Romola Sanyal

Romola Sanyal is an Associate Professor in Urban Geography at the London School of Economics (LSE), Department of Geography and Environment. She joined LSE in 2013, previously holding positions at Newcastle University and University College London. Her research focuses on forced migration, urbanization, and humanitarian crises, with a particular emphasis on how refugees shape urban spaces and challenge marginalization. Key projects include studies of Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut and Partition refugee colonies in Calcutta, as well as the geopolitics of humanitarian knowledge. She co-edits journals like City and chairs LSE’s South Asia Centre. Sanyal has received multiple awards, including LSE’s Excellence in Education Award. She directs the BA Geography program and collaborates on projects like the sharing economy’s impact on urban governance.

Education:

• PhD in Architecture, University of California, Berkeley
• MSc in Geography, LSE
• B.A. in City and Regional Planning, UC Berkeley

Research Interests:

• Refugee urbanism and displacement politics
• Humanitarian knowledge production
• Urban informality and platform economies
• South Asian urban history

Grants & Awards:

• Atlantic Equity Challenge Award
• Spiro Kostof Fellowship
• Twice recipient of LSE Excellence in Education Award

Labs/Teams: Active in LSE’s South Asia Centre and collaborates with scholars on projects like AirBnB’s urban impacts. Her work intersects with global humanitarian policy and urban planning challenges.