Romain Leclercq

Romain Leclercq is a Research Fellow at the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), having recently been admitted to this position. He previously held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Earth Policies from June 2021 to July 2023. His academic credentials include a PhD thesis defended in 2020 at the University of Paris 8, focusing on flooding in the suburbs of Dakar and Accra.

Dr. Leclercq's research centers on disasters in urban environments, specifically examining how disasters produce, maintain, collapse or renew cities and their associated forms of public action. His work employs an ethnographic and comparative approach across diverse urban contexts in both the Global North and South.

His research interests span multiple interconnected disciplines:

• Urban disasters and flooding management in vulnerable neighborhoods
• Urban transformation in the Anthropocene era
• Comparative urban studies between Global North and South contexts
• Water and soil transformations in urban environments
• Integration of hydrology, sociology, and soil sciences
• Analysis of precarious neighborhoods and 'mega-projects' as paradigmatic figures of Anthropocene landscapes

Dr. Leclercq's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on urban flooding in West African contexts, particularly Dakar, as well as comparative perspectives with French urban areas like Seine Saint-Denis. His work examines the complex intersection of infrastructure, governance, community responses, and environmental challenges in rapidly transforming urban landscapes.

His notable professional recognition includes:

• Pierre Massé Prize (2021)