Sonia Roitman

As an internationally recognised urban sociologist and planner, I have had the opportunity to regularly disseminate and promote my work within the academy and also with policy-makers and practitioners. In Latin America, my 20 years of work on understanding the phenomenon of gated communities and how we can minimise their negative impacts at the city and society levels as well as maximise their positive impacts for families who choose them as their residence have been considered by policy-makers in the design of urban planning regulations (i.e. Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial de Mendoza (Argentina) – Urban Development Plan, Mendoza Province). I was also invited as keynote speaker at the Inaugural International Conference on Urban Residential Enclosure (National Valle University, Colombia, 13-14 October 2015) and founder member of the Red Internacional de Investigación sobre Encerramiento Residencial (International Research Network of Residential Enclosure). I was a member of the Urban Private Governance and Gated Communities Research Network since 2003 to 2015, and became a member of the Scientific Committee in 2011. In 2020, I had the honour to be invited by UN-Habitat to produce an Online Lecture on Gated Community Development (available here) for their series UN-Habitat Urban Lectures.

In Indonesia, my work on urban inequalities and the impact of gated communities has attracted the attention of governments, policy-makers and the private sector. I have been a speaker in urban debates on the problems and future of Jakarta, with the participation of government (Office of Environmental and Spatial Planning, DKI Jakarta) and private sector (Real Estate Indonesia). I have also been working with grassroots organisations and local NGOs in Yogyakarta, Indonesia since 2014. My work analyses the local practices and strategies for bottom-up planning and has contributed to strong advocacy and dialogue between community groups and local governments in Yogyakarta Special Region.

My work and research partnerships in Indonesia have informed the design of a new course (PLAN3200/7200 Exploring Development Complexities). This is an international fieldtrip course for UQ and UGM (Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia) that takes place annually since 2015 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It has received several teaching awards, including the Curriculum Innovation Award, from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (USA) and Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (USA) in 2019. The course has also received mobility funding from the Australian Government ($358,000 to date) to contribute to cultural awareness and to develop student employability skills through Work Integrated Learning.

In Queensland, Australia, I am working with researchers and Aboriginal families from Wakka Wakka Country, on mapping Aboriginal routes and artefacts that are significant to protect and preserve Aboriginal cultural identity (ARC Linkage). As part of this project we are examining the value of research partnerships between universities and Aboriginal groups, and how best research can benefit communities.

I am a regular contributor to non-academic outlets, including The Conversation and national and local media in Australia and Argentina (Los Andes, Página 12). I regularly present my work at international conferences and events, including the World Urban Forum (UN-Habitat).