Dr. Deljana Iossifova

Biography

Deljana Iossifova is a Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies at the University of Manchester, where she leads the Urban Studies Lab and serves as the Academic Director of the University’s Confucius Institute. Iossifova's work focuses on urban transformation and the infrastructuring of socio-eco-technical relations in countries including China, Japan, India, Brazil, Bulgaria, and the United Kingdom. Trained as an architect at ETH Zurich, she holds a PhD from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and has practiced professionally on an international scale. Her research portfolio combines ethnography, systems thinking, social practice theory, and place-based design governance. Notable publications include the monograph 'Translocal Ageing Global East' (Palgrave, 2020) and edited volumes such as 'Defining Urban' (Routledge, 2018) and 'Urban Infrastructuring' (Springer, 2022). Iossifova has successfully secured over £1.3 million in competitive funding from agencies such as UKRI and the Royal Society. Her leadership extends to the Sustainable Infrastructure (SusInfra) international programme, fostering collaboration among researchers and partners across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and she has worked with various municipalities and civil society organizations to develop digital tools to support local residents' access to municipal water connections. Additionally, she supervises doctoral researchers focusing on infrastructures and urban health in relation to socio-ecological change.

Research Interests

Experience