Biography:
Adriana Allen is Professor of Development Planning and Urban Sustainabilityat the The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UCL, where she leads the DPU Research Cluster on Environmental Justice, Urbanisation and Resilience (EJUR) and teaches in the MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development (ESD). Originally trained as urban planner in Argentina, my native country, I specialised over the years in the fields of urban environmental planning and political ecology. I have over 25 years international experience in research and consultancy undertakings in almost 20 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Both as an academic and practitioner, my work focuses on the interface between development and environmental concerns in the urban context of the global south, and more specifically on fostering transformative links between environmental justice and urban sustainability and resilience. Over the years, I have worked for several national and international organisations, including the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), UN-Habitat, WaterAid, Department for International Development (DFID/UK), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC), Plan Construction et Architecture du Ministere de l'Equipement (France), IberoAmerican Cooperation Institute (ICI / Spain), The European Commission (EC) and Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIC, Belgium). In-country research, training and advisory assignments include: Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, Uruguay and Venezuela. I am a Visiting Professor at various universities in Latin America and acted a beacon member for the 2006 IV World Water Forum cross-cutting perspective dealing with institutional development and political processes in water provision. I am also co-editor of the International Journal of Sustainable Urban Development and a regular reviewer for Urban Studies, Cities, Local Environment, Human Ecology and Natural Resources Forum, among other international academic journals. Within UCL, I support a number a university-wide initiatives in the theme of urban sustainability and resilience, which include my role as the Environment Institute Co-Director for Sustainable Cities and member of UCL Grand Challenges of Sustainable Cities (GCSC) Executive Group. I was formerly the Urban Laboratory Co-director in ‘Social cohesion, urban infrastructure and the public realm and a member of the UCL-The Lancet Commission on Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change.