About

LSE Cities leads the way in the study of modern cities. It is unrivalled in the breadth and depth of its expertise.

LSE Cities is an international centre that investigates the complexities of the contemporary city. It carries out research, graduate and executive education, advisory and engagement activities in London and abroad. Extending LSE’s century-old commitment to the understanding of urban society, LSE Cities investigates how complex urban systems are responding to the pressures of growth, change and globalisation with new infrastructures of design and governance that both complement and threaten social equity and environmental sustainability. LSE Cities was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for 2016-2018 in recognition of its work on training, research and policy formulation for cities of the future and a new generation of urban leaders around the world.

LSE Cities hosts a wide range of international conferences, public lecture series, seminars and awards that span the core of our research goals, and works to consolidate a growing network of urban experts.

LSE Cities is affiliated with the School of Public Policy and the Department of Sociology.

LSE Cities hosts an interdisciplinary group of researchers who investigate how cities can be designed and managed to be more open, promote social inclusion, reduce environmental impact and be governed more effectively. Building on its authoritative database of over 60 global cities, the centre works with local governments, international agencies and other institutions on applied research that shapes urban policy and practice.

For more information on research projects

LSE Cities offers an innovative Executive MSc in Cities designed around the popular ‘learning while working’ model for mid-career and senior professionals. With five intense week-long teaching sessions in London spread over twelve months, and a further six months of personalised consulting with a host organisation, the course provides direct contact with LSE faculty and global fellows. The flexible, tailor-made programme, in one of the top social science universities in the world, attracts urban professionals in the public, private and third sectors who want to improve the way their organisations understand and deliver change in cities. Participants include mayors and policymakers, investors and property experts, advocates and NGO leaders, as well as planning and urban design practitioners and consultants from cities across the globe. LSE Cities also provides annual week-long Executive Education courses and hosts tailored executive programmes for a range of public and private organisations.

For more information on education

Drawing on its global interdisciplinary urban expertise, LSE Cities carries out advisory work for a range of local governments, international agencies and other institutions as well as consultancy research for NGOs and private-sector organisations. Through the Urban Age conferences and task force programme, the centre leverages its global network of urban leaders, experts and practitioners to raise the level of debate, promote knowledge exchange and influence change in the ways cities are planned, designed and governed.

For more information on advisory activities

LSE Cities contributes to the public life of the LSE, organises major conferences and exhibitions internationally, publishes books and research reports, and has an active social media presence.

Public lecture series at LSE

LSE Cities hosts a series of provocative and insightful public lectures, attracting the world’s leading urban academics, practitioners and politicians to discuss urban best practice, policy, and cutting edge theoretical and methodological debates. Videos and podcasts from LSE Cities public lectures are freely available online.

Workshops and Seminars

LSE Cities organises a wide range of research seminars and workshops, which explore the ideas and theories of the urban issues covered by the centre’s research units. These events encourage interdisciplinary discussion and debate between invited speakers and participants from academic, government, policy, design, industry and NGO backgrounds.

For more information on outreach and events

LSE Cities Report 2014-16

LSE Cities has continued to work across a range of interdisciplinary projects that engage the broader social sciences with the culture, politics and spatial dynamics of cities. This and previous reports include extracts from selected publications and research outputs, an overview of all the public lectures and seminars hosted by LSE Cities, as well as information on projects, staff, advisers, governing board members and students.

LSE Cities Report 2012-14

LSE Cities reports contain an overview of all events, research and engagement activities that were conducted during the years 2012-14.

LSE Cities Report 2011-12

LSE Cities reports contain an overview of all events, research and engagement activities that were conducted during the years 2011-2012

LSE Cities Report 2010

LSE Cities report contains an overview of all events, research and engagement activities that were conducted during the year 2010

LSE Cities’ contribution to education, research and outreach has been recognised by a number of high profile awards.

The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for 2016-2018 was awarded in recognition of LSE Cities’ work on ‘training, research and policy formulation for cities of the future and a new generation of urban leaders around the world.’

In the 2018 New Year Honours, Professor Richard Sennett was awarded a OBE for services to design. Sennett Chair of the Advisory Board at LSE Cities and contributed to founding the Urban Age. How cities are designed is a key area of research at LSE Cities.

Suzanne Hall, Director of the Cities Programme and Associate Professor in LSE’s Department of Sociology, won a Philip Leverhulme Prize (2017) to extend her Ordinary Streets project on how migrants inhabit the city to Cape Town, South Africa. Hall also won an LSE Teaching Prize in 2017.

In the 2017 New Year Honours, Professor Ricky Burdett was awarded a CBE for services to urban planning and design. Burdett is the Director of LSE Cities and the Urban Age.

Telephone
General enquiries +44 (0)20 7107 5232

Email
General enquiries LSE.Cities@lse.ac.uk

Address (View on Google maps)
LSE Cities, London School of Economics and Political Science
8th Floor, Fawcett House, Clement's Inn
London, WC2A 2AZ
United Kingdom

LSE Cities, London School of Economics, Fawcett House (formerly Tower 2), 8th Floor, Clement's Inn, London WC2A 2AE

LSE Cities is located in FAW.8.01, which is on the 8th floor of Fawcett House (formerly Tower 2), on Clements Inn.

By Underground: The nearest tube stations to LSE Cities are Temple (Circle and District lines) or Holborn (Central and Piccadilly lines).

From Temple: Walk north up Arundel Street and cross the road in front of St Clement Danes church. Enter through the gate at the bottom of Clement’s Inn, to the left of the Royal Courts of Justice, and proceed to Fawcett House reception.

From Holborn: Walk south on Kingsway to Aldwych and turn right. Enter through the gate at the bottom of Clement’s Inn on your left, to the left of the Royal Courts of Justice, and proceed to Fawcett House reception.

By Bus: The nearest bus stop to LSE Cities is The Royal Courts of Justice serving routes 1, 58, 68, 91, 168, 171, 188, 243, 341, 521, & X68. Walk up Clement’s Inn to find Fawcett House.

Please note that pedestrian routes have changed due to LSE's major redevelopment works. Please see the campus map for further details, however, it is generally easier to access Fawcett House from the Strand.