dr. S. (Soran) Mansournia
PhD student
Telephone:
E-mail:
s.mansournia rug.nl
Field/Discipline
Expertise
I am an Urban Geographer & Human Rights Defender working at the intersection of urban studies, political geography, and the right to the city. My research connects academic inquiry with field-based & participatory work, with a particular interest in understanding how people experience, navigate, & contest urban space.
A central part of my work focuses on mapping lived experiences & personal narratives. I use participatory mapping, geospatial technologies & spatial analysis to bring together people’s stories and geographic information. I also design participatory methods and digital mapping platforms through which communities can contribute directly to the production of spatial knowledge.
My master’s thesis, Child in the City (Art University of Tehran, 2016), examined children’s experiences of urban environments through participatory mapping and graduated Cum Laude. I later completed a cotutelle PhD at the University of Groningen & University of Otago, New Zealand, where my research further developed participatory geospatial approaches to understanding children’s relationships with cities. This work received the 2025 Promising Geographer Award of New Zealand.
In May 2026, I was awarded an NWO Rubicon Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at Yale University. My current research examines Totalitarian Urbanism: how authoritarian and totalitarian regimes use urban planning, infrastructure, and the built environment to control public space & suppress demonstrations. I am particularly interested in how geospatial analysis and participatory mapping can help document the spatial dimensions of repression, resistance, & state violence.
My main research interests include Spatial Politics, Public Space, Advanced Spatial Analysis, Participatory Design, Urban Digitalisation, Political Geography & Human Rights.
For contact details and further information, please visit my Personal Website
A central part of my work focuses on mapping lived experiences & personal narratives. I use participatory mapping, geospatial technologies & spatial analysis to bring together people’s stories and geographic information. I also design participatory methods and digital mapping platforms through which communities can contribute directly to the production of spatial knowledge.
My master’s thesis, Child in the City (Art University of Tehran, 2016), examined children’s experiences of urban environments through participatory mapping and graduated Cum Laude. I later completed a cotutelle PhD at the University of Groningen & University of Otago, New Zealand, where my research further developed participatory geospatial approaches to understanding children’s relationships with cities. This work received the 2025 Promising Geographer Award of New Zealand.
In May 2026, I was awarded an NWO Rubicon Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at Yale University. My current research examines Totalitarian Urbanism: how authoritarian and totalitarian regimes use urban planning, infrastructure, and the built environment to control public space & suppress demonstrations. I am particularly interested in how geospatial analysis and participatory mapping can help document the spatial dimensions of repression, resistance, & state violence.
My main research interests include Spatial Politics, Public Space, Advanced Spatial Analysis, Participatory Design, Urban Digitalisation, Political Geography & Human Rights.
For contact details and further information, please visit my Personal Website
Other positions
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Yale University, United States (2026–2029)
- Visiting Researcher, University College London (UCL), United Kingdom (2026–2027)
- Visiting Researcher, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (2023–2024)
Last modified:28 September 2026 5.48 p.m.