Populism in Planning: Gendered Leadership and Urban Transformation

This project examines the role of women populist leaders—both from the far right and the far left—in shaping cities and local governance. While much existing research focuses on male populist figures at the national level, this project deliberately shifts attention to women in populist politics. It asks how they govern, plan, and transform urban environments. The project takes an international perspective, focusing mainly on cases from the UK and Germany. Our methods combine document and discourse analysis with exploratory empirical research, allowing students to investigate both the political positioning of populist actors and the real-world impact of their urban development practices.