Research
Three connected strands: how states weaponize urban space, how counter-mapping can hold them accountable, and how cities can be planned with — not against — the people who live in them.
01
Spatial politics & state violence
How urban space becomes an instrument of control: destruction and securitization of Kurdish cities, militarized borderlands, and the everyday geographies of repression in Iran. This strand documents the spatial logic of state violence — from street-level checkpoints to the reshaping of entire districts — and preserves the memory of what states erase.
02
Political geography & GIS
Counter-mapping and spatial analysis as instruments of accountability. At Yale, supported by the NWO Rubicon Fellowship, this work builds GIS methods for documenting state violence: geolocating incidents, preserving spatial evidence, and turning fragmented testimony into maps that can support truth- and justice-seeking movements.
03
Urban studies & planning
Children’s geographies and practice-oriented planning, rooted in a double PhD between the University of Groningen and the University of Otago. Recognized with the Promising Geographer Award of New Zealand and the RAS Award (Netherlands) for strengthening the bridge between academic research and professional planning practice.