People

About me

I am currently doing my doctoral research and teaching at the School of Architecture at Tampere University. My background is in architecture and my research lies at the intersection of architecture and critical urban studies, focusing on the appropriation and transformation of abandoned urban spaces in Latin America. I am particularly interested in critical, feminist, decolonial and postcolonial urban theory, insurgent and radical spatial practices, urban activism, and the social production of space. I am a working-group (3) co-leader in the COST Action (CA18126) Writing Urban Places, which engages with urban narratives and narrative methods to understand and engage with urban phenomena and space. I am also an active member of the Democracy Research Network at Tampere University, and the Tampere Urban Research Network for Sustainability (TURNS). In addition, I run the feminist blog Interrogativa, which engages different women to discuss issues related to gender, urban space, and democracy.

Alternate description

Before moving to Finland, I worked as an architect and lecturer in Mexico at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro. As a practising architect, my work focused on public buildings, particularly learning environments. This continues to be one of my passions and an arena I continue to explore with.

Research unit

Architecture

About me

Panu Lehtovuori is the Professor of Planning Theory at the Tampere University, School of Architecture. Before the current position, he was the Professor of Urban Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn. Lehtovuori’s research interests focus on contemporary forms of public urban space, new urban design approaches, the resource-efficiency of built environment and the evolution of planning law. Lehtovuori belongs to the Tampere Urban Studies Network TURN and is co-leader of the Urban Planning Research Group. Besides his academic and educational work, Lehtovuori is active in Livady Architects, SPIN UNIT and Nordic Urbanism. Currently, he is permanent expert in the renewal process of the Land Use and Building Act.

About me

Florencia Quesada Avendaño is adjunct professor in World Cultures, University of Helsinki. Trained as a historian her research interests include urban cultural history, sustainable tourism, violence and urban segregation. Currently, her research focuses on Guatemala City, first on a historical analysis of the urban and cultural transformation of the capital between 1880 and 1930. Guatemala City is also the subject of another project that she is involved that looks at fragile cities of the global South, specifically the impact of violence and environmental risks on precarious settlements.