Sophie Oldfield

Sophie Oldfield is internationally recognized for her research on cities in the Global South through her theoretical and primary research. From 2016 – 2021, she held the University of Cape Town–University of Basel Professorship in Urban Studies, based at the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town. Her research is grounded in empirical and epistemological questions central to urban theory. Focusing on housing, informality and governance, mobilization and social movement organizing, her work pays close attention to political practice and everyday urban geographies, analyzing the ways in which citizens and movements craft agency to engage and contest the state. She has a track record of excellence in collaborative research practice, challenging how academics work in and between “university” and “community.”