Dr Sonia Freire Trigo
Lecturer in Urban Planning
Sonia (MArch; MSc; PhD) is a lecturer in urban planning, with a background as an architect and urban designer. Before moving into academia, she worked for different planning consultancies in Spain, gaining considerable experience in the management and the delivery of urban projects.
She taught housing and development courses at LSBU for three years before joining the Bartlett School of Planning (UCL) as a lecturer in 2018. Her research interests are focused on urban development and urban regeneration processes, with particular attention to the politics of planning mediating the concepts of urban change and land scarcity.
Sonia has worked as a research associate in research projects funded by the European Commission, RICS, RTPI, and other funding bodies. Her latest publications include: a paper about her research on vacant land in London, in International Planning Studies (2019); and a paper about planning risk and residential development, with colleagues from UCL and LSE, in Planning Theory & Practice (2019).
Recent London posts
The Geographies of Viability Planning
In a recent new publication Whig researchers Jess Ferm and Mike Raco explore the geographies of viability-driven planning reform in England.Drawing on interviews and fieldwork in London and the North East region, the paper reflects on the variable outcomes and...
Towards an understanding of the role of debt
Given our focus on investment into residential real estate, an essential dimension is understanding how housing fits more broadly within the financialized economy of the UK (and the Netherlands and France). An important but under engaged within urban studies part of...
Community Led Regeneration: the London Case
UCL has a long-standing relationship with Just Space, an umbrella organisation for community groups across London. Whilst the WHIG project is not explicitly working with them at this stage, their work is highly relevant to understanding the planning context of London...