Goldsmiths academic to direct British Academy programme

The British Academy has appointed Caroline Knowles, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London Programme Director of the Academy’s Cities and Infrastructure Programme.

This programme is part of the Government’s £1.5 billion Global Challenges Research Fund and is being delivered by the British Academy on behalf of all the UK national academies. It supports a current portfolio of 13 interdisciplinary research projects that address the challenges of creating and maintaining sustainable and resilient cities in developing countries.

Caroline Knowles was until recently director of the Centre for Urban and Community Research (CUCR) at Goldsmiths. Her research explores the ways in which particular strands of globalisation in the movements of objects and people compose and connect cities.

Professor Knowles said: “This is a very exciting programme, which aims to connect academic researchers, policy makers and activists in improving living conditions in cities in the global south.

“I am so pleased to have the opportunity to work with multidisciplinary teams of researchers drawn from the social and medical sciences, from the sciences, from engineering and from the humanities, taking problem-solving approaches to some of the most important urban issues impacting the lives of people in developing countries.”

More information is available on the British Academy website.