This book discusses the effects of Neo-Liberal policies on the transformations of architectural and urban practices and education in the transition from the era of “professionalism” to “post-professionalism.” Building on previous literature in the field of contemporary theory of architecture, it provides the necessary resources for the study of contemporary architecture and urban politics, urban sociology, local administration and urban geography. Further, it develops a political and critical perspective on contemporary practices of architecture and urbanism, their implementation, legal background, political effects and social results.
The book will interest readers from a wide range of academic disciplines, from political science to architecture, and from urban studies to sociology.
Dr. Hossein Sadri is a researcher, critic and activist. He studied architecture and received his Master of Science degree from Islamic Azad University in Tabriz, Iran, prior to completing his PhD studies with a TUBITAK Ph.D. Fellowship at Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey. During his PhD studies he conducted research on ethics and the philosophy of Human Rights, and wrote his thesis on “Architecture and Human Rights.” He currently holds an Associate Professor position at the Department of Architecture, Girne American University, Cyprus, where he worked as the Head of Architecture (2011 to 2012) and then as Dean of the Faculty of Architecture (2012 to 2016). He teaches courses on ethics and philosophy of architecture, urbanization and social ecology, and architectural / urban design. He is the co-leader of the “De-Urban Design Studio,” a studio based on permaculture design, urban acupuncture and transition design, and a member of the board of the GAU Centre for Habitat Studies. As anactivist he has worked in different positions for Amnesty International, e.g. as the national coordinator of Human Rights Education and the EU Representative of Amnesty International in Turkey. He is a permaculture designer (PDC 2017 Permaculture Research Institute, Turkey) and studies Agriculture at Anadolu University in Turkey. He has written and edited several books, journals and articles. During the 2018 academic year, he will be conducting research on Current Urbanization Problems as a visiting scholar in the Graduate Program in Urban Design at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, City University of New York, USA.
