Sarah Moser

Prof. Sarah Moser is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at McGill University. Her research focuses on the cultural politics of new master-planned cities in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, analyzing how political ideologies, religious interpretations, and national identity shape urban mega-projects, with an emphasis on resident resistance to official narratives.

• PhD in Geography from the National University of Singapore
• Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Urban and Global Studies, Trinity College
• Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Her recent work explores transnational urban policy mobility, pan-Islamic identity, and pan-Chinese urban models in Asia, challenging the dominance of ‘Western’ urban paradigms. Publications span journals like Urban Studies, Cities, and Social and Cultural Geography, alongside co-editing the Research Handbook on Asian Cities (2016).

Prof. Moser leads the New Cities Lab, a research group examining new city projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Palestine, and Ecuador. The lab’s fieldwork-based approach involves interviews with government officials, planners, and residents affected by urban mega-developments.