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Staff Profile

Dr Diego Garcia Mejuto

Lecturer in Urban Planning

  • Email: diego.garcia-mejuto@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 8389
  • Address: School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University
    Room 7.14, Henry Daysh Building, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
Background
Introduction

I am an urban scholar with a multidisciplinary background with design, planning and human geography dimensions. Through my work I seek to develop a critical understanding of contemporary processes of extended urbanization. To date, I have explored this interest through a focus on transnational infrastructure planning and suspended urbanization processes. Before my PhD studies, I acquired professional experience in planning practice (Spain) and EU-funded territorial cooperation (France).

Roles and Responsibilities

I joined Newcastle University as a Teaching Fellow in September 2016, where, apart from teaching on subjects such as research design and methods and planning politics, I have designed and currently lead an undergraduate module on urban infrastructures and a field study visit to Barcelona. I am currently the Exchange Coordinator for Planning within the School, and have previously served as Director of the BA (Hons) Urban Planning and Master of Planning (2020-22), Director of the BA (Hons) Geography and Planning (2018-20) and Senior Tutor (2017-18).

Qualifications
  • PhD in Planning Studies, University College London (2015)
  • MSc in International Planning, University College London (2008)
  • BArch MArch, University of A Coruña, Spain (2005)
Research
Research interests

My work lies at the intersection of urban politics, extended urbanization and socio-spatial theory. Through a qualitative research approach and theoretical perspectives from the field of urban studies and beyond, I seek to develop critical and spatially nuanced understandings of contemporary urbanization processes.

My doctoral work, sponsored by the Spanish Barrié Foundation, focused on the transnational dimension of extended urbanization in the context of the European Union. It examined the discursive, power and spatial complexities of the politics of transnational infrastructure development through the in-depth study of a high-speed rail line of European relevance in the Spanish Basque Country.

Current work

My current research focuses on understanding extended urbanization in the post-2008 financial crisis period, in particular those processes that were interrupted as a result of this crisis. Through the research project Liminal Urbanization: The Politics of Unfinished Urban Space in Spain, I seek to examine the current status and future prospects of suspended urbanization processes in Spain with a particular focus on the discourses and practices of the state. The project is funded by two Newcastle University research grants.

Research supervision

I welcome applications from potential doctoral candidates with interest in urban politics; urbanization processes; the state and planning; or South European cities.

Teaching

Through my teaching practice, I seek to help students develop a capacity to engage critically and proactively with the shaping of urban futures. This purpose is underpinned by a teaching philosophy based on active learning and a transdisciplinary approach to understanding and engaging with the urban phenomenon. I particularly favour small group learning activities and the use of real cases, including field study visits, to facilitate the students’ direct contact with the urban reality.

I have taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate level intermittently since 2010 and full-time since 2016. I currently teach on the following modules:

Module leader
  • TCP2033: Urban Infrastructures: A Lens on the City (undergraduate)
  • TCP8911: Research Design (postgraduate)
Contributor
  • TCP1026: Understanding Place: Methods and Perspectives (undergraduate)
  • TCP2035: Study Visit (undergraduate)
  • TCP3054: Planning Theory and Politics (undergraduate)
  • APL2001: Alternative Practice: Theories and Practices (undergraduate)
  • TCP8003: Engaging with Information Sources in Planning (postgraduate)
  • TCP8941: Planning Practice and Climate Change (postgraduate)
Supervisor / mentor
  • TCP8099: Dissertation (postgraduate)
  • TCP3099: Dissertation (undergraduate)
Publications