Oluwafemi Olajide

Oluwafemi Olajide holds a PhD in Urban Planning from the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, United Kingdom. He is a lecturer in Urban and Regional Planning, University of Lagos and a freelance consultant to urban planning firms. As an urban planner and a pragmatic researcher, more broadly, he is profoundly concerned about urban affairs, with a particular focus on sustainable livelihoods, poverty and urban governance. He draws examples from urban dynamics and development paradox in the Global South. He is passionate about seeking ways to improve the living conditions of the urban poor, who are mostly accommodated in informal settlements. He tracks how urban realities are mediated by the underlying structures and mechanisms of the society. He is currently tracking how neoliberalism, the quest for global competitiveness and urban modernity shape governance and development ideology, and the implications for the livelihoods of the urban poor. He has been involved in a number of funded research projects including Urban Governance and Turning African Cities Around, funded by Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR). As an urban planner, he has been involved in the preparation of various strategic development plans and environmental impact assessment reports. As a lecturer, he has successfully supervised students in multidisciplinary areas of urban planning. Oluwafemi is a member of the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners and a 2018 fellow of Brown International Advanced Research Institutes (BIARI), Brown University, USA.