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
2017
Journal Article
Transit-oriented street design in Beijing
Kong, Weichang and Pojani, Dorina (2017). Transit-oriented street design in Beijing. Journal of Urban Design, 22 (3), 1-23. doi: 10.1080/13574809.2016.1271700
2017
Journal Article
Do northwestern and southeastern Europe share a common “cycling mindset”? Comparative analysis of beliefs toward cycling in the Netherlands and the Balkans
Pojani, Dorina, Bakija, Dukagjin, Shkreli, Entela, Corcoran, Jonathan and Mateo-Babiano, Iderlina (2017). Do northwestern and southeastern Europe share a common “cycling mindset”? Comparative analysis of beliefs toward cycling in the Netherlands and the Balkans. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 17 (1), 25-45. doi: 10.18757/ejtir.2017.17.1.3178
2017
Book
The urban transport crisis in emerging economies
Dorina Pojani and Dominic Stead eds. (2017). The urban transport crisis in emerging economies. New York: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-43851-1
2017
Book Chapter
The urban transport crisis in emerging economies: an introduction
Pojani, Dorina and Stead, Dominic (2017). The urban transport crisis in emerging economies: an introduction. The urban transport crisis in emerging economies. (pp. 1-10) edited by Dorina Pojani and Dominic Stead. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-43851-1_1
2017
Book Chapter
The urban transport crisis in emerging economies: a comparative overview
Pojani, Dorina and Stead, Dominic (2017). The urban transport crisis in emerging economies: a comparative overview. The urban transport crisis in emerging economies. (pp. 283-295) edited by Dorina Pojani and Dominic Stead. New York: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-43851-1_14
2016
Journal Article
How does our natural and built environment affect the use of bicycle sharing?
Mateo-Babiano, Iderlina, Bean, Richard, Corcoran, Jonathan and Pojani, Dorina (2016). How does our natural and built environment affect the use of bicycle sharing?. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 94, 295-307. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2016.09.015
2016
Journal Article
Ideologjia e financimit të transportit urban në Tiranë: Të ardhurat e brendshme dhe impakti i ndihmës ndërkombëtare
Pojani, Dorina (2016). Ideologjia e financimit të transportit urban në Tiranë: Të ardhurat e brendshme dhe impakti i ndihmës ndërkombëtare. Perpjekja, 21 (34-35), 203-214.
2016
Journal Article
Learning by doing: employer expectations of planning studio education
Pojani, Dorina, Johnson, Laurel, Darchen, Sebastien and Yang, Katie (2016). Learning by doing: employer expectations of planning studio education. Urban Policy and Research, 36 (1), 1-9. doi: 10.1080/08111146.2016.1221814
2016
Journal Article
Obstacles to the creation of successful bus rapid transit systems: the case of Bangkok
Wu, Irene and Pojani, Dorina (2016). Obstacles to the creation of successful bus rapid transit systems: the case of Bangkok. Research in Transportation Economics, 60, 44-53. doi: 10.1016/j.retrec.2016.05.001
2016
Journal Article
Indicator-based evaluation of sustainable transport plans: A framework for Paris and other large cities
Chakhtoura, Céline and Pojani, Dorina (2016). Indicator-based evaluation of sustainable transport plans: A framework for Paris and other large cities. Transport Policy, 50, 15-28. doi: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2016.05.014
2016
Journal Article
Post-rational planning and the shifting role of planning imagery
Pojani, Dorina and Stead, Dominic (2016). Post-rational planning and the shifting role of planning imagery. Journal of Urban Design, 21 (3), 353-385. doi: 10.1080/13574809.2016.1167590
2016
Journal Article
Multi-family housing management in postsocialist countries: the Albanian experience
Pojani, Dorina and Baar, Kenneth (2016). Multi-family housing management in postsocialist countries: the Albanian experience. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 31 (4), 1-18. doi: 10.1007/s10901-016-9498-1
2016
Conference Publication
Processes of Urban Planning Policy Transfer and Learning
Pojani, Dorina and Stead, Dominic (2016). Processes of Urban Planning Policy Transfer and Learning. Knowledge, Policymaking and Learning in European Metropolitan Areas: Experiences and Approaches, Brussells, Belgium, 25 January 2016. Brussells, Belgium: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).
2015
Journal Article
From camaraderie to detachment: the effect of changing built environment forms on neighborhood relations in a post-communist context
Pojani, Dorina and Buka, Migena (2015). From camaraderie to detachment: the effect of changing built environment forms on neighborhood relations in a post-communist context. Cities, 49, 66-75. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2015.07.007
2015
Journal Article
Urban planning and design as verbal and visual rhetoric
Pojani, Dorina and Stead, Dominic (2015). Urban planning and design as verbal and visual rhetoric. Journal of Urban Design, 20 (5), 582-614. doi: 10.1080/13574809.2015.1071653
2015
Journal Article
Sustainable urban transport in the developing world: beyond megacities
Pojani, Dorina and Stead, Dominic (2015). Sustainable urban transport in the developing world: beyond megacities. Sustainability (Switzerland), 7 (6), 7784-7805. doi: 10.3390/su7067784
2015
Journal Article
Transit-oriented design in the Netherlands
Pojani, Dorina and Stead, Dominic (2015). Transit-oriented design in the Netherlands. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 35 (2), 131-144. doi: 10.1177/0739456X15573263
2015
Conference Publication
Informal settlements in the Balkans Squatters’ magic realism vs. planners’ modernist fantasy vs. governments’ tolerance and opportunism
Pojani, Dorina (2015). Informal settlements in the Balkans Squatters’ magic realism vs. planners’ modernist fantasy vs. governments’ tolerance and opportunism. Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Congress, Prague, Czech Republic, 13-16 July 2015. Prague, Czech Republic: Czech Technical University.
2015
Journal Article
The detriments and benefits of the fall of planning: the evolution of public space in a Balkan post-socialist capital
Pojani, Dorina and Maci, Giulia (2015). The detriments and benefits of the fall of planning: the evolution of public space in a Balkan post-socialist capital. Journal of Urban Design, 20 (2), 251-272. doi: 10.1080/13574809.2015.1009013
2015
Conference Publication
Do the north and the south share a cycling mindset?
Pojani, Dorina, Bakija, Dukagjin and Shkreli, Entela (2015). Do the north and the south share a cycling mindset?. International Forum on Urbanism, Incheon, Republic of Korea, 22-24 June 2015. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI AG. doi: 10.3390/ifou-D012
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
Are car-free lifestyles feasible in low-density, sprawling contexts? A comparison of a city in Australia and Saudi Arabia
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
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
Active transport and gender issues: A comparison between Brisbane and Sylhet
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: 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
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
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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