We are delighted to announce two new editors of the AESOP Young Academics Blog. We thank everyone who applied for this position, and we hope that you make contributions to the blog through submitting content in future!
Our two new editors are: Anjeza Llubani (Graz University of Technology, Austria) and Michael Hayes (University College Dublin, Ireland).
A short biography of both can be found below, ahead of this here are two messages from our new editors:
Michael says: “As editor, I want to develop the AESOP Young Academics blog as a welcoming space where ideas about planning and urban life can travel beyond our usual academic bubbles. It is a platform for exchange open to PhD researchers, early career scholars, students, practitioners, and activists, and I hope it encourages contributions that are clear, generous, and ready for discussion. Whether you’re sharing an event reflection, a method's insight, a book review, or experimenting with innovative formats (such as photo essays or podcasts), if it speaks to an international audience, we’d love to hear from you.”
Anjeza says “The dissemination of urban design and planning research to a potentially broad and diverse public is vital in supporting knowledge exchange and practical impact. In my role as editor, I hope to further expand the role of the AESOP Young Academics blog as a key space for contemporary debate, critique, and insight regarding the present shape and further development of urban and rural settlements globally. All modes and formats are welcome, so to all thinking about contributing, please don't hesitate to get in touch.”
Please do consider submitting your work to the AESOP Young Academics blog, there is a wide range of type of submission to the blog ranging from conference/workshop reports, book reviews to contemporary reflections of academia and planning in your region. You can find the blog here, along with the submission information and email contact here.
The YA CT wants to express its gratitude to Meher Bhagia, Jesse Fox, Fatıma Zehra Akman and Müge Yaylacık who are finishing their term managing the YA blog. Thank you for your valuable work and enthusiasm.
Biography of new editors:
Anjeza Llubani (Dott., Dott.mag.) is a licensed architect and PhD Candidate in Urbanism at Graz University of Technology. Her research focuses on urban fragmentation in post‑socialist cities, advancing “urban choreography” as a lens that bridges urban design with sociological and cultural readings of the city. She is a Visiting Lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Tirana (2019–present), teaching architectural history and urban/heritage themes. Her publications address Balkan modernization narratives, architectural typology, and Albanian cultural buildings (cinemas and theatres, 1945–1990).
Michael K. Hayes is an architect and PhD candidate in Urban Design at University College Dublin. His research on the environmental impact of different forms of urban expansion on existing settlement types is funded by the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) and Research Ireland through the Enterprise Partnership Scheme. Michael was co-editor of the recent publication on housing in Dublin, Care and Consideration: on the work of Gerry Cahill Architects.
