Pablo Sendra

Pablo Sendra is an Associate Professor in Planning and Urban Design at The Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. He serves as Director of the MSc Urban Design and City Planning Programme and Coordinator of the Civic Design CPD and Cultural Infrastructure short course. Sendra combines his academic work with professional practice through his urban design firm LUGADERO LTD, which specializes in community co-design processes, and is co-founder of the CivicWise network.

• Architect Engineer, Universidad de Sevilla (2007)
• MArch Urban Design, University College London (2009)
• MSc in Sustainable City and Architecture, Universidad de Sevilla (2011)
• PhD in Architecture, Universidad de Sevilla (2014)

Sendra's research focuses on social housing, community activism, co-design methodologies, social infrastructure, and public spaces, particularly examining how regeneration processes impact communities. His work emphasizes participatory action research conducted directly with communities, exploring how to design urban environments that encourage unplanned activities, social interaction, and collective governance. He advocates for disorder as a productive force in urban planning, challenging conventional top-down approaches to city design.

His publications reveal a consistent focus on community-led alternatives to conventional urban regeneration, with particular attention to social housing estates. The research demonstrates a methodological commitment to co-production with communities, resulting in practical tools and frameworks that empower residents to develop their own regeneration proposals. His work bridges academic theory with practical application through community engagement.

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2017)
• Designing Disorder included in The Observer's (The Guardian) Best Books of 2020

Sendra has secured significant research funding including a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant as Principal Investigator for the project 'Community-led social housing regeneration: between the formal and the informal,' and two Higher Education Innovation Fund grants for co-producing community-led proposals for social housing regeneration. His work with community groups such as Just Space and Granville Community Kitchen demonstrates a commitment to practical application of academic research. He has also served as a referee for numerous prestigious journals including International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, City, and Journal of Urban Design.

Through LUGADERO LTD and the UCL Civic Exchange team, Sendra facilitates co-design processes for community street projects, public space transformations, and social infrastructure development. His work with the Westway Trust's Community Street project and Play Wimbledon demonstrates practical application of his research on collaborative urbanism. The CivicWise network serves as a platform for citizen-led initiatives in urban development.