Dr NezHapi-Dellé Odeleye

Dr NezHapi Odeleye is an urbanist, with 18 years’ experience across the private, third, and public sectors – initially as an Architect, then as a Community Planner and subsequently as a Principal Planner in policy and projects, pioneering sustainable design and construction policy and delivery in the Wembley regeneration area – including a period as a Strategic Planner on sustainable urban design in the first London Plan (Strategic Spatial Strategy), which sets out a framework for the city's development. She joined ARU in 2008.

delle.odeleye@aru.ac.uk

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Background

NezHapi’s research interests range from sustainable design-led resilience and wellbeing in places, to the urban design complexity implications of time and space concepts underlying the cultural design and planning of indigenous settlements (the subject of her PhD). Her recent research has explored; generative justice in places, the legacy and agency of planners in sustainable urbanism, and the role of media-tech in shaping identity and place-futures.

Research interests

• Community resilience and professional agency in generative spatial justice
• Local and mediated identities in place futures
• Global South informalities in urban design and planning theory
• Spatio-temporalities in Indigenous knowledge-bases

Areas of research supervision

• Nature-based Solutions; Community-led Housing; Sustainable Reuse of Heritage Buildings Sustainability Assessment Metrics (PhD)
• Energy Efficiency & renewables in Schools; Local Enterprise Partnerships; Affordable housing in Nigeria; Spatial Justice (DProf)
• Town Centres & Retail policy; Urban Design & Public Health; Rural Sustainability; Faith Communities & the Planning System (MSc)
• Sustainable Urban Drainage; Diversity and Gender representations; Biophilia; Sustainable Construction; Resource efficiency (BSc)

Teaching

• Postgraduate Researcher (PgR) Development Training (2018-present)
• MSc Town Planning (2014-present)
• PG Dip and MSc Urban Design Modules (2010-2013; 2015-2018)
• BSc Architecture (2008-2014)

Qualifications

• PhD Urban Design (Oxford Brookes)
• MPhil Town Planning Distinction (UCL)
• BSc in Architectural Studies & BArch in Architecture (Cardiff)
• PG Cert Higher Education (ARU)

Memberships, editorial boards

Professional body and learned society memberships

• MRTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute)
• AoU (Academy of Urbanism)
• UDG (Urban Design Group)
• RIBA (1992-2018)
• FHEA: Higher Education Academy
• ISST (International Society for the Study of Time)

Editorial boards and awards

• Urban Planning Open Access Journal
• Scientific Committee member for ARCHiDoT e-Journal for Doctoral Researchers in Architecture
• Sustainable Development & Urban Spaces Paper Award, SEEDS International Conference, University of Suffolk, UK, 2019
• UnLtd-HEA Social Entrepreneurship Award (SEA) 2013

Other activity

NezHapi has remained active in community engagement on city issues – initially through the ‘Changing Chelmsford’ Initiative 2010 and its spin-offs – such as the annual Chelmsford Ideas Festivals since 2011 and creative Ideas Hub until 2018. These continue seeding the formation of new, self-organising, local organisations and initiatives. This action research was a long-term experiment in collaborative urbanism, involving Anglia Ruskin students, with urban practitioners, local community organisers, and civic, national & local stakeholders, in re-imagining the city’s identity.

NezHapi also co-led the HERALD: Heritage-Led Resilience Approach to Smart and Sustainable Urban Development In Turkey project, involving ARU Future Cities Research Network (FCRN) colleagues and Research students with the Centre for Urban Studies (CUS), Istanbul Şehir University, Turkey. This British Council-Newton Research Environment Links funded project, 2019-2020, developed a strategic research agenda for examining the challenges of resilient urban planning for sustainable heritage cities, including both tangible and intangible aspects of heritage in Turkey and the UK.

Selected recent publications

Book

Rajendran, L. P., Odeleye, N-D., (Eds.), 2020. Emerging Identities in the Futures of Place: Emerging Practices and Spatial Cultures. Springer Series in Adaptive Environments (Cham: Springer). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-06237-8

Book chapters

Murtagh, N., Odeleye, N-D., Maidment, C., 2020. Does the Planning System in England Deliver a Sustainable and Resilient Built Environment? A Study of the Experience of Town Planners. In Scott, L., Dastbaz, M., Gorse, C. (Eds), 2020. Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design (Cham: Springer). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-44381-8_6

Odeleye N. D., Rajendran L. P., 2020. Conclusions: Conceptualising Locational, Relational & Virtual Realities’. In Rajendran L., Odeleye N. (Eds), 2020. Mediated Identities in the Futures of Place: Emerging Practices & Spatial Cultures. Springer Series in Adaptive Environments (Cham: Springer). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-06237-8_14

Odeleye N. D., Rajendran L. P., 2020. Mediated Identities in the Futures of Place — Towards a Conceptual Frame? In Rajendran, L., Odeleye, N. (Eds), 2020. Mediated Identities in the Futures of Place: Emerging Practices & Spatial Cultures. Springer Series in Adaptive Environments (Cham: Springer). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-06237-8_15

Rajendran, L. P., Odeleye, N. D, Kyriazopoulos-Berinde, R., Fazel, M., 2020. Being and Becoming: Emerging Relationalities with Space/Place and Socio-Technical Geographies. In Rajendran, L., Odeleye, N. (Eds), 2020. Mediated Identities in the Futures of Place: Emerging Practices & Spatial Cultures. Springer Series in Adaptive Environments (Cham: Springer). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-06237-8_16

Odeleye, N-D., Estop, R., 2019. Changing Chelmsford: An Experiment in Collaborative Urbanism - Re-imagining Spatial Learning, Identity & Interactions. In Besters, M, Sempere, R. M., Kahne, J. (Eds.), 2019. Our City? Countering Exclusion by Designing Cities for All (Rotterham: STIPO & European Place-making Network).

Odeleye, D., 2016. Alexander & Emerging ‘Images of the City' – On Form, Metaphor & Theory. In Mehaffy, M. W. (Ed.), 2016. Christopher Alexander’s - A City is Not a Tree: 50th Anniversary Edition. (Portland, Oregon: Sustasis Press & Centre for Environmental Structure), pp. 139-162.

Journal Special Thematic Issues (Academic Editorships)

Odeleye, Nezhapi-Dellé (ARU) and Murtagh, Niamh (UCL) Academic Editors: (Dec 2019) ‘Towards Transformative Practice Frameworks: Planners, Professional Agency and Sustainable Urbanism’, Special Issue, Urban Planning, Vol 4, No 4.

Ibrahim, H., Khan, A., Lehmann, S., Odeleye, D. & Zaman, A., Academic Editors: (2016) ‘Sustainable Planning and Technologies’ Special Thematic Issue, Urban Planning, Vol 1, Issue 3.

Journal publications

Bissett-Scott, S., Odeleye, N. D., 2021. Generative Justice In Places Exploring the values of 'Spatial Justice'. Special Issue on Generative Justice in Design, Journal New Design Ideas, 5(1).

Odeleye, N. D., Maidment, C., 2020. University, Comuniversity, UniverCity: Shaping Future Graduates as Thinkers, Operators or CivicHackers?. In Bates, L., Parker, G., Wargent, M., Linovski, O., Schoneboom, A., Gunn, S., Slade, D., Odeleye, N. D., Maidment, C., Shepherd, E., Doak, J., Elliot, T., Nicholls, V., Street, E., Dobson, M., Platts, S., Tasan-Kok, T., 2020. The Future of the Planning Profession, Planning Theory & Practice Journal, Interface, 21(2), pp. 465-468. 10.1080/14649357.2020.1776014

Murtagh, N., Odeleye, N. D., Maidment, C., 2019. Identities as Enabling Conditions of Sustainability Practices in Urban Planning: A Critical Realist Exploration with Planners in England. Towards Transformative Practice Frameworks: Planners, Professional Agency & Sustainable Urbanism, Urban Planning, 4(4).

Akande, O. K., Odeleye, D., Coday, A., Jimenez-Bescos, C., 2016. Performance Evaluation of Operational Energy Use in Refurbishment, Reuse & Conservation of Heritage Buildings for Optimum Sustainability. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 5(3), pp. 371–382.doi: 10.1016/j.foar.2016.06.002

Akande, A., Odeleye, D., Coday, A., Jimenez-Bescos, C., 2015. Achieving Energy Efficiency In Public Heritage Buildings: Towards A Sustainable Approach to Practice. International Journal of Case Studies, 4(3), pp. 21-26. ISSN 2305-509X

Akande, O. K., Odeleye, D., Coday, A., Jimenez-Bescos, C., 2015. Energy Performance & Improvement Potentials for Selected Heritage Building Adaptation in England. British Journal of Environment & Climate Change, 5(3), pp. 189-201. doi: 10.9734/BJECC/2015/19791

Akande, A., Odeleye, D., Coday, A., 2014. Energy Efficiency For Sustainable Reuse Of Public Heritage Buildings: The Case For Research. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 9(2), pp. 237-250.

Reports and conference proceedings

Beebeejaun, Y., Booth, P., Bradley, Q., Brownhill, S., Chapman, K., Clifford, B., Colenutt, B., Crookes, L., Goode, C., Edwards, M., Hickman, H., Horwood, K., Inch, A., Manuel, J., Marshall, T., McClymont, K., Natarajan, L., Odeleye, N. D., Sheppard, A., Tait, M., Wilson, A., Wilson, E., Oct 2020. THE RIGHT ANSWERS TO THE RIGHT QUESTIONS’? A report by an independent group of planning academics. Chapman, K., Inch, A., Tait M., (Eds), Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA).

Osei, G., Pascale, F., Pooley, A., Odeleye, N. D., 2020. Stakeholder Engagement In Nature-Based Public Space Design: Sustainable Regeneration Of Urban Environments. In Álvarez, J. R., Soares-Gonçalves, J. C. (Eds.), 2020. Planning Post Carbon Cities: 35th PLEA Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, A Coruña, 1st-3rd September 2020: Proceedings (A Coruña: University of A Coruña), pp. 758-763. doi: 10.17979/spudc.9788497497947

Recent presentations and conferences

Murtagh, N., Odeleye, N. D., Maidment, C., 2019. 'Does the planning system in England deliver a sustainable and resilient built environment? A study of the experience of town planners'. SEEDS (Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design for Society) International Conference, 11-12 Sept 2019, Ipswich, UK.

Murtagh N., Odeleye N. D., Maidment, C., 2019. 'Professional identity as a generative mechanism of sustainability practices in urban planning: a critical realist exploration with planners in England'. International Conference on Environmental Psychology, 4-6 Sept 2019, Plymouth, UK.

Murtagh, N,. Odeleye, N. D., Maidment, C., 2019. 'Do Town Planners in England feel a professional responsibility for a climate-resilient built environment?' SBE19 Helsinki - Sustainable Built Environment International Conference, 22-24 May 2019, Helsinki, Finland.

Odeleye, N. D., Murtagh, N., Maidment, C., 2018. 'Planners, Professional Agency & Sustainable Urbanism: Past & Present Lessons for the Future'. UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference, 3-5 Sept 2018, Sheffield, UK.

Odeleye, N. D., 2016. 'Human Agency in the ‘Urgency of Time’: A Generative Mapping Of Fraser’s Hierarchy With Urban Morphology'. Time's Urgency; 16th Triennial Conference of the International Society for the Study of Time (ISST), 26 June-2 July 2016, Edinburgh, UK.

Akande, O. K., Odeleye, D., Coday, A., Jimenez-Bescos, C., 2015. 'Energy use reduction for sustainable reuse of public heritage buildings: The stakeholders' perspectives'. REHAB 2015: International Conference on Preservation, Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Historical Buildings and Structures, July 2015, Porto, Portugal. Proceedings Volume: 2.

Odeleye, D., 2015. Changing Chelmsford: A Co-Evolving of City and University. 'The Urban University Conference; Universities as Place Makers & Agents of Civic Success in Medium-sized Towns & Cities', 2-3 July 2015, Northampton, UK.

Bissett-Scott, S., Odeleye, D., Frame, I., 2015. 'Spatial Justice; Measuring Justice Outcomes of Regeneration Programmes'. 3rd International Conference, New Urban Languages: Tales & Images Of Spatial Justice, 24-26 June 2015, TU Delft.

Odeleye, D., 2014. 'The City of Ideas: Weaving Dreams into Place'. Overview of the Changing Chelmsford Initiative, UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference, 16-18 September, Oxford, UK.