DLGS 2021: start of the new cohort

DLGS is pleased to welcome three new colleagues that constitute the cohort: DLGS 2021, who started successfully at the beginning of March. The fellows were selected in a competitive process where they responded with a research proposal on the topic of urban heat and drought under the bigger umbrella of spatial sustainability transformations and will now spend the next three years working on their individual thesis related to the above topic. Their work is also closely related to the IOER research area on Environmental Risks in Urban and Regional Development.

Claire Gallacher graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Glasgow in her home country of Scotland, before completing the Masters of Environmental Governance program at the University of Freiburg. Her master’s thesis looked at species distribution modelling and GIS analysis of endangered tree species in Central Asia in order to identify priority sites for conservation efforts. This was inspired by the work she has done during her internship with Bioversity International in Kuala Lumpur on the APFORGIS project. In her doctoral thesis she will expand on her interest in GIS applications to sustainability planning and environmental governance, working on the topic of “Hyperlocal mapping of urban heat islands, vulnerability and risk”. Particular areas of focus shall include the collection of air temperature data where there is a significant gap, and how to successfully link the results of novel GIS analysis and participatory governance to practical solutions for transformative change. Claire Gallacher will be supervised by the director of IOER, Prof. Dr. Marc Wolfram.

Subhashree Nath holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from IP University, New Delhi, India, and a MSc. in Integrated Urban Development & Design from Bauhaus University, Germany. Her master’s thesis was a proof-of-concept for a novel method developed for assessing liveability in slum upgrading schemes using Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping and semi-structured interviews. She continues her research goal towards community-based resilience development & transformation of informal settlements in her doctoral thesis at DLGS. The thesis will test the use of a web-based decision-making toolkit for Community Based Adaptation of heat-resilience in informal settlements in India, based on parametric urban modelling. At DLGS, she also will be supervised by the director of IOER, Prof. Dr. Marc Wolfram.

Raghid Shehayeb graduated as a civil and environmental engineer from Beirut Arab University in Lebanon and completed his master’s degree in Integrated Water Resources Management at the Technische Hochschule Köln. His master’s thesis assessed the urban water security of Beirut considering the water supply, socioeconomic, climate change, and ecosystem dimensions. Furthermore, Raghid developed his research experience through an internship at UNU-FLORES working on diverse topics such as smart water reuse in and water management in textiles. With the growing challenges from urban heat and droughts, Raghid’s PhD at DLGS aims to develop and apply an integrated urban heat and drought assessment framework which will support decision making towards more resilient cities against the corresponding risks. His research is supervised by Prof. Dr. Jochen Schanze and Dr. Regine Ortlepp.