Overview
Background
I am an Associate Professor of urban planning. Since joining the University of Queensland in 2015, my research has focused on the built environment triad: urban design, transport, and housing - in both the Global North and South. I approach my work from a feminist perspective, considering the role of gender in the city.
My personal and academic journey has been international in nature. I am a native of Albania. Over the years I have held guest teaching and/or research positions in Austria (UWien), Canada (UBC), Chile (PUC), Italy (IUAV), the Netherlands (UvA), Oman (GUTech), and Vietnam (UTC), and I have provided consultancy services to various United Nations agencies including the UNDP, UNESCAP, and UN Habitat. I speak Italian, Spanish, and French in addition to English and Albanian.
My latest books are Trophy Cities: A Feminist Perspective on New Capitals (Edward Elgar, 2021) and Alternative Planning History and Theory (Routledge, 2023). For three years in a row (2022-2024), I have been included in the 'Stanford/Elsevier World’s Top 2% Researchers' list, and have ranked among the top-ten 'urban and regional planning' researchers in Australia. Alongside my academic research, I also publish broadly in non-academic outlets and regularly give interviews on national and international media. My articles in The Conversation have reached nearly half a million readers. Prior to joining academia, I worked in urban design and planning in California.
My research has been funded by domestic and international granting bodies, including the Australian Research Council. Overall, I have attracted $700,000 in external funding and $100,000 in internal funding. For a full list of my publications, click the 'Works' tab, which displays results live from UQ eSpace, or visit my external profiles listed on the left panel.
Qualifications
- Postdoctoral Residency, Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft, the Netherlands. 2012-2014.
- PhD in Urban Planning, Polytechnic University of Tirana, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tirana, Albania. 2007-2010.
- Visiting PhD student, University of California at Los Angeles, Luskin School of Public Affairs, Los Angeles, Ca, USA. 2009.
- Master in Urban Planning, University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning, Cincinnati, Oh, USA. Full scholarship award. 2003-2005.
- Visiting Master student, Catholic University of Leuven, Faculty of Architecture (St Lucas), Brussels, Belgium. Recipient of US government FIPSE grant. 2004.
- Professional Degree in Architecture, Polytechnic University of Tirana, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tirana, Albania. 1998-2003.
Availability
- Dr Dorina Pojani is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Urban Transport in Developing Countries, Polytechnic University of Tirana
- Master of Community Planning, University of Cincinnati
Research impacts
Funded Projects*
2025-2026. Project: Closing the loop on first/last mile transportation in Brisbane: Assessing the connection between micromobility and 50 cent public transport fares. iMove CRC, Brisbane City Council, Australia. Grant co-writer ($100,000).
2025. Project: Diaspora 4Innovation: Integrating work practice in urban planning curricula in Albania. GERMIN Fellowship, Albania. Lead grant writer ($18,500).
2023-2025. Project: Evaluation of separated cycle tracks in new developments. Transport Academic Partnership, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Australia. Sole grant writer ($50,000).
2023. Project: A gendered critique of early planned utopian cities. School of Architecture, Design and Planning Seed Funding, University of Queensland, Australia. Grant co-writer ($3,000).
2023-2025. Project: Study of factors associated with the choice of private electric transport vehicles in Vietnam. National Foundation for Science and Technology (NAFOSTED), Vietnam. Grant co-writer ($50,000).
2023-2024. Project: The woman-friendly city: Case studies of post-industrial areas in Tirana. READ Fellowship, Albanian-American Development Foundation, Albania. Lead grant writer ($17,000).
2022. Project: Minimising corruption in urban planning and development: What can the Balkans learn from Scandinavia? UQ Promoting Women Fellowship (PWF), Australia. Sole grant writer ($12,500).
2022. Project: We don’t know where to go or how to get there: Mapping out the mobility needs for tourists in urban destinations. UQ BEL Connect Grant, Australia. Grant co-writer ($18,500).
2021-2022. Project: The impact of Covid-19 on Brisbane / Southeast Queensland. UQ Faculty of Science COVID Research Recovery Fund, Australia. Lead grant writer ($50,000).
2021-2022. Project: Bikeability for Transportation: Tools and Data for Research and Practice. AURIN grant, Australia. Grant co-writer ($135,600).
2017-2020. Project: Reclaiming lost ground: Transitions of mobility and parking. Australian Research Council, Linkage grant, Australia. Grant co-writer ($358,000).
2016. Project: Planning Tiger Cub City-Regions: Role Models and Policy Transfers in Sustainable Transport in Southeast Asia. Project based in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. UQ Early Career Researcher grant, Australia. Sole grant writer ($26,150).
2015-2017. Project: Urban planning issues in planned capital cities in seven countries: Burma, India, Korea, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Brazil, and Australia. UQ Startup grant, Australia. Sole grant writer ($15,000).
2014-2015. Project: Informal Housing in five Balkan countries: Serbia, Northern Macedonia, Bosnia, Albania, and Kosovo. Grant from: Van Eesteren-Fluck & Van Lohuizen Stichting (EFL) Foundation, The Netherlands. Sole grant writer ($15,000).
Editorial Boards
- Sustainable Cities and Society
- Journal of Transport Geography
- Australian Planner
- Urban Policy and Research
- Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
- Journal of Planning Education and Research
Works
Search Professor Dorina Pojani’s works on UQ eSpace
2021
Journal Article
Lest we forget: media predictions of a post-Covid-19 urban future
Pojani, Dorina and Alidoust, Sara (2021). Lest we forget: media predictions of a post-Covid-19 urban future. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 16 (2), 1-17. doi: 10.1080/17549175.2021.1944283
2021
Journal Article
Public space privatisation: are users concerned?
Leclercq, Els and Pojani, Dorina (2021). Public space privatisation: are users concerned?. Journal of Urbanism, 16 (1), 1-18. doi: 10.1080/17549175.2021.1933572
2021
Book Chapter
Planning Active Travel and School Transport
Fahimeh Khalaj, Pojani, Dorina and Alidoust, Sara (2021). Planning Active Travel and School Transport. International Encyclopedia of Transportation. (pp. 432-436) Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-08-102671-7.10792-4
2021
Journal Article
NIMBYism as a barrier to housing and social mix in San Francisco
McNee, Georgina and Pojani, Dorina (2021). NIMBYism as a barrier to housing and social mix in San Francisco. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 37 (1), 1-21. doi: 10.1007/s10901-021-09857-6
2021
Journal Article
Transport poverty in Chinese cities: a systematic literature review
Kong, Weichang , Pojani, Dorina, Sipe, Neil and Stead, Dominic (2021). Transport poverty in Chinese cities: a systematic literature review. Sustainability, 13 (9) 4707, 4707. doi: 10.3390/su13094707
2021
Journal Article
Living car-free by choice in a sprawling city: Desirable and … possible?
Paijmans, Hayley and Pojani, Dorina (2021). Living car-free by choice in a sprawling city: Desirable and … possible?. Case Studies on Transport Policy , 9 (2), 823-829. doi: 10.1016/j.cstp.2021.04.001
2021
Journal Article
Ridesharing in Adelaide: Segmentation of users
Soltani, Ali, Allan, Andrew, Khalaj, Fahimeh, Pojani, Dorina and Mehdizadeh, Milad (2021). Ridesharing in Adelaide: Segmentation of users. Journal of Transport Geography, 92 103030, 103030. doi: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103030
2021
Journal Article
Special issue on ‘transport, gender, culture’
Pojani, Dorina, Sagaris, Lake and Papa, Enrica (2021). Special issue on ‘transport, gender, culture’. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 144, 34-36. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2020.12.002
2021
Book Chapter
Urban form of informal settlements in the Western Balkans
Pojani, Dorina (2021). Urban form of informal settlements in the Western Balkans. Informality through sustainability: Urban Informality Now. (pp. 277-292) edited by Antonino Di Raimo, Steffen Lehmann and Alessandro Melis. New York, NY, United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429331701-18
2020
Journal Article
The legitimacy of informal settlements in Balkan States
Pojani, Dorina and Baar, Kenneth (2020). The legitimacy of informal settlements in Balkan States. Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, 28 (2-3), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/25739638.2020.1833563
2020
Journal Article
Perspectives on built heritage preservation: a study of Queenslander homeowners in Brisbane, Australia
Neilsen, Vanessa and Pojani, Dorina (2020). Perspectives on built heritage preservation: a study of Queenslander homeowners in Brisbane, Australia. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 35 (4), 1055-1077. doi: 10.1007/s10901-020-09767-z
2020
Journal Article
Gentrification in Australia’s largest cities: a bird’s-eye view
Pegler, Claudia, Li, Hankan and Pojani, Dorina (2020). Gentrification in Australia’s largest cities: a bird’s-eye view. Australian Planner, 56 (3), 1-15. doi: 10.1080/07293682.2020.1775666
2020
Journal Article
Emerging narratives of parking supply and demand in contemporary cities
Pojani, Dorina and Sipe, Neil (2020). Emerging narratives of parking supply and demand in contemporary cities. Journal of Urbanism, 14 (1), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/17549175.2020.1762112
2020
Journal Article
Is public space privatization always bad for the public? Mixed evidence from the United Kingdom
Leclercq, Els, Pojani, Dorina and Van Bueren, Ellen (2020). Is public space privatization always bad for the public? Mixed evidence from the United Kingdom. Cities, 100 102649, 102649. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2020.102649
2020
Journal Article
Why are cities removing their freeways? A systematic review of the literature
Khalaj, Fahimeh, Pojani, Dorina, Sipe, Neil and Corcoran, Jonathan (2020). Why are cities removing their freeways? A systematic review of the literature. Transport Reviews, 40 (5), 1-24. doi: 10.1080/01441647.2020.1743919
2020
Journal Article
Edutainment: Role-playing versus serious gaming in planning education
Pojani, Dorina and Rocco, Roberto (2020). Edutainment: Role-playing versus serious gaming in planning education. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 43 (3), 585-597. doi: 10.1177/0739456x20902251
2020
Journal Article
Parking Behavior: Park ‘n’ Ride (PnR) to encourage multimodalism in Brisbane
Kimpton, Anthony, Pojani, Dorina, Sipe, Neil and Corcoran, Jonathan (2020). Parking Behavior: Park ‘n’ Ride (PnR) to encourage multimodalism in Brisbane. Land Use Policy, 91 104304, 104304. doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104304
2020
Journal Article
Special issue on global transitions of urban mobility and land use
Pojani, Dorina, Corcoran, Jonathan, Mateo-Babiano, Iderlina, Sipe, Neil and Stead, Dominic (2020). Special issue on global transitions of urban mobility and land use. Land Use Policy, 91 104425, 104425. doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104425
2020
Book Chapter
Private, hybrid, and public spaces
Leclercq, Els and Pojani, Dorina (2020). Private, hybrid, and public spaces. Companion to public space. (pp. 249-266) New York, NY, United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781351002189-20
2020
Book Chapter
South–south policy transfer? Transit oriented development from China to sub-Saharan Africa
Si, Keqi , Wereta, Tsega Gebrekrstos and Pojani, Dorina (2020). South–south policy transfer? Transit oriented development from China to sub-Saharan Africa. Handbook on transport and urban transformation in China. (pp. 404-420) London, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781786439246.00033
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Dorina Pojani is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
The current environmental dynamics of the COVID-19 crisis and the challenges ahead in Saudi Arabia and Australia in terms of planning and sustainability
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sara Alidoust
-
Doctor Philosophy
Reconstructing A Gender Perspective Approach for a Sustainable New Capital City
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sara Alidoust
-
Doctor Philosophy
Active transport and gender issues: A comparison between Brisbane and Sylhet
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sara Alidoust
-
Doctor Philosophy
Housing affordability issues in Malaysia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sara Alidoust
-
Doctor Philosophy
Active Citizenship in planning scheme implementation : A case study into how members of a community engage in the development assessment process in Queensland
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Neil Sipe
-
Doctor Philosophy
Residents¿ perceptions of a government-initiated anti-gating policy: A study of open communities in Shanghai
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ali Cheshmehzangi, Dr Sara Alidoust
-
Doctor Philosophy
Digital Deconcentration and the Changing Face of American Cities: Examining the Effects of Working from Home on America¿s Post-pandemic Urbanisation.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Thomas Sigler
-
Doctor Philosophy
Policy Barriers to Livable Cities in South East Queensland
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sara Alidoust
Completed supervision
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and Sustainable Transport Policy Transfer: An Analysis of the Approaches in Five Western Countries and China
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Neil Sipe
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Gender, Transport and Mobility Biography in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Neil Sipe
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Healthy neighbourhood planning: investigating the evolving relationship between urban planning and public health through a path dependence lens
Principal Advisor
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Are cities still building highways? A comparison of Australia and Iran
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Neil Sipe
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Public Space Privatisation: The Experience of Indonesian Cities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sebastien Darchen
-
2020
Master Philosophy
Climate sensitive urban design: a comparison between Brisbane (Australia) and Nagpur (India)
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sebastien Darchen
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Placing power to the people: The Australian community renewable energy movement and place-making in framing for prefigurative collective action.
Principal Advisor
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
A Living Room in the City: The Place of Public Space in the Everyday Lives of Middle Eastern Women in Greater Brisbane
Principal Advisor
-
2022
Master Philosophy
INVESTIGATING THE LEVEL OF TRAFFIC STRESS ON STREETS AND BICYCLING ROUTE PREFERENCES: A CASE STUDY ON THE CITY OF BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr David Pullar
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Governance Process in the Implementation of Land Acquisition Plan for Infrastructure Development in Indonesia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sonia Roitman
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Dorina Pojani directly for media enquiries about:
- affordable housing
- community
- compact cities
- cycling
- mobility
- neighbourhood design
- parking
- pedestrian areas
- public transport
- sustainability
- urban planning
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