Dr Katy Karampour

• Position:Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning
• Department:College of Arts, Technology and Environment School of Architecture and Environment
• Telephone:+441173282821
• Email:Katy.Karampour@uwe.ac.uk
• Social media:

About me

I am a Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning and co-programme leader for the BSc Urban Planning programme at the School of Architecture and Environment, UWE Bristol. I joined UWE in January 2023 as a Lecturer in Urban Planning.

Before joining UWE, I was a Research Associate in Planning and Housing at the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, within the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge. Prior to that, I spent two years as a Lecturer (Teaching) in Urban Design and Planning at the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL.

I hold a PhD in Urban Planning and an MSc in Urban Regeneration from the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL, as well as an MA in Architecture with a specialism in Urban Conservation from the University of Tehran.

Area of expertise

Research Interests

My research explores the intersections of urban conservation, environmental sustainability, and community-led planning approaches. I am particularly interested in how grassroots strategies can inform more inclusive and effective urban sustainability and heritage conservation practices. Recently, I led a British Academy-funded project investigating community-driven approaches to net zero transitions in conservation areas.

Current Projects

Co-designing Net Zero Strategy in Conservation Areas: A Pilot Study of Sea Mills, Bristol

Role: Principal Investigator
Funder: British Academy
Project Dates: March 2025 – September 2025

This project aims to co-design net zero (NZ) strategies with local communities in the Sea Mills Conservation Area in Bristol. In collaboration with Bristol City Council, we are organising two engagement workshops to explore how community voices can shape climate action in historically sensitive areas. While over 10,000 Conservation Areas (CAs) exist in England, covering 2.2% of land and including approximately 2.8 million homes, planning controls in these areas often limit the uptake of energy efficiency and low-carbon improvements. This project addresses that challenge by piloting participatory approaches that amplify community perspectives, often overlooked in expert-led heritage and climate discourses.

CLMS-Cities: Copernicus Responding to the EU Cities Mission

Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Professor Zaheer Khan)
Funder: Horizon Europe
Project Dates: February 2025 – January 2028

The CLMS-Cities project supports the EU’s “Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities” Mission, which aims to achieve net zero emissions in at least 100 European cities by 2030. The project enhances Copernicus Land Monitoring Services (CLMS) by developing new tools and products to support neighbourhood-scale climate planning. By integrating Earth Observation (EO) data into local GHG inventories and CO₂ monitoring models, CLMS-Cities addresses the current underutilisation of EO data in urban climate strategies. The project will demonstrate how improved data integration can support more accurate, actionable, and locally relevant climate mitigation efforts.

CLMS-Cities - Copernicus responding to EU Cities Mission

Supervisory role:

I am currently Director of Study for:

Dan Crooke, PhD student: What role does religion have in informing the climate change debate, specifically the objective to achieve net zero

I am interested in supervising PhDs on the following topics:

-Net zero transition in conservation areas and heritage buildings

- Heritage led regeneration

- Development pressure in Urban Heritage sites

- Housing provision for people experiencing homelessness

- Net zero transition and sustainable approaches to development

Publications

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