.com  


Publications