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Teresa Caldeira’s research focuses on the challenges of urbanization, spatial segregation, social discrimination, and the use of public space in cities of the global south. Her work involves examining how urban forms interact with political transformation, especially in the context of democratization. It is interdisciplinary, drawing from methodologies and theories in social sciences, humanities, and design disciplines, with an emphasis on reshaping ethnographic methods for the study of cities. Her notable book, "City Walls: Crime, Segregation, Citizenship in São Paulo," presents an analysis of how crime, fear, and violence intertwine with urban transformations, producing patterns of segregation in fortified enclaves. Caldeira’s current research investigates new urban life and public space dynamics in relation to new technologies and forms of governance. Her projects highlight practices such as artistic interventions and activism, aiming to articulate social inequalities marked in urban settings. Caldeira’s aim is to explore how residents in peripheral urban areas construct their own neighborhoods and become political agents. Additionally, her work considers the new relationships between urban citizenship and daily life in rapidly changing cities. She has received several awards, including the Faculty Mentor Award and was a Guggenheim Fellow in 2012.
University of California, Berkeley • Berkeley, CA
Teaching and conducting research in City and Regional Planning.
The Mathematics Subject GRE is required for the Fall 2026 admissions cycle. General GRE is optional.